Friday 20 February 2015 15:29, UK
Two-time Masters champion Bernhard Langer is excited by the prospect of defending his Senior Open Championship title at Sunningdale this summer.
The 57-year-old, a holder of four Senior Major titles, cruised to a record 13-shot victory at Royal Porthcawl last summer to secure his second Senior Open title and will look to replicate that form when he joins a star-studded field in Surrey in July.
Langer finished fourth when the tournament was last played at Sunningdale six years ago, where the German recovered from a slow start to post two brilliant rounds of 65 over the weekend.
“It’s great for us to come back to Sunningdale to play this prestigious event and see who the Senior Open Champion will be,” Langer said. “It’s one of the all-time great courses."
"It’s a wonderful parkland course and it’s always in great condition. I don’t know anybody who doesn’t like Sunningdale”
The German's dominant display in Wales last summer saw Langer smash Bob Charles' 25-year-old record for the largest winning margin, a performance he remembers fondly.
“It was hard to believe,” he recalled. “It just seemed like everything went my way. I played very well, putted well and didn’t make many mistakes. I managed to keep the ball out of the pot bunkers.
“It was a very enjoyable last 10 holes where I could really enjoy my lead, enjoy the surroundings and the people and take it all in.
“I was very blessed to have been able to play such good golf, and I really enjoyed it because there wasn't too much pressure. I still had to obviously hit some decent shots and make some putts, but I got off to a great start, increased my lead and it was a real pleasure.”
Last year's victory eased the disappointment of Royal Birkdale 12 months earlier, where Langer let a two-stroke lead slip at the 18th before losing in a play-off to America's Mark Wiebe.
The 42-time European Tour winner had a record-breaking season on last year's Champions Tour, collecting five titles and accumalting over £3million in prize money.
