RESULTS: JANUARY TO JULY 2005.
US PGA Tour
Sony Open
Waialae CC, Hawaii, USA.
January 13th - January 16th
An error-strewn opening to the 2005 campaign for Bernhard with 9 bodies and 1 double bogey in his first 36 holes of the year, and less than 40% of drives finding the fairway. Too much Christmas Pudding Bernhard?
Final Position: Tied 104th (missed cut)
Scores: 72-73 145 (+5)
Earnings: $- Missed Cut
Tounament Winner: Vijay Singh 69-68-67-65 (-8) $864,000
US PGA Tour
Buick Invitational
Torrey Pines (South Course), California, USA
January 20th - January 23rd
Final Position: 5th
Scores: 69-69-67-72 277 (-11)
Earnings: $192,000
Tounament Winner: Tiger Woods 69-63-72-68 (-16) $864,000
US PGA Tour
BOB HOPE CHRYSLER CLASSIC
PGA West, Bermuda Dunes, La Quinta, Tamarisk, California, USA.
January 26th - 30th
An unusual tournament this, played over 5 days and 90 holes on 4 different courses, with the cut coming rather bizzarely after 4 rounds. After a sluggish start on one of the easier courses (PGA West) Bernhard was well down the field, and he made little ground during round 2. A sparkling bogey-free 65 on the third day however moved him well up the leaderboard, and solid 68's on the final two days secured a respectable finish just outside the top twenty.
Although never in contention for a win the strong finish was a welcome consolidation of last week's fine form. Bernhard dropped shots on only 5 of the 90 holes played, and 4 birdies in the closing 5 holes of the tournament gave a considerable boost to Bernhard's finishing positioning.
Final Position: Tied 23rd
Scores: 70 71 65 68 68 342 (-18)
Earnings: $40,655
Tounament Winner: Justin Leonard 66 67 68 64 67 332 (-28) $846,000
US PGA Tour
FBR OPEN
TPC of Scottsdale, Scottsdale, Arizona, USA.
February 3rd - 6th
Bernhard briefly flirted with a win at this tournament last year, only falling away on the final 9 holes, and a secound round 66 leaving him high up the leaderboard suggested he may do so again this year. But inconsistancy crept in again and rounds 3 and 4 saw Bernhard slip steadily down the rankings.
Bernhard Langer Tied 49th
70 66 74 75 285 (+1) $12,705.34
Tournament Winner: Phil Mickelson 73-60-66-68 267 (-17) $936,000.00
US PGA Tour
FORD CHAMPIONSHIP AT DORAL
Doral Golf Resort & Spa, Miami, Florida, USA.
March 3rd - 6th
This tournament witnessed some of Bernhard's finest play last season, as he posted the lowest scores in the field for both the 3rd and 4th round to finish in a tie for 5th place. No such highs were reached this year though. A satisfactory opeining 69 at 'the blue monster' was followed by three fairly oridinary rounds resulting in a tie for 57th place. The tournament was noteable for Tiger Woods and Phil Mickleson being paired together in the final round, Woods eventually prevailing and regaining the no.1 world ranking taken from him by Vijay Singh.
Final Position: Tied 57th
69-71-73-70 283 (-5) $12,100.00
Tournament Winner: Tiger Woods 65-70-63-66 264 (-24) $990,000.00
US PGA Tour
THE HONDA CLASSIC
CC at Mirasol, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA.
March 10th - 13th
Another missed cut for Bernhard on this course close to his Florida home. An improvement in form during the second round proving to be 1 shot short of the required mark.
Final Position: Tied 80th (Missed Cut)
74-71 145 (+1) $-
Tournament Winner: Padraig Harrington 73-69-69-63 274 (-14) $990,000.00
US PGA Tour
BAY HILL INVITATIONAL
Bay Hill GC & Lodge, Orlando, Florida, USA.
March 17th - 20th
Bernhard is a long standing supporter of this tournament and he enjoyed his first round 70 which left him tied for 4th place - only 3 players managing to break 70 on a tough opening day. Unfortunately he could not keep up his first round form and steadily drifted out of contention, eventually finishing tied 52nd.
Bernhard cannot be said to be in good form right now. There have been moments of brilliance and typical resiliance, but also many mediocre scores and opportunities missed. Only one top ten finish so far is not encouraging with the unofficial '5th major' coming up next week and the Masters just 3 weeks away.
Final Position: Tied 52nd
70-74-75-74 293 (+5) $11,600.00
Tournament Winner: Kenny Perry 70-68-68-70 276 (-12) $900,000.00
US PGA Tour
THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP
TPC at Sawgrass, Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, USA.
March 24th - 27th
Langer securing a par during round 1 at the 17th - the Island Hole at Sawgrass - on the way to a disappointing 75. The broom handle putter would be abandoned for round 2.
Bernhard missed the cut by one stroke in this year's Players Championship. A hugely disappointing outcome for Bernhard and noteable for the reintroduction of a short putter in Bernhard's bag.
The damage was done during Round 1, when Bernhard posted a 3 over par 75 in perfect, gentle conditions. The course was playing easier than normal, with clear skies and little wind, although after several days rain previously mud on the ball was making something of a lottery of the day's play. How much this affected Bernhard is hard to say, but with only two fairways missed all day and only 67% of greens hit it is safe to assume it had some impact. What is certain is that the long handled putter was very cold - with 34 putts taken during round 1 and Bernhard lying in 127th place, 4 shots adrift of the predicted cut mark, Bernhard took the brave decision to revert to the short putter for round 2.
Amazingly it seemed to be working. Starting round 2 at the 10th hole, he racked up 3 birdies (including a 2 at the famous 17th Island hole) and an eagle to move to 2 under par for the tournament (5 under for the round) before bad light curtailed his round through 13 holes. The weather had already washed out all of Friday's play, so Bernhard would have to resume his 2nd round on Sunday morning. He could afford to play out his remaining 5 holes in 1 over par and still make the cut, but the wind was up the next morning and bogey's at the 5th and 8th resulted in an even par score through two rounds, the cut coming at -1. A great pity that he could not complete his round the day before when he was in such sparkling form.
At the time of writing this I can't remember the last time Bernhard used a short putter, but I would guess it must be at least 5 years ago. It will be interesting to see if Bernhard uses the short putter for the rest of the season, and especially in the Masters in 2 week's time.
Final Position: Tied 84th (Missed Cut)
Scores: 75-69 144 (level par)
Earnings: $-
Tounament Winner: Fred Funk 65-72-71-71 279 (-9) $1,440,000.00
World Ranking after this event: 74th
FEATURED TOURNAMENT
US PGA Tour
THE MASTERS
Augusta National, Georgia, USA.
April 7th - 10th
LANGER WINS IT AT AUGUSTA
Not the masters title unfortunately, but the nearest the pin prize in the par 3 tournament! The par 3 contest proceeds the season's first major, and Bernhard bagged a trophy for pitching his tee shot to just 40 inches from the pin on the 6th hole.
The par 3 contest was played in bright sunshine, unlike the majority of this year's Masters which was heavily disrupted by rain, thunder storms and bad light. For the second tournament in succession Bernhard was dealt a bad hand by the weather delays, as what looked like good initial tee off times changed and he ended up going out last in the opening two rounds and one from last in the delayed third round.
ROUND 1
Bernhard's first round score card was every bit as turbulant as the weather, with only 2 pars appearing on his card of the front nine. An opening bogey was followed by birdies at 2 and 3, and a bogey at 5 was followed by birdies at 6 and 8. A 2 under par total at this stage placed Bernhard 5th, just one shot off the lead but bogeys at 9 and 10 took him back to even par. Three more bogeys followed on the back 9, which was illuminated by a splendid 2 at the short 16th. This dramatic par 3 had yielded only one birdie all day with the pin set at the top of the slope in a very tough position, but Bernhard fired his tee shot to within 3 feet to set up a splendid birdie. He finished with a 74 - a good score but one which could have been so much better.
ROUND 2
Following Langer can be a frustrating business! Starting at the tenth Bernhard safely negotiated amen corner with no dropped shots, birdied 16 for the second day in succession, and birdied the tricky 17th to once more move back into contention at tied 11th. But once again a potential sub-70 score turned into a 74, with bogies at 18, 4, 6 and 7. In the end Bernhard's +4 total was right on the cut line and so just good enough to see him into the final 2 rounds (at the Masters, only 44 players and ties or those within 10 of the lead play the final 2 rounds). The most worrying thing was the sight of Bernhard struggling over short puts - the long putter occasionally jerking unsteadily backwards suggesting a return to the yips he has suffered from previously in his fantastic career. Remembering that Bernhard temporarily ditched the long putter for a short putter in the second round of the Players Championship a couple of weeks earlier, one wonders wether a genuine problem is developing.
ROUND 3
Bernhard's third round started on the Saturday evening and finished on the Sunday morning. The first TV coverised shot of Bernhard revealed him missing a putt for par from no more than a couple of feet on the 11th (his second) to take him to to +5, a quick stabby jab of a putt further evidence that putting was becoming a real issue. This course more than any other demands brilliance on the greens and I feared the worse for Bernhard seeing that putt. But Bernhard is well known for determnation, for putting bad shots behind him, and for never giving in, so it should not have been a surprise to see him birdie the next! A glorious tee shot to around 12 feet on the par 3 twelth was followed by a silky smooth putt for a 2. Bernhard was playing with Ernie Els one of the pre-tournament favourites, but while Els struggled to a 78 Bernhard compiled an impressive 2 under par round of 70. He bogeyed 13 (a par 5 that has been kind to him in the past but was yielding nothing to him this year) before rallying with birdies at 15, 5 and 7 and no more dropped shots.
ROUND 4
By now the leaders (Woods and Dimarco) were well out of reach, but a top twenty finish would be a realistic target for Bernhard, and a composed final round 71 secured that target. Three birdies (2, 13 at last and 17) and wo bogies (7 and 9) gave Benhard an under par round for the second time, and a very respectable final total of +1 for the tournament. He might even have got back to level par for the tournament with a couple of chances at 16 and 18. A good tee shot at 16 left him with a 15 footer that he just missed. His approach to the final hole unluckily stuck on the top of the hill, leaving him a fast downhill putt that would swing massively right to left, from around 50 feet. He judged the putt beautifully, the ball meandering down the hill and coming to rest just inches behing the cup. After such a difficult time on the grrens it would have been sweet to see that that putt drop in.
SUMMARY
Bernhard once again proved what a good player he is around this Augusta Course. A top twenty finish comes hard earned in the Masters, and following last year's tied 4th and two previous wins at Augusta it confirms Langer's reputation as a Master's specialist. He remains in the top 5 all time lowest average scorers in the history of this great Major. But he needed all his powers of resolve and mental strength to get there, and having twice lost great positions in his opening two rounds there remains a sense of what 'might have been'. It must be hoped that the apparant putting problems do not turn into something more serious for Bernhard. You can't finish 20th at the Masters putting badly, but missed short putts here and the use of the short putter at the Players Championship suggests a problem.
Final Position: Tied 20th
Scores: 74-74-70-71 Total 289 (+1)
Earnings: $84,840.00
Tournament Winner: Tiger Woods 74-66-65-71 276 (-12) $1,260,000.00
World Ranking after this event: 68th
US PGA Tour
THE MCI HERITAGE
Harbour Town Golf Links, Hilton Head Island, S.C., USA.
April 14th - 17th
A joyless outing at the lovely but difficult Harbour Town course this for Bernhard, two 4-over par rounds resulting in a missed cut. Bernhard's score is not quite as bad as it sounds, the majority of the field being well over par and the cut coming at +5. However it is a disappointment after the gritty Masters performance last week.
Bernhard has a good record at this tournament, being a past winner and coming close to a second title as recently as 2002 when finishing 4th on 11 under, and 2001 when finishing tied 3rd at 10 under. The course suits his game as it is shorter than normal with tight drives through tree lined fairways and rewards good course management rather than aggression and length off the tee. This year he never really got going, posting only 4 birdies against 10 bogies and 1 double and hitting only 50% of greens in regulation in each of his two rounds.
This tournament usually marks the start of a 5 or 6 week break from the US PGA Tour for Bernhard.
Final Position: Tied 94th (Missed Cut)
75-75 150 (+8) $-
Tournament Winner: tba