Four-time Senior Open winner facing 'painful' walk at Carnoustie after being denied golf cart

The 66-year-old tore his Achilles tendon in February, forcing the two-time Masters champion to postpone a planned farewell appearance at Augusta National until next year.

Langer has been using a golf cart since returning to action on the Champions Tour in mid-May, but he’ll be walking in the same group as Paul Lawrie and Justin Leonard when this week’s event gets underway on the Angus coast on Thursday.

“Oh, yeah, it certainly does,” replied the German, who landed the first of his wins in the event here in 2010 before adding two triumphs at Royal Porthcawl in 2014 and 2017 then claiming the crown again at Royal Lytham in 2019.

Explaining why it’s an even bigger challenge for him on this occasion, he added: “Some of us in America have the ADA, the American Disability Act, and I'm on there right now with my torn Achilles', and so we get a golf cart in America. Probably right now, about eight or ten of us, including Vijay Singh and Paul Broadhurst and John Daly to mention a few, and most of them didn't get one here.

“But they still made the trip and still try to walk, even though it's painful and it's difficult, and some of us aren't even sure we're going to make it to tell you the truth. I haven't walked 18 holes four times, well, since last year, not since my injury. I've only walked 18 holes twice. I'm not sure I can do it, but I hope I can.”

Langer, the most-successful player in Champions Tour history with 12 over-50s’ majors to his name and 46 victories in total, finished third in just his fourth event after returning from the injury.

“The game is not too bad, really. Just the walking is a problem,” he added. “I can't practise as much as I'd like to because of the swelling that occurs every single day and then later in the day, it just gets really stiff and immobile, you know, when the ankle swells up and the foot is hard to move and to walk. Sometimes my swing gets worse as the day goes on. That's not helpful.

So I need to be patient with that. But my golf hasn't been that bad considering what I've been through.”

Padraig Harrington, who finished runner-up to Darren Clarke on his debut in the event at Gleneagles two years ago before being pipped again by Alex Cejka at Royal Porthcawl 12 months ago, is now bidding to go one better at the venue where he won the first of back-to-back Opens in 2007.

“I really do know the golf course,” said the Irishman, who made the cut along with Clarke in last week’s 152nd Open at Royal Troon. “I played a few Opens here, not just the winning one. I've played a lot of Dunhills. I'm very familiar with the golf course.

“Doesn't mean it gets any easier. This is obviously one of the toughest courses that we play on The Open rota and it's set up well this year. The rough is nice and high, and certainly in places you really do want to be on your game playing well. It's always the same with Carnoustie. It gives you nothing.”

Asked if he was on a redemption mission, so to speak, after the last two stagings, he added: “No. It doesn't work like that. This is the great thing about golf. The game gives you nothing in that sense.

“Doesn't matter what you've done in the past. You have to turn up and play 72 holes and finish it out. You know, you can be leading after day one, day two, day three. You can be ten shots ahead. Nobody gives you the trophy on Saturday evening and you've got to play all 72 holes and you've got to earn it.

“Last year's performance or the year before doesn't have any bearing on this one. And especially on this golf course, Carnoustie. As much as I've won The Open here, it's not like having won The Open, they give me a one-shot start or something like that. This course, there's nothing about it that would make you sleep easy at night.”

Ahead of their appearances in the event, Thomas Bjorn, Miguel Ángel Jiménez and Paul McGinley were all made Honorary Life Members of the DP World Tour in recognition of their services to the circuit, both in a playing and committee respect, and also the Ryder Cup. They become the 60th, 61st and 62nd DP World Tour members to be bestowed the honour.