BRADENTON, Fla. — Bernhard Langer had a double bogey and still broke his age by two shots as the 68-year-old German posted a 6-under 66 on Thursday, giving him a share of the lead after the opening round of the Senior PGA Championship.
Langer, who already holds the record with 12 senior majors, played his final six holes in 5-under par, highlighted by an eagle on the par-5 17th hole at Concession Golf Club.
He was tied with Miguel Angel Jiménez, Brian Gay and Steve Allan of Australia. Langer now has shot his age or better 43 times.
“It’s fun to shoot my age,” he said. “So whenever I shoot my age or better, usually I’ve played some good golf. That’s one of the goals these days, especially when you play a difficult golf course, and these greens here are very difficult.”
This is the first year of a three-year contract for Concession to host the Senior PGA Championship, the oldest of the senior majors. It’s also the only senior major Langer has won only one time, in 2017 at Trump National in Virginia.
The 62-year-old Jimenez had an eagle on the par-5 seventh hole and went out in 31 before cooling on the back nine. Allan played bogey-free, picking up birdies on all but one of the par 5s. Gay birdied three of his final four holes.
They were one shot ahead of Ben Crane, Retief Goosen and Thammanoon Sriroj, the 56-year-old Thai who had five wins on the Asian Tour. Crane is making his senior major debut having turned 50 last month.
Two-time Masters champion José María Olazábal, three-time major champion Padraig Harrington and Greg Chalmers were at 68.
Henrik Stenson also made his senior debut — he turned 50 on April 5 — and opened with a 72. Stenson, the 2016 British Open champion, had been on Saudi-funded LIV Golf since 2022 but was relegated from the league last fall.
He is not eligible for PGA Tour Champions events until one year after his last LIV appearance, but this major is run by the PGA of America.
Langer’s round was a foot away from being even better. But his 6-iron to the 11th green narrowly missed, leaving him a downhill lie in a bunker to a short pin. Trying to open the blade, he sent it screaming across the green toward a cart path. He chipped to 12 feet and missed the putt.
But he made up for it on the 17th, hitting a 3-iron hybrid and then holing a 60-foot eagle putt.
“If I would putt like that the rest of my career, I would be extremely happy,” Langer said.
