Posted 4/14/03 9:57 am ET

The Big Five's last man standing

Langer shows his staying power

Bernhard Langer hits out of the sand at the No. 2 green. He is the only one of the "Big Five" still on the PGA Tour. Michael Holahan The Augusta Chronicle

By David Westin
The Augusta Chronicle

When they were winning major championships at a steady rate - 14 of them in 17 years - they were celebrated as Europe's "Big Five."

The futures of Germany's Bernhard Langer, England's Nick Faldo, Spain's Seve Ballesteros, Scotland's Sandy Lyle and Wales' Ian Woosnam seemed secure as stars, especially when they combined to win nine Masters titles from 1980-1996.

Now in their early to mid-40s, Langer is the only one of the group who has had staying power.

The Masters champion in 1985 and 1993, 44-year-old Langer is still a threat to win the Masters and is a force on the PGA Tour.

All five Europeans played the PGA Tour at various times, but Langer is the only one still on it.

The 2001 Masters told the story of the gap between Langer and the other four Europeans. He finished tied for sixth at Augusta National. The others missed the cut.

It was the fifth straight year Ballesteros, the Masters champion of 1980 and 1983, has failed to make it to the weekend.

BIG FIVE'S RECORD How the former "Big Five" of European golf have fared in the Masters since Nick Faldo won the last green jacket of the group, in 1996. Starting in 1980, they combined to win nine Masters titles. Faldo is a three-time winner, Bernhard Langer and Seve Ballesteros are two-time winners and Ian Woosnam and Sandy Lyle have each won it once. Year  Finish  Seve Ballesteros - Spain     1997  Cut  1998  Cut  1999  Cut  2000  Cut  2001  Cut  Nick Faldo - England     1997  Cut  1998  Cut  1999  Cut  2000  T-28  2001  Cut  Bernhard Langer - Germany     1997  T-7  1998  T-20  1999  T-11  2000  T-28  2001  T-6  Sandy Lyle - Scotland     1997  T-34  1998  Cut  1999  T-48  2000  Cut  2001  Cut  Ian Woosnam - Wales     1997  T-39  1998  T-16  1999  T-14  2000  T-40  2001  Cut

Faldo, the Masters champion of 1989, 1990 and 1996, has missed four of five cuts since his last victory. Lyle, the 1988 Masters champion, has missed three of the past four cuts.

Woosnam, the 1991 Masters champion, has played respectable golf at the Masters of late. Before missing the cut in 2001, he had finished tied for 16th in 1998, tied for 14th in 1999 and tied for 40th in 2000. He also tied for third place in the 2001 British Open.

The five were longtime stalwarts on the European Ryder Cup teams, bringing their team respect and then victories in what had been one-sided matches.

Langer is the only one on the team that will meet the U.S. squad in September.

"I've had ups and downs my whole career, but more ups than downs," Langer said.

"That's normal, that's life," Langer said. "Even Tiger (Woods) has his ups and downs. But his downs are where someone else's ups are. I've been blessed with a long and great career. I still enjoy practicing and playing. When I come out here, I give 100 percent. I'm not out here for a part-time vacation."

The weakness in Langer's game was always putting. He's used four different styles of putting over the years, each one working for a while.

He started out with a conventional grip, went to cross-handed, then split-cross-handed from 1988-96. He's been using a long-shafted putter since 1997.

It's been said that the move to split cross-handed putting, with Langer's right hand placed on his left wrist, saved his career. He admits to having the yips, which is a nervous reaction in the hands when putting, before the change.

"I don't know what would have happened if I hadn't changed grips," Langer said. "I don't know if my career would have been finished or if I would have continued. One thing is for sure: if you can't putt out there, you're not going to survive. That's guaranteed."

Many golfers start to lose their competitive edge in their mid- to late 40s. For the five Europeans, with the exception of Langer, the slippage started in their late 30s. Ballesteros turns 45 on April 9, while the other four are 44.

Langer didn't win in 1998 and 1999 on the European Tour, where he had 41 career victories at the time. Once again, he rebounded, winning the German Masters in 2000 and 2001 and the TNT Open in 2001.

Chip Shots  Seve Ballesteros Scorecard Seve Ballesteros Player Page Nick Faldo Scorecard Nick Faldo Player Page Bernhard Langer Scorecard Bernhard Langer Player Page Sandy Lyle Scorecard Sandy Lyle Player Page Ian Woosnam Scorecard Ian Woosnam Player Page

In addition to the "Big Five," who receive lifetime Masters invitations as champions at Augusta National, there are 31 international players in the field.

Australia, Spain and Japan lead the way with four representatives each. The Australians are Greg Norman, Robert Allenby, Stuart Appleby and Adam Scott. The Spaniards are Ballesteros, Jose Maria Olazabal, Sergio Garcia and Miguel Angel Jimenez and the Japanese are Toshi Izawa, Shingo Katayama, Shigeki Maruyama and Toru Taniguchi.

Countries with three players are South Africa (Gary Player, Ernie Els and Retief Goosen) and Scotland (Lyle, Paul Lawrie and Colin Montgomerie).

There are two players from New Zealand (The Players Championship winner Craig Perks and Michael Campbell), Argentina (Angel Cabrera and Jose Coceres); Northern Ireland (Darren Clarke and Michael Hoey); Ireland (Padraig Harrington and Paul McGinley); Sweden (Jesper Parnevik and Niclas Fasth); and England (Faldo and Lee Westwood).

The other international players are Germany's Langer, Wales's Woosnam, Fiji's Vijay Singh, Denmark's Thomas Bjorn, Zimbabwe's Nick Price and Canada's Mike Weir.

 

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