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Bernhard Langer and his son Jason disappointed just about the whole of the golf world on Sunday when they defeated Tiger Woods and his son Charlie in a playoff at the annual PNC Championship. But after a hard-fought battle that went down to the wire, some fans now believe that Langer had an unfair advantage.
The 67-year-old two-time Masters winner is dominant on the PGA Champions Tour. He holds a record 47 wins on the senior tour and record 12 senior majors. Last season, Langer continued his impressive play and picked up yet another win at the Charles Schwab Championship.
Fans Call Out Bernhard Langer For Playing From Up Tees In Win Over Tiger Woods
He averaged 275.5 yards off the tee during the 2024 season. But due to the PNC Championship rules, Langer played from the up tees because he is over the age of 65. That meant that he teed off a combined 700 yards ahead of Tiger Woods each round. He also teed off ahead of Charlie Woods, who is just 15 years old, and fans took notice.
Just a thought, but Bernhard Langer should probably be playing from longer than 6,000 yards…
— Alex Myers (@AlexMyers3) December 22, 2024
This year on the Champions Tour Langer averaged 275.5 yards off-the-tee.
The tees you play should NOT be based on age.
You are 64 years and 11 months old?
You play from here.You are 65 years and 1 month old?
You play from tees that are 700+ yards shorter.Bad form. https://t.co/NAQPrPZGZp
— Lou Stagner (Golf Stat Pro) (@LouStagner) December 22, 2024
But that wasn’t where the controversy ended. Langer also caught heat for his putting form which comes dangerously close to anchoring. The USGA and R&A banned anchoring your putter beginning in 2016.
We all good with anchoring the putter here to take the win after playing off the ladies tees? PNC Championship needs a reboot on langer pic.twitter.com/hM3N0v2F3t
— Anto O Connell (@antooconnell) December 22, 2024
The anchoring claim is a bit more dubious, as Langer does seem to have a small amount of space between his putter and his chest. But the discussion about driving distance is completely valid. Should someone still playing at his level also be playing that short of a course?
In the end, nobody is likely to remember the winner anyway. Especially after Charlie Woods recorded his first ever hole-in-one earlier in the day. But it’s probably something that the PNC Championship should address going forward.