Golf: Victorious Langer not sure about the Open

NEW Senior Open champion Bernhard Langer could turn down the chance to make a return to the British Open next summer on the course he came close to claiming the Claret Jug on three occasions.

The German's victory at Carnoustie, where he pipped US Ryder Cup captain Corey Pavin by a shot, has earned him an exemption for the world's oldest major at Royal St George's next July.

Langer finished second there to American Bill Rogers in 1981 and was third to Sandy Lyle and then Greg Norman on the Kent course in 1985 and 1993.

But, after recording his first success in a senior major, the two-time Masters champion hinted he may not take up his place at Royal St George's.

"I might show up and, if I did, I would hopefully play decent," said Langer after securing a first prize of just over 200,000 in Angus.

"I'll have to look at my schedule but another factor I'll have to take into account is the length of the course.

"It's a fairly long golf course so that's not going to suit me. Being a senior, these guys hit it 30-40 yards past me.

"However, that's a long way off right now - I'm just going to enjoy this victory for a day and then we're battling again in Seattle."

That was a reference to this week's US Senior Open at Sahalee, where Langer and the bulk of the Americans who were at Carnoustie are now heading.

Before yesterday, Langer had won 11 times on the over-50s circuit, with all but one of those triumphs coming on the Champions Tour in the States.

He was the top money earner on that circuit in both 2008 and 2009 but the word 'major' had been missing from his CV.

"I've wanted to win a major for the last two years and hopefully there's more to come," added the champion.

Three ahead going into the final round, Langer found himself only one ahead of Pavin with seven holes to play.

But, after getting up and down from a greenside bunker at the 13th to retain his advantage, the former European Ryder Cup captain found himself with a two-shot cushion after Pavin dropped a shot at the 15th.

Langer still held that lead when he stepped on to the 18th tee but admitted afterwards that he'd been hoping to have a three-shot lead playing the notoriously-difficult last hole.

He almost illustrated why when his 3-wood tee shot went perilously close to going into the burn on the right side of the fairway.

"That was a little too close for my liking," he admitted. "I was trying to take a large number out of play but the wind had been switching constantly over the last four holes. When I teed it up at the last, it was hurting off the right but 20 seconds later it was straight into me." I hit a 3-wood to take most of the bunkers out of play but I pushed it a little bit."

Faced with another 3-wood for his second if he wanted to reach the green, Langer decided to play safe, hitting a 6-iron short of the burn at the front of the green.

"The odds that Corey would make a birdie on the last were fairly slim because he needed a 3-wood just to get over the creek and probably wasn't going to be able to get it all the way back there," he added.

"Laying up short of the creek left me with a full wedge in there and I was playing for bogey, maybe par."

In closing with a 72, Langer finished with a five-under-par total of 279, one less than Pavin, with three other Americans, Fred Funk, Russ Cochran and Jay Don Blake sharing third place with Aussie Peter Senior on 283.

"It's always fantastic to win a championship like this and this one is very special," admitted the champion. "I've always wanted to win an Open Championship and I know this isn't that. But, at senior level, it's the same thing."

Three-time winner Tom Watson was disappointed that a closing 74 - he dropped shots at the last three holes - saw him finish outside the top 20.

"I struggled with my game again," said the man who won the first of his five Open Championships at Carnoustie in 1975. "It was a walk down memory lane and I remember a lot of the shots from 1975 - I just wish I could still recreate some of them," he added.

Reflecting on a trip that also took in the Open at St Andrews, where he missed the cut in his last appearance in the event on the Old Course, the 60-year-old admitted: "I wish I'd played better these last two weeks, I just didn't have it this year."

A closing 77 dropped Archerfield's DJ Russell down to a share of 26th on 291, while former Musselburgh pro Fraser Mann finished 68th after signing off with a 76 for 300.