There was a lot to unpack in the final round of the 2024 Ascension Charity Classic.
The tournament ended in a playoff on Sunday at Norwood Hills Country Club in St. Louis, with YE Yang seeking his first PGA Tour Champions victory. His playoff opponent? None other than the player with the most wins of all time on the senior tour, Bernhard Langer.
Now 67, Langer made his age in Saturday’s third round, then beat his age by three shots Sunday with a 64. Those rounds were the 16th and 17th times he has made his age or better in his career.
His remarkable comeback after tearing his left Achilles tendon while playing pickleball on Feb. 1 was a shambles, however, as Yang birdied the first playoff hole to win the title.
“I think this week will be very special,” said Yang, who beat Tiger Woods at the 2009 PGA Championship and was making his 72nd career start on the Champions Tour.
As for Langer, he continues to battle through rehab as he returns to tournament action, and he admits his leg isn’t back to 100 percent.
“No. I wish it was. You know, I’m right in the middle of it, so I don’t see much improvement,” he said Sunday. “If I look back two months later, yeah, I’m definitely walking better than I was two months ago. So there’s some improvement, but it’s slow. It’s probably going to be another five months or something. That’s what I’m told. I wish it was sooner, but it’s not.”
Langer, who has a record 46 wins on the PGA Tour Champions, now has 42 second-place finishes.
In the latest Charles Schwab Cup standings, Yang moved up to sixth place. The top 5:
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Ernie Els
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Stephen Ames
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Steven Alker
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Richard Green
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KJ Choi
There are four regular season events remaining before the three-tournament playoffs.
This article was originally published on Golfweek: Bernhard Langer beats his age twice but loses to YE Yang at Ascension Charity Classic
