{"id":2952,"date":"2012-08-27T08:00:35","date_gmt":"2012-08-27T12:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/inspiringathletes\/?p=2952"},"modified":"2012-08-27T04:01:27","modified_gmt":"2012-08-27T08:01:27","slug":"a-conversation-with-two-time-masters-champion-bernhard-langer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/2012\/08\/a-conversation-with-two-time-masters-champion-bernhard-langer.html","title":{"rendered":"A conversation with two-time Masters champion Bernhard Langer"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Bernhard Langer led the European team to a 2004 Ryder Cup Championship.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bernhard Langer is one of golf\u2019s true legendary figures. With two Masters titles, 85 professional wins and the 2004 Ryder Cup championship as the European team captain to his name, it\u2019s not difficult to understand why he was named to the World Golf Hall of Fame while still an active PGA golfer and four years before moving on to the Champions Tour.<\/p>\n

But for Langer, any sense of satisfaction comes less from his impressive accomplishments and more from knowing that he has done his best to compete with integrity and live the same way as a father, husband and follower of Christ. In this Inspiring Athletes interview, Langer talks about why he loves the game and how integrity plays an integral part of every aspect of his life:<\/p>\n

Chad Bonham: Why do you love the game of golf?<\/p>\n

Bernhard Langer: First of all, it\u2019s always a challenge. It\u2019s different every day. It\u2019s you against the golf course. You can\u2019t blame anyone else. It\u2019s just your own performance and there are so many aspects to the game. You have the long shots and the chip shots and the bunker shots and the putting. It\u2019s all very different. It\u2019s always been a challenge. I was good at just about any sport I tried, but golf has the most wonderful rules and there\u2019s (the element) of integrity and honesty that comes with it. Golf was just a great game to pursue when I was younger and I don\u2019t regret it.<\/p>\n

Bonham: What are some of the reasons why the rules and codes of conduct exist within the game of golf?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
World Golf Hall of Fame member Bernhard Langer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Langer: They were passed on to us and it\u2019s a game of integrity and a game of honesty. We have very specific codes of rules and regulations\u2014especially out on tour. I don\u2019t know what the players do in their regular clubs, but on tour you don\u2019t want to be known as a cheater. What other sport in the world does a player give himself penalty shots? The ball might move in the rough and nobody would know, but we declare penalty shots on ourselves. In any other sports, they\u2019re trying to get away with cheating and pushing and roughing the other guy up or getting an advantage one way or another. That makes (golf) pretty unique.<\/p>\n

Bonham: How does integrity impact your life away from golf?<\/p>\n

Langer: It\u2019s impacts every impact of life in a sense. You always tell the truth. Sometimes it seems to hurt when you have to come out with the truth, but in the long run it\u2019s always better to tell the truth instead of somebody finding out later that you covered it up or lied. That\u2019s what I try to teach my kids. It\u2019s always the case that when somebody else finds out later, you get punished for lying and you lose the trust of the people that you have lied to. If my son lies to me, I\u2019ll never know if he\u2019s telling the truth or not in the future.<\/p>\n

Bonham: How can living a life of integrity strengthen your platform and your influence as a Christian golfer?<\/p>\n

Langer: Some people who don\u2019t believe, they might mock us and laugh at us. Other people who have the same mind set, they look up to us and maybe look at us as role models. It just depends on who you\u2019re involved with and who\u2019s talking about you and how they see it.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Read more from Bernhard Langer along with Webb Simpson, Stewart Cink, Ben Crane, Jonathan Byrd and several other PGA golfers on the subject of integrity in Chad Bonham\u2019s brand new book Life in the Fairway<\/a>. Others featured include Aaron Baddeley, Justin Leonard, Kevin Streelman, D.J. Brigman and St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright who wrote the foreword.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bernhard Langer is one of golf\u2019s true legendary figures. With two Masters titles, 85 professional wins and the 2004 Ryder Cup championship as the European team captain to his name, it\u2019s not difficult to understand why he was named to the World Golf Hall of Fame while still an active PGA golfer and four years…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":418,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[617,3,386,382,5],"tags":[101,920,94,815,80,814,816,1138,89,547,542,95,19,633,78,167],"class_list":["post-2952","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-release","category-christian-athletes","category-golf","category-qa","category-sports-features","tag-aaron-baddeley","tag-adam-wainwright","tag-ben-crane","tag-bernhard-langer","tag-champions-tour","tag-d-j-brigman","tag-jonathan-byrd","tag-justin-leonard","tag-kevin-streelman","tag-masters","tag-pga-tour","tag-ryder-cup","tag-st-louis-cardinals","tag-stewart-cink","tag-webb-simpson","tag-world-golf-hall-of-fame"],"yoast_head":"\nA conversation with two-time Masters champion Bernhard Langer - Inspiring Athletes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A conversation with two-time Masters champion Bernhard Langer - Inspiring Athletes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Bernhard Langer is one of golf\u2019s true legendary figures. With two Masters titles, 85 professional wins and the 2004 Ryder Cup championship as the European team captain to his name, it\u2019s not difficult to understand why he was named to the World Golf Hall of Fame while still an active PGA golfer and four years…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/2012\/08\/a-conversation-with-two-time-masters-champion-bernhard-langer.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Inspiring Athletes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-08-27T12:00:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2012-08-27T08:01:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/inspiringathletes\/files\/2012\/08\/ryder2004_7548-200x300.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Chad Bonham\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A conversation with two-time Masters champion Bernhard Langer - Inspiring Athletes","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"nofollow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A conversation with two-time Masters champion Bernhard Langer - Inspiring Athletes","og_description":"Bernhard Langer is one of golf\u2019s true legendary figures. With two Masters titles, 85 professional wins and the 2004 Ryder Cup championship as the European team captain to his name, it\u2019s not difficult to understand why he was named to the World Golf Hall of Fame while still an active PGA golfer and four years…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/2012\/08\/a-conversation-with-two-time-masters-champion-bernhard-langer.html","og_site_name":"Inspiring Athletes","article_published_time":"2012-08-27T12:00:35+00:00","article_modified_time":"2012-08-27T08:01:27+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/inspiringathletes\/files\/2012\/08\/ryder2004_7548-200x300.jpg"}],"author":"Chad Bonham","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/2012\/08\/a-conversation-with-two-time-masters-champion-bernhard-langer.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/2012\/08\/a-conversation-with-two-time-masters-champion-bernhard-langer.html","name":"A conversation with two-time Masters champion Bernhard Langer - Inspiring Athletes","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/2012\/08\/a-conversation-with-two-time-masters-champion-bernhard-langer.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/2012\/08\/a-conversation-with-two-time-masters-champion-bernhard-langer.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/inspiringathletes\/files\/2012\/08\/ryder2004_7548-200x300.jpg","datePublished":"2012-08-27T12:00:35+00:00","dateModified":"2012-08-27T08:01:27+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/#\/schema\/person\/95c3e9443bb9bfa81645d8daef1193c1"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/2012\/08\/a-conversation-with-two-time-masters-champion-bernhard-langer.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/2012\/08\/a-conversation-with-two-time-masters-champion-bernhard-langer.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/2012\/08\/a-conversation-with-two-time-masters-champion-bernhard-langer.html#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/inspiringathletes\/files\/2012\/08\/ryder2004_7548-200x300.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/inspiringathletes\/files\/2012\/08\/ryder2004_7548-200x300.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/2012\/08\/a-conversation-with-two-time-masters-champion-bernhard-langer.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"A conversation with two-time Masters champion Bernhard Langer"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/","name":"Inspiring Athletes","description":"Beliefnet Voices - Chad Bonham","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/#\/schema\/person\/95c3e9443bb9bfa81645d8daef1193c1","name":"Chad Bonham","description":"Chad has been working in mass media for over 20 years. Chad\u2019s professional journey began at the University of Tulsa where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (1993) while working extensively in athletic media relations and serving as a sports editor for The Collegian. Since then, he has written extensively for such publications as Relevant, CCM, Christian Retailing, New Man, Charisma, Today\u2019s Christian, Ministries Today, Breakaway, Brio, Sports Spectrum, Christian Single, Faith & Friends, Sharing the Victory and Gospel Today. He has authored, co-authored or ghost written and edited 13 books including Life in the Fairway (New Leaf Press), Glory of the Games (Cross Training), Wrestling with God (River Oak), Spiritual Journeys (Relevant) and the four-part Fellowship of Christian Athletes Core Value Series; Excellence, Teamwork, Serving and Integrity (Regal Books). Chad is currently working on five new books including Sooner Legacy, Husker Legacy and Lessons From Sooner Football (Cross Training) as well as The Faith of Stock Car Racing (Judson Press). When he's not writing, Chad lends his efforts to various independent television and film projects. He was the coordinating producer for Choosing Life (2010) and Life Happens (2011). Chad is currently serving as producer on a forthcoming documentary about Super Bowl champion Brian Kinchen. Chad and his wife Amy live in Broken Arrow, Okla., with sons Lance (September 2003), Cole (February 2008) and Quinn (February 2011).","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/author\/cbonham"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2952","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/418"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2952"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2952\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2956,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2952\/revisions\/2956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2952"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2952"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2952"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}