On the Champions Tour, Lanny is going, Bernhard just keeps going

Each week, we ask our panel of writers, PGA members and golf industry experts to weigh in with their views on the hot topics of the day.

With his victory at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship on Sunday, Bernhard Langer has won 47 Champions Tour titles and recorded a win in 18 consecutive years – both records. At the age of 67, he doesn’t show any signs of slowing down and may in fact increase those totals in years to come. Other than by Langer himself, are either of those records likely to be broken?

Jim Deeks, Fairways Magazine (@jimdeeks): I sincerely don’t believe they will.  I’ve been saying for years (even here on the Round Table) that Bernhard Langer may be the third or fourth greatest player of all time, if you don’t count “just” major wins, or “just” PGA Tour victories.  But because his record has been so stretched out, and because he is very non-colourful, he tends to get overlooked in the GOAT discussions.  I can’t see anyone on the horizon who will come close to these two records.  Ever. And I don’t think he’s finished yet.

Craig Loughry, Golf Ontario (@craigloughry): Langer is nothing short of amazing. I don’t see those records being broken ever. I don’t see any forthcoming rookies lasting as long, they all have been swinging so hard, their bodies have broken down, they just won’t last. Langer’s longevity should be admired (it’s almost jaw dropping).

Michael Schurman, Master Professional / Hall of Fame Member, PGA of Canada:  Strangely, Langer is not looked upon as a stylish swinger and is rarely used as a model by teachers. What he does regarding his swing is ‘play’ golf. His swing is the result of the shot he is playing. A great number of people could benefit from trying to make a nice golf swing and spend more time making the ball go as they imagined. I would love to see him with 50 wins and 20 years. As far as someone breaking his records, never say never but some seem timeless. Jack’s 18 majors and 19 2nds, Byron Nelson’s 11 consecutive wins, DiMaggio’s hit streak, Cal Ripkin’s consecutive games, Chamberlain’s 100 points, Cy Young’s most games pitched…… I’m glad I saw Snead, Nicklaus, Woods and Langer. I wish I’d seen Hogan, but I didn’t. BTW I didn’t think anyone would beat Hale Irwin’s record.

TJ Rule, Golf Away Tours (@GolfAwayTJ): I mean it’s not as unlikely as someone beating Cy Young’s win mark or Glenn Hall’s consecutive games played as a goalie, but it’s a pretty tough one to see anyone approaching.  You would have to average 5 wins a year for 10 years, and how many guys remain that competitive into their 60s?  He’s a machine and doesn’t seem to be slowing down despite hitting it a lot shorter than the other youngsters on the Champions Tour.

Peter Mumford, Fairways Magazine (@FairwaysMag): Langer is amazing. He’s like the Energizer Bunny – he just keeps going and going. At his age he’s already giving up significant yardage to the junior geezers, but hopefully he can stickhandle his way to a few more wins. I don’t see anybody coming close to the consistency record – it requires way more commitment than most seniors would want to make after winning millions on the regular tour. The win total might be in jeopardy if someone like Tiger Woods with a cart really applied himself for five or six years, winning in bunches like he used to. However, Tiger may take the Nicklaus approach and say, “I beat all these guys before. I don’t have anything more to prove.”

Last week, Lanny Wadkins announced that this will be his last season calling PGA Tour Champions events. Part of the reason cited is NBC Golf Channel’s decision to call games from a studio in Ponte Vedra next year instead of onsite. Wadkins said he didn’t see himself at age 75 flying to Florida 15-20 times a year to watch golf in a box. What do you think of NBC Golf Channel’s plan, and will Lanny be missed on those Champions Tour broadcasts?

Deeks: I totally understand Golf Channel’s decision to call events from the studio (assuming they’ll have some ground coverage on-site), and I don’t think the average viewer will notice any difference.  As for Lanny Wadkins retiring, I won’t miss him at all.  I never thought he added any real insight, and far too often stated the duh obvious, like “Gerry will be really upset he missed that three-footer” or “Bob’s got a tough shot here, over the water and into a shallow green” or “I think either of the two leaders could win it all tomorrow, if they don’t get too distracted”.  Yeah, thanks, Lanny.

Loughry: I’ll miss Lanny, he’s better than most commentators they have on any Tour. I’m not sure why they even need a commentator to go to Ponte Vedra to make the call at an event elsewhere. They should just do it remote (so Lanny can do it from home on his couch drinking beer watching his big screen). Or just provide video and no commentating at all (mute), that’s how I watch Leaf games.

Schurman: Lanny has been OK but not at the top of my list. Going forward it will become increasingly more difficult to find announcers who played the tour because of the Champions Tour and the amount of money played for on the regular tour. There simply won’t be the same incentive. Having said that, I have always been surprised by who can actually do the job well. Nicklaus did it for a while and he was awful although I like his quick input during the Memorial. Lee Trevino and Gary Player are both good, but each is too old. There might be someone like Bob Ford who is a superb player and a Club Professional, but I don’t think he’d like the travel. Lanny will be easy to replace but not with a Johnny Miller, Ken Venturi, Peter Allis or Henry Longhurst. As crazy as it sounds, Bob Panasiuk did a good job but needed a bit of coaching.

Rule: I like Lanny Wadkins, he’s one of the likeable guys and does provide good insight.  And I understand his decision and hate NBC’s decision to move everyone indoors.  I feel all broadcasting takes a step back quality wise when they do it remotely, you can tell.  Not that I watch a ton of golf on TV anymore anyway, hopefully they’re still on the ground for the majors.

Mumford: Maybe they should just play golf in a box too. Oh, wait. That’s what the TGL is all about. I’m not a fan of remote broadcasting. As Lanny says, he gains a lot of insight when he has breakfast with the players or visits them on the range. Plus, the broadcast team can go out on the course and learn the nuances of the greens and where the rouble is. I don’t watch a lot of Champions Tour events, but Lanny is a competent guy in the booth with a folksy, comfortable demeanour. I think he’ll be missed.

A number of years ago, Golf Canada expanded the field for some national championships and increased the number of foreign entries. Subsequently, many top Americans came north to play and won some of those titles. Are you in favour of having “open” championships or should they be restricted to Canadians only?

Deeks: Golf’s an international game (yeah, thanks, Lanny), so I think it’s just fine if players from other countries play in “our” open events.  That said, it would be kinda nice if there were six “closed” events for Canadians only, for Junior Boys, Junior Girls, Men, Women, Senior Men, and Senior Women.

Loughry: I’m for it, it’s good for the event and creates a deeper talent field. I know we’re talking about the Canadian Am, but the US Am, and (British) Amateur Championship are International fields, as is the Australian Amateur. I like to think Canada should have its National Amateur on a more global stage rather than just domestic.

Schurman: This is always contentious particularly for national championships. Somehow, for me at the provincial level, I prefer Canadians only but in the Canadian Am I can yield to some international spots. The US Am has opportunity because Gary Cowan won it twice as does the British Am. Imagine how much pride Canada would proclaim if Bobby Jones, Jack Nicklaus or Tiger Woods had won our championship? Imagine if Sandy Sommerville beat Bobby Jones in a playoff. There has to be a certain preference for Canadians but let the champion say, “I beat the best in a national championship”.

Rule: Tough one.  I’ve played in one Canadian Amateur and it was won by an American. I don’t mind that, but there needs to be a quota of Canadians in the event in my opinion.  It is nice to get some bigger names winning our national championships, and if we are going to be a big player in the competitive golf world, we just need to catch up and compete against the best.  And that’s been happening the last number of years for sure.

Mumford: Most of the players capable of playing in a national championship are already well aware of how they stack up against international competition. There are plenty of junior, regular and senior open events all over the world. They don’t need our national championships as a test or a reminder. I’m an advocate of Closed championships at the Amateur level. I want to know who the best Canadian players are just like we all want to see who the best player is at our club. The Club Championship isn’t open to non-members. I don’t think our Canadian National Championships should be open to non-residents either.