Bernhard Langer, at age 65, wins the US Senior Open to break the Champions’ victory record

STEVENS POINT, Wisconsin: Bernhard Langer won the US Senior Open on Sunday at SentryWorld to break the PGA Tour Champions’ career victory record. Pushing his record as the oldest winner on the 50-and-over tour to 65 years, 10 months, 5 days, the German star broke a tie with Hale Irwin for the victory mark with No. 46.

Seven strokes ahead on the back nine, Langer bogeyed the final three holes for 1-under 70 and a two-stroke victory over home-state favorite Steve Stricker on the tree-lined course with thick rough. Langer finished at 7-under 277, with only eight players breaking par for the week. He shattered the tournament age record set by Allen Doyle in 2006 at Prairie Dunes at 57 years, 11 months, 14 days.

Also the 2010 US Senior Open winner at Sahalee outside Seattle, Langer extended his record for senior major victories to 12. He won the Chubb Classic in Florida in February to tie Irwin. Stricker — from Madison, 100 miles to the south — birdied three of the last five holes for a 69.

He won the first two senior majors of the year and took his hometown Madison event three weeks ago for his fourth Champions victory of the season. Fellow Madison player Jerry Kelly was third at 4 under after a 71.PGA TOUR Rickie Fowler made a 12-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole in the Rocket Mortgage Classic, outlasting Collin Morikawa and Adam Hadwin two weeks after squandering a chance to win his first major at the US Open. The 34-year-old Fowler won his sixth PGA Tour title and first since the 2019 Phoenix Open.