Dustin Johnson emerges from a pack to lead PGA Championship

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The Overview SAN ANTONIO — He’s 19 years old, still wears braces, and hopes to achieve something nobody in his country has ever managed — make a significant impact on the PGA TOUR. Say hello to Chile’s Joaquin Niemann, who’s making his professional debut at this week’s Valero Texas Open. Niemann has been the world’s top-ranked amateur player since last May. He made his final amateur start two weeks ago at the Masters, having qualified by winning the Latin America Amateur Championship in January. He also had invites to the U.S. Open and Open Championship via his amateur standing, but relinquished those opportunities after turning pro following his missed cut at Augusta National. He will now concentrate on earning TOUR membership, hoping to take advantage of a series of sponsor’s exemptions starting this week at TPC San Antonio. He also has sponsor’s invites to the Wells Fargo Championship, the AT&T Byron Nelson and the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide and will try to Monday qualify at other TOUR stops. In addition, he wants to compete in Web.com Tour events, and also hopes to regain those invites to the U.S. and Open championships via sectional qualifying. So, a lot of things going on — he also announced endorsement deals this week with Ping and Adidas — as he takes the biggest step of his young career. Is he nervous? “When I was an amateur, I thought I was going to feel nervous because of being pro,â€� Niemann said. “But I think it’s just the same. You just hit the ball and try to enjoy the round. I feel really good for this week and I think I’m prepared.â€� Niemann is hoping to break through as the first golfer from Chile to win on the PGA TOUR. Success on other pro tours has been sporadic for his countrymen — no surprise given that golf had been limited to private clubs until the first public course opened four years ago. Felipe Aguilar is perhaps the most successful Chilean golfer, having won twice on the European Tour and representing his country at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Benjamin Alvarado won a Web.com Tour event in 2013, and Hugo Leon is a two-time winner on PGA TOUR Canada. Bigger things are expected from Niemann, who is getting much-appreciated advice from Sergio Garcia. The two played nine holes during a practice round Tuesday, and Garcia seems to be taking Niemann under his wing. Like Niemann, Garcia was once the world’s top amateur. “He’s starting from scratch,â€� Garcia said. “Everything he’s done as an amateur, just like it happened to me, it’s great but it doesn’t count anymore. So he’s got to go out there and hopefully not put too much pressure on himself. Enjoy the week, learn every week. “Hopefully he gets off to a good start and things kind of go straight up — but if not, he’s got to be patient and kind of find his way out here.â€� The way begins Thursday. Three players to ponder Sergio Garcia He was a player-consultant when the AT&T Oaks course was designed, but he hasn’t played here since 2010. Kevin Chappell Posted his first TOUR win here last year, and then ended the season at the Presidents Cup, where he partnered with … Charley Hoffman The 2015 Valero champ loves him some TPC San Antonio. He’s finished in the top 15 in 10 of his 12 previous starts. The Flyover The closing hole at TPC San Antonio allows for a dramatic finish. The 591-yard par-5 18th was the third easiest hole on the course last year, playing to a stroke average of 4.855. Players must navigate the creek that bisects the fairway, as well as bunkers on the right. Here’s a closer look at the 18th. The Landing Zone The 481-yard par-4 fourth not only is the most difficult hole at TPC San Antonio, it’s one of the most difficult on TOUR. Of the 538 par 4s played in the 2016-17 season, it ranked 18th with a stroke average of 4.331. The biggest challenge off the tee is successfully navigating the narrow fairway. Here’s a look at where all tee shots landed last year. Weather check From PGA TOUR meteorologist Wade Stettner: “Partly cloudy skies are forecast on Thursday with a high in the upper 70s and east/northeast winds at 15-25 mph. Cloudy skies are expected on Friday with a slight chance for scattered showers. A cold front will move across central Texas on Saturday with scattered showers and thunderstorms possible along and ahead of the front. This front will exit the state on Sunday with mostly sunny skies returning and gusty north winds developing behind the front.â€� For the latest weather news from San Antonio, check out PGATOUR.COM’s Weather Hub. Sound Check “The most important shot in the wind is hit it solid so the wind doesn’t affect it. It’s when you start hitting it unsolid in the wind when it’s hard. … That’s this golf course. It gives you plenty of room out there but if you start hitting it unsolid, you can find the native area very quickly.â€� – Charley Hoffman on TPC San Antonio By the numbers 4 — International winners of the Valero Texas Open since 1970 — Australians Adam Scott and Steven Bowditch and Scotland’s Martin Laird (all at TPC San Antonio) and Zimbabwe’s Nick Price (who defeated Australian Steve Elkington in a playoff in 1992 at Oak Hills) 205 — Current streak of holes played by Beau Hossler without a three-putt. That’s the longest active streak on the PGA TOUR. Jimmy Walker is second at 183. 63 — Course record at the AT&T Oaks course, shared by Matt Every (2012, Round 1) and Martin Laird (2013, Round 4). Scattershots Adam Scott won the Valero Texas Open in 2010 when the Oaks course made its debut as the tournament venue. He finished T-23 in his title defense in 2011, which is the last time he’s played this event until this week. Scott is the only TOUR pro to accomplish the Texas Slam (wins in Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio). The 474-yard par-4 ninth is the only hole that doesn’t have a bunker. But it does have a deep, narrow, back-to-front sloping ground in which the ball gains speed if it’s aimed toward downtown San Antonio. Debuting in 1922, the Valero Texas Open is the third-oldest non-major on the PGA TOUR behind the BMW Championship (1899) and RBC Canadian Open (1904). With those tournaments held in various cities in their history, the Valero is the longest-running event held in the same city, albeit at eight different courses.

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For years Bernhard Langer held a bible study every Monday night with six or seven guys from around his neighborhood in Boca Raton, Florida. It didn’t matter what far-flung destination from which he was coming back to his home after a tournament on PGA TOUR Champions — even a victory — Langer would be there, on time, ready to go. They’d study hard for an hour; Langer, 64, is serious about his Christian faith and very organized when it comes to interpreting Bible passages with his group. There were study guides and homework and spirited discussion. Then it would be time to unwind with some ping-pong. “Unwind” might be a misnomer. Langer is almost as serious at the ping-pong table as he is standing over an 8-footer to win a golf tournament. “There would be six or seven of us guys, and we’d all play at once,” said Rod Rice, 54, a neighbor and medical equipment salesman who befriended Langer about 15 years ago when lending him a laser to help with a wrist injury. Within weeks Langer had invited Rice to join his Bible study group. “Literally we’d all be around the table in a circle, and you hit a shot then started around the circle until someone missed and was eliminated. When it starts with seven or eight of us, it’s not so bad. But when you get down to three or four you’re really running around that table. “You kept going around until there were only two guys left standing. Almost always one of them was Bernhard.” Langer didn’t miss his calling in golf, obviously. But whether it’s ping-pong, skiing, cards, or tiddlywinks, if it’s a game in which there is a winner then Langer is going to try to be it. It’s just his nature. Most high-level athletes are highly competitive; Langer is one of that handful whose competitiveness regularly scales Everest. It’s why, at an age when most golfers are barely hanging around on PGA TOUR Champions, he is on the verge of winning his sixth Charles Schwab Cup. He won the Dominion Energy Charity Classic, the first tournament of the three-event playoff, becoming the oldest player to win on the Champions Tour and pushing his Schwab Cup lead to more than 500,000 points over Jim Furyk. The part of Langer that most people didn’t know about until his recent forays into social media, though, is that he’s genuinely funny. The stoic German machine of the 1980s and 1990s has given way to the jovial grandpa who recently went undercover as a bumbling groundskeeper at the Constellation Furyk & Friends tournament in Jacksonville, Florida. Actually, that’s not fair to say. It hasn’t given way. His fellow pros will tell you it was always there, Langer just never put it on display publically. “I’ve known Bernhard forever, and he’s always been funny,” said Mark Calcavecchia, 61, who has had many an on-course duel with Langer over the past 30-plus years. “We used to stay together at (IMG founder) Mark McCormack’s house when we’d play Bay Hill in the early 1990s, and he was funny then. “Look, he’s all business on the course. But away from the course he has a great personality. You’ve seen his workout videos where he jumps in his pool? He’s a very funny man. And you don’t have to be uptight with him. He doesn’t swear, but when we’re all in the fitness trailer getting stretched you’ll hear some ‘F-bombs’ fly, and it doesn’t bother him. He shrugs it off. He’s just one of the coolest guys out there.” Shecky Langer. Who would have believed it? “It’s been great to see him engage more on social media,” said Jason Langer, 21, his youngest child. “I think it allows the public to get a glimpse of the more relaxed, fun side of him that presents a sharp contrast to his stoic, machine-like appearance while competing. “I thought the undercover greenskeeper pranks he did a few weeks ago at the Furyk & Friends event were fantastic.” “He has always been funny and personable, it’s just that most people see him when he is at work,” daughter Christina De Jong, 28, said. “When he is at work he is the most focused individual you will ever meet. I do think he has dropped his guard a little and let more people in. I love hearing people say that they didn’t know he was funny because he always has been, you just have to get to know him.” Neighbor Jeff Shavitz met Langer at the golf club in which they’re both members about 15 years ago after Langer had put on a clinic at the club. “He shared golf stories, performed trick shots, etc. and I said hello and thank you for the clinic,” said Shavitz, 55, the CEO of ToolBox Payment and co-owner of clickitgolf.com. “And then for some reason I said in a joking fashion, ‘I would like to play you in a sport to see who is a better athlete; however, it cannot be golf because I’m assuming you are better than me.’ His quick response was, ‘OK, how about ping-pong later this afternoon and come over to my house as I have a table set up.’ “I was in shock. Did a two-time Masters champion just invite me to his home? I don’t even know him. What do I wear for my blind ping pong date? … He seems so serious watching him on tv and he approached the ping-pong with the same intensity and desire to win. Shavitz got waxed at the ping-pong table. But it was the start of a friendship that has gone on for more than 15 years now. “We have become incredibly close friends, play a lot of ping-pong together,” Shavitz said. “Years into our ping-pong matches, I bought him a $5 dollar plastic ping-pong trophy as a gag gift. We now play our matches and the winner takes home the trophy similar to the Ryder Cup trophy, and only slightly less prestigious.” Jason Langer can verify that his father is both very good and very competitive about ping-pong. “We played often when I was growing up and it took me until around age 16 to beat him,” said Jason, who teamed with his dad to win the PNC Championship in 2014 and ’19. “He and I are pretty even in ping-pong skill these days, so the game always makes for some excitement when I’m home. I’d love to see my dad play against Matt Kuchar as Kuch’s talent has been rumored.” Rice said he simply doesn’t have the talent to match Bernhard at the ping-pong table but has on occasion one-upped his friend on the putting green. “If you do win $5 off him he won’t sign it,” Rice said. “I said, ‘Bernhard, will you sign that $5?’ and he says, ‘Absolutely not. If I do that you’ll hang it by your front door and every time I walk in I’m gonna have to see it.’” Somehow, Langer balances being the best golfer on the planet over the age of 50 with family and his growing following on social media (plus 25K). His children (Jackie, 35; Stefan, 31; Christina and Jason) adore him. Both of the girls and Stefan are married; each has had their first child since the start of 2020. “His name is Opa, which is Grandpa in German,” De Jong said. “Dad has always been great with kids. If there were kids around he was on the floor playing with them. Even now that is how he is. He is down on the floor with his two grandsons and granddaughter playing at their level. There is a sparkle in his eye when he talks about them or is with them. It’s the sweetest thing.” “I think I’m most proud of him for a combination of his character and dedication to his family,” Jason Langer said. “He is the ultimate sportsman who embodies values of integrity, respect and grit. And while competing requires him to travel often, he always made an effort to spend time with me and the rest of my family, which was incredibly meaningful growing up.”

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