LYTHAM ST. ANNES, England — Bernhard Langer beat Paul Broadhurst by two shots to win the Senior British Open on Sunday for his record-extending 11th senior major title.
Starting three shots off the overnight lead held by Broadhurst, the 61-year-old German fired a 4-under 66 to finish at 6-under 274 for his fourth Senior Open title, a tournament record.
“It’s always special to walk down 18 in a major, but especially over here,” Langer said. “The people are so knowledgeable about golf, and it’s tremendous how they even came out in these conditions and cheered us on in the rain.”
After heavy rain delayed the round by almost six hours, the two-time Masters champion opened with four birdies on the front nine and added two more on Nos. 13 and 14 at Royal Lytham & St. Annes to build a four-stroke lead. He completed the round with a couple of bogeys on the 15th and 17th.
“Now having won 11 senior majors, it means a great deal,” Langer said. “Nobody has won more than nine if I’m correct, not even the great Jack Nicklaus or Gary Player or Tom Watson who retired from this championship today. There’s a lot of great players who have played this game and have played majors, and I’ve been blessed to have won more than any of them.”
Broadhurst had a birdie and two bogeys to finish with a 71 to come second.
Retief Goosen of South Africa, the two-time U.S. Open champion who won the Senior Players Championship earlier this month for his first over-50 title, closed with a 66 to tie for third with American Tim Petrovic (68) with a 3-under 277.
In his last appearance at the tournament, three-time champion Tom Watson (73) finished tied for 64th at 9-over 289. On Saturday, the 69-year-old American announced he wouldn’t be playing at the event again. In his 18 appearances, he never missed the cut.
“There will be other people who will take the reins and they will do what I did,” Watson said. “Life is full of passages, and I’ve passed through my career here, starting in 1975 to here in 2019. It’s amazing.”
After a final round that included two eagles, two birdies and three bogeys, defending champion Miguel Angel Jimenez closed with a 67 to post an even-par 280.
The Spaniard tied for 10th with five others, including Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland, the 2011 British Open champion, who had an eagle, a double-bogey and a bogey for a 71.
Only nine players completed the tournament under par at the tough links course with 169 bunkers while facing rainy conditions.