Injuries are an inevitable part of any sport. For instance, despite pushing it for a year, Jordan Spieth injured his wrist and had to undergo surgery in the 2024 season to get back to his form. Something similar happened with Bernhard Langer. For the first time in his life, the German pro tore his Achilles tendon.

via Imago

During one of his pickleball games with a friend, Langer jumped to hit the ball, but as he landed, he fell to the ground and heard a loud noise. It was understood that his Achilles tendon had torn. The 42-time DP World Tour winner underwent surgery, and miraculously, he returned to golf just after two months. On top of that, Langer has recovered so much that he won the Charles Schwab Cup Championship for the first time in his senior tour career.

After his record-breaking 47th victory on the PGA Tour Champions, Langer was asked at the press conference if his Achilles bothered him during the play. The 67-year-old pro explained, “No, the Achilles doesn’t really bother me unless I have uneven lies, then I can feel the imbalance.” Furthermore, he added that his left calf is half the size of the right one, and he can’t really walk or jump after his surgery.

USA Today via Reuters

And although he is not in a lot of pain all the time, the German pro said that the left leg “is just not totally right” after the brutal injury. Who could understand Langer’s pain better than Tiger Woods? The man has undergone at least a dozen surgeries in his career, which is shorter than Langer. But his pain is surely more than what the 3-time major winner feels.

Tiger Woods had a similar complaint as Bernhard Langer

Tiger Woods’s accident in February 2021 was life-threatening, to say the least. It was fortunate that the 48-year-old made so much recovery, but it was more brutal than just tearing the Achilles tendon while playing pickleball. For Woods, his right leg was damaged, and many procedures have been done so far for him to stand back and play golf. Coupled with his six back surgeries, waking up at any event makes it harder for Woods.

Thus, when he was gearing up for the 88th Masters, the 15-time major champion revealed that he still believed that he could win another major if his body pulled through. However, when he was asked about the uneven lies of Augusta National, Woods said, “Every shot that’s not on a tee box is a bit of a challenge. I ache every day.” Undoubtedly, the pain Bernhard Langer and Woods feel is kind of similar.

The difference is that despite it, Langer was able to win the Charles Schwab Cup Championship; on the other hand, the 82-time PGA Tour winner has been struggling to make the cut. But, who knows, the 2025 season may give rise to a new Woods. Just as Langer has overcome the pain, the 48-year-old may recover as well with the recent back surgery he had in September and make a comeback soon on the greens.