BernhardLanger

Bernhard Langer is a devout born-again Christian whose faith has been the central anchor of his life and legendary golf career. Though raised in a deeply religious Roman Catholic household in Germany and serving as an altar boy for years, Langer often separates being "religious" from having a genuine, personal relationship with God. Days after his 1985 victory, fellow golfer Bobby Clampett invited Langer to a PGA Tour Bible study led by chaplain Larry Moody. During the session, Moody spoke from John 3:3, emphasizing Jesus' message that a person must be "born again" to enter the Kingdom of God. Langer initially pushed back, believing that being a good person and keeping the commandments was enough to earn his way to heaven. However, after buying his own Bible and diving deeper into the text, he realized that salvation was a gift of grace through Jesus Christ, not something earned. A few months later, he and his wife, Vikki, fully committed their lives to Christ. The 1991 Ryder Cup: When Langer missed a critical, agonizing putt that cost Team Europe the Ryder Cup, the sports world blamed him. He credits his faith with keeping him grounded, famously stating, "Looking at it from a Christian point of view, there was only one perfect human being—the Lord Jesus Christ—and we killed him. I only missed a putt."