Bernhard Langer Learns From Aaron Rodgers, Returns To Golf 3 Months After Achilles Tear
Bernhard Langer will hit the links at the PGA Tour Champions Insperity Invitational this weekend. And he might just have Aaron Rodgers to thank.
Langer ruptured his Achilles tendon while playing pickleball in February. Just 20 hours after the injury, the 66-year-old golfer underwent the same "SpeedBridge" procedure that Rodgers did when he tore his Achilles in September. And, like Rodgers, Langer is all healed just three short months later.
While they didn't go to the same doctor, Langer said the future Hall of Fame quarterback served as his "inspiration" to undergo the procedure.
"I am a football fan. I follow it, and I was aware of Aaron’s injury," Langer told The New York Post. "I would have liked to talk to him, but it wasn’t that simple. I was in a hurry. I was told it’s better to do surgery quickly and not wait two or three weeks."
Aaron Rodgers and Bernhard Langer both returned to their respective sports just three months after surgery to repair an Achilles tendon.
(Getty Images & USA TODAY Sports)
Luckily, the two athletes have a mutual friend in two-time U.S. Open winner and ESPN golf analyst Andy North. So they exchanged phone numbers and bonded over their Achilles recovery.
"I was able to talk to Aaron about it two weeks ago," Langer said. "We talked for almost an hour. He loves golf. I told him I follow him and football, and he said he follows me, too. We talked about the rehab and doing certain exercises and what he went through and what I’m going through."
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Langer said Rodgers’ speedy recovery "lifted my spirits, hearing he was back on the field throwing the ball after eight or nine weeks. That encouraged me that I may do something similar."
So while both men healed remarkably quickly, Langer acknowledged one significant difference in their returns.
"I’m not going to get tackled by a 300-pound guy," he joked.
This weekend will mark Langer's 342nd start on the senior circuit. He’s the only player in history to have won all five senior major titles, and last year he broke Hale Irwin’s record with his 46th title at the U.S. Senior Open. The Insperity Invitational was set to tee off Friday morning. But thanks to heavy rain in The Woodlands, Texas, the start time was postponed until Saturday.