Bernhard Langer enjoyed an ‘amazing day’ as he got his farewell to the DP World Tour underway at the BMW International Open.
The German, who has won 42 DP World Tour titles, is teeing it up for the final time on Golf’s Global Tour, 50 years on from his debut in 1974.
The 66-year-old parred his first ten holes from the tenth before he bounced back from a bogey at the par-three second with back-to-back birdies at the fourth and fifth to finish with a one-under-par 71.
“The atmosphere was unbelievable," said Langer
"I teed off at 7:40 so I got to tee off at 7:30 in the morning and it seemed like there were thousands of people and the atmosphere was incredible the whole way around. That was just amazing, and we truly enjoyed it.
“It was great to play with Marcel (Siem) and with Martin (Kaymer) and you know, I said this could be the last time we ever play golf together and that's reality. So, it was an amazing day."
Former Dubai Desert Classic champion, Thomas Bjørn, who is also playing this week, credited the two-time Masters Tournament winner for reaching untapped demographics as he paid a glowing tribute to the European great.
“My view on Bernhard is that as a northern European, when you look at the game of golf and historically where the game of golf has been, Great Britain & Ireland and Spain were the leading parts of European golf,” said Bjørn.
"Here was this guy who wasn’t from there and represented a different (geographical) demographic in golf and he gave a lot of hope to a lot of players from other countries, and he was a trailblazer for being the best in the world from not where you would expect golfers to come from at that time.
"Bernhard moved mountains for golfers around the world."
David Micheluzzi leads the way in Germany after opening with a six under par 66, with Ewen Ferguson, Casey Jarvis, Frank Kennedy and Patrick Reed one shot behind in second.
