Bernhard Langer impresses son, field with 70

Jason Langer, 16, said he has been attending the Mas­ters Tournament “all my life.”

That’s a perk when you are the son of 1985 and 1993 Masters champion Bernhard Langer, who impressed his son Saturday.

“I wasn’t alive when he played well here,” Jason Lang­er said. “I’m proud. It’s golf, and anything can happen.”

Langer, 58, fired six birdies in windy conditions Satur­day to finish with 2-under 70, good for a third-place tie heading into the final round.

Only one player, Smylie Kaufman (69), shot better than Langer on Saturday.

Langer’s 113th career round in his 33rd Masters leaves him two shots off the lead behind the 2015 champion, Jordan Spieth.

Though still a force on the PGA Tour Champions, Langer had missed the cut in seven of his past nine Masters. He did toss in a tie for eighth in 2014.

Asked what went well Saturday, Langer’s caddie, Terry Holt, replied, “Every­thing.”

Langer made three birdies on the front nine, shooting 1-under 35, then caught a streak with three birdies in a row on Nos. 13-15.

The highlight for Langer from the crowd was a standing ovation at No. 18 as he walked onto the green.

“There were a lot of emotions,” he said. “You get goose bumps. It’s just a wonderful atmosphere out there. When the people acknowledge what you have done, it’s pretty neat. …”

The highlight on the course for Langer arrived at No. 14 when he chipped in from just off the green.

Moments earlier, playing partner Jason Day made “what I would guess to be a 70-foot putt,” Langer said.

“Then I chipped in right on top of him, so we gave each other a high-five and a fist bump and kinds of stuff,” Langer said. “It’s just fun being out there and the crowd loved it.”

Langer is one of the more high-profile golfers forced to switch from anchoring a putter this year because of a rule that went into effect Jan. 1. He said he still doesn’t understand why the rule was changed because if it was so good, more golfers would have used the method.

Langer said he tried out 20 to 25 putters and several grips before settling on basically the same long putter and sweep method without the putter anchored to his chest.

His putting worked Saturday, with no three-putt greens and a total of 28 putts.

“I’ve been playing very good golf the last three days,” Langer said. “I hit the ball very well (Friday) but just didn’t make any putts. Today the shot-making kind of continued and I made a couple of putts. I played smart.”

Spieth said what Langer is doing is “incredible.”

“Doesn’t he win most every tournament on the Cham­pions Tour?” Spieth said. “He’s a force to be reckoned with. You can’t think of his age – he’s just another competitor tomorrow who is fully capable of winning this tournament.”

Langer was asked whether he could win today, becoming the oldest Masters winner by 12 years. Jack Nicklaus holds the record of 46 for his 1986 victory.

“I believe I can win,” Langer said.