Bernhard Langer has bid farewell to the European tour on home soil in Germany 50 years after the two-time Masters champion made his debut.
Langer, 66, missed the cut at the BMW International Open in Munich on Friday but said he will cherish the "wonderful memories" he's made.
"It's hard to put into words. It's kind of been a dream come true for me, growing up in a village of 800 people where nobody knew what golf was," Langer said. "When I told my classmates I'm going to go play golf, they thought I was crazy. I was able to live that dream for 50 years."
Langer made his European tour debut in 1974 and played more than 500 events, claiming 42 wins, second only to the late Seve Ballesteros of Spain.
He shot a 1-over 73 in the second round to finish three below the cut line in his final appearance on the tour.
Early this year, Langer tore an Achilles tendon while exercising and had surgery. He had planned to play the Masters one last time. It's possible he could still return in 2025 for an Augusta farewell.
"I was able to travel the world, meet with kings and queens, and play golf with all sorts of people, whether they're successful businessmen or just the average butcher or bricklayer or whatever," Langer said.
Langer continues to play on the PGA Tour Champions circuit and has won 12 majors, most recently the 2023 U.S. Senior Open. He attempted a U.S. Senior Open title defense last month and made the cut before tying for 42nd.
He has 123 overall career titles, including at the 1985 and 1993 Masters. Langer also amassed a 21-15-6 Ryder Cup record and captained Europe to the 2004 championship at Oakland Hills in Michigan.
Thomas Bjorn, a former Ryder Cup teammate, said Langer will be missed on the DP World Tour.
"You will never meet a truer gentleman in the game than Bernhard Langer," Bjorn said, according to the tour's website. "He is an honor to be around and a pleasure to be around. ... I played a lot of tournament golf with him, but I also played a lot of practice golf with him, and he always made me feel welcome into his world."
The Associated Press and Field Level Media contributed to this report.