Golf / 57th US Masters: Cool Langer extends European mastery: German fends off his American challengers on the final day at Augusta to win by four strokes and take his second Green Jacket

BERNHARD LANGER, who has been remembered as a golfer for winning the Masters in 1985 and losing the Ryder Cup in 1991, won his second Green Jacket here yesterday. He had the 57th Masters at his mercy as he took a four-stroke lead into the fourth and final round and although that advantage was threatened the 35-year- old German was impressively defiant.

Several Americans made a move, including Dan Forsman and Chip Beck, but they could not dislodge Langer, who raised his game when he had to and over the treacherous back nine holes, where so many reputations have been ruined, he again distanced himself from the field and won by four strokes from Beck. Forsman moved to within a stroke of the leader at the turn but a quadruple-bogey seven at the 12th, where he twice went into the water, did untold damage. Langer, who was playing the 11th, watched Forsman's self-destruction and then proceeded to play Amen Corner in exemplary fashion.

Langer nearly chipped in for the second day running at the 11th and then made a vital downhill putt of six feet to save par at the 12th. At that point his closest challenger was Beck, the American who defeated Langer in the Ryder Cup singles at The Belfry in 1989. They were paired together here for the third and fourth rounds. When Beck, who was two strokes adrift at the turn - Langer went out in a level-par 36 to Beck's 34 - hit the 13th green in two to set up an eagle chance, Langer hit a magnificent iron even closer to the flag. Beck made a birdie four there and Langer holed from 15 feet for an eagle three. It put him at 11 under par and stretched his lead to three strokes. It became four when he chipped to six feet at the 15th and made the putt for a birdie four.

He came home in 34 for a round of 70 to finish at 11 under par and Fred Couples, who won here 12 months ago, helped Langer into the Green Jacket in the clubhouse. In one of the pockets last night nestled a cheque for dollars 306,000 and that made Langer the leading money-winner on the US Tour this season in only his third tournament. It was the eighth European victory in the last 14 Masters.

Virtually everything was in Langer's favour. Conditions were ideal and Nick Faldo, unaccustomed as he was to making an early start as a back marker, had the kind of round he needed earlier in the week.

Faldo, twice a Masters winner, shot 67 and he left Magnolia Drive a far happier man than he had been on Saturday when he scored 79. Faldo had seven birdies and two bogeys. 'Today I remembered that I could play Augusta National,' Faldo said.

He had had no confidence in his putting until yesterday and will work on that aspect of his game for the next three weeks. His next tournament will be the Benson and Hedges International at St Mellion in Cornwall at the beginning of May. He had been at sixes and sevens over Amen Corner, the 11th, 12th and 13th holes, in the earlier rounds but yesterday, when the pressure was off, he looked like the player who won here in 1989 and 1990.

Faldo had a double-bogey six at the 11th in the third round which was an improvement on his quadruple-bogey seven at the 12th in the second. Yesterday he was not ambushed by Amen Corner. He holed a huge putt at the 11th for a birdie three and safely negotiated the 12th and 13th. Faldo promptly left the course for a helicopter journey to Atlanta and a flight to London. 'I'll be rooting for Langer,' he said.

Langer's lead was reduced at the first hole where he left his approach shot short of the green and chipped about 15 feet past the flag. He missed that to take a bogey five but went back to nine under par for the tournament with a birdie at the par-five second hole. Then he put together 10 successive pars before his eagle at 13 demoralised his closest challengers.

Even though he won here eight years ago Langer had never led the Masters in previous tournaments after 18, 36 or 54 holes. As he stretched his lead on Saturday afternoon the American posse who were after him all failed to get close.

In 1985 Curtis Strange led by three shots with six holes to play and then recorded a series of bogeys. Langer won with a final round of 68 for a total of 282, six under par. That year the German, who is a leading light on the European Tour bible study class, visited a local church on Sunday morning before the final round. The door was locked and he returned to his rented house to pray in privacy. Yesterday morning, on Easter Sunday, he attended another church. 'I'm especially pleased to have won on Easter Sunday when the Lord is resurrected,' he said after his victory.

Although he is an outstanding striker of the ball the principal reason why Langer has not won more than one major championship has been a shocking fallibility on the green. In 1976, 1982 and 1988 he was afflicted with the 'yips'. It is more a mental than a physical problem and the brain refuses to communicate with the hands. In the Open Championship at Royal Lytham in 1988 he took five putts at the 71st hole. After that experience he experimented with his grip and now uses a bizarre, but effective, putting method in which he firmly grasps his left wrist with his right hand, the putter clamped between.

FINAL SCORES FROM AUGUSTA

(US unless stated)

277

B Langer (Ger) 68 70 69 70

281

C Beck 72 67 72 70

283

T Lehman 67 75 73 68

J Daly 70 71 73 69

S Elkington (Aus) 71 70 71 71

L Wadkins 69 72 71 71

284

J M Olazabal (Sp) 70 72 74 68

D Forsman 69 69 73 73

285

P Stewart 74 70 72 69

B Faxon 71 70 72 72

286

A Forsbrand (Swe) 71 74 75 66

S Ballesteros (Sp) 74 70 71 71

C Pavin 67 75 73 71

S Simpson 72 71 71 72

R Floyd 68 71 74 73

F Zoeller 75 67 71 73

287

I Woosnam (GB) 71 74 73 69

M Calcavecchia 71 70 74 72

H Twitty 70 71 73 73

J Sluman 71 72 71 73

288

M O'Meara 75 69 73 71

F Couples 72 70 74 72

L Mize 67 74 74 73

A Lyle (GB) 73 71 71 73

J Maggert 70 67 75 76

R Cochran 70 69 73 76

289

J Nicklaus 67 75 76 71

H Irwin 74 69 74 72

J Sindelar 72 69 76 72

N Henke 76 69 71 73

A Magee 75 69 70 76

G Norman (Aus) 74 68 71 77

290

B Lietzke 74 71 71 74

291

G Sauers 74 71 75 71

B Gilder 69 76 75 71

P Mickelson 72 71 75 73

C Stadler 73 74 69 75

292

J Haas 70 73 75 74

293

N Faldo (GB) 71 76 79 67

T Schulz 69 76 76 72

D Waldorf 72 75 73 73

K Clearwater 74 70 75 74

J Cook 76 67 75 75

L Janzen 67 73 76 77

294

M Ozaki (Japan) 75 71 77 71

N Ozaki (Japan) 74 70 78 72

T Watson 71 75 73 75

J D Blake 71 74 73 76

C Parry (Aus) 69 72 75 78

295

G Morgan 72 74 72 77

B Ogle (Aus) 70 74 71 80

296

D Peoples 71 73 78 74

C Montgomerie (GB) 71 72 78 75

298

D Edwards 73 73 76 76

D Love 73 72 76 77

I Baker-Finch (Aus) 73 72 73 80

299

G Hallberg 72 74 78 75

C Coody 74 72 75 78

301

J Huston 68 74 84 75

302

G Player (SA) 71 76 75 80

303

B Andrade 73 74 80 76