LANGER'S THUMB SURGERY ENDS HIS MASTERS' STREAK AT 27

By Doug Ferguson, Associated Press
Twice Masters champion Bernhard Langer has had surgery on his left thumb and will miss the next two months of the lucrative US Champions (Seniors) Tour.
It will also end the Florida-based German's streak of 27 consecutive appearances at Augusta National where he was the winner in 1985 and 1993.
Langer sustained the injury six months ago while riding his bike to the beach, and it never properly healed.
"Knowing that it wouldn't heal itself, I had to have surgery," Langer said Friday night after returning home from New York, where he had the ligaments in his thumb repaired. "It's not a good time for it, but you can't choose these things."
He said he still plans to attend the Champions Dinner at Augusta National on Tuesday night and be at the Masters for other obligations. Even so, he was disappointed to miss the Masters for the first time since 1983, calling it one of the highlights of his year.
Asked how he injured the thumb, Langer laughed and said, "Nothing sensational — you won't believe it."
He was riding to the beach in south Florida last autumn when he came to an intersection and, with the bike still moving, reached out to push the button on the traffic signal.
"I felt a sharp pain pushing the button," Langer said. "I played three more tournaments with pain, then had six weeks off. I figured that I sprained it, and in six weeks it should be gone. But when I started again, it wasn't gone."
An MRI didn't immediately reveal ligament damage, and Langer taped up his thumb and won the Ace Group Classic for his 14th title on the Champions Tour. After getting another opinion, the ligament damage was revealed.
Langer had the surgery Wednesday in New York. He will be in a splint for five weeks, and a full recovery is expected after about eight weeks. That puts the 53-year-old Langer scheduled to return about the time of the Senior PGA Championship.
Langer won two over-50s majors last year, the U.S. Senior Open and the Senior British Open. He was the Champions Tour player of the year.
"I was told not to rush back into competitive," Langer said. "Everybody wants to come back real quick, and that's one of the worst things to do."