Golf: Too many demands for Langer: Masters champion seeks red jacket to add to green with back-to-back wins

EIGHT years ago Bernhard Langer was in an almost identical situation. Days after slipping on the Green Jacket, he was concentrating on how he could get his arms into the sleeves of the red plaid jacket given to the winner of the MCI Heritage Classic.

Just making the cut in a regular tournament the week after winning a major is an understandably difficult task for many players, and very few have been able to win back-to-back. Hale Irwin did it most recently in 1990, Gary Player immediately won twice more after winning the Masters in 1978, and Langer won here the week after Augusta in 1985.

'There have been a lot of demands this week, and so my preparations for this tournament have not been ideal,' Langer said. 'I think there are more demands this time, or maybe I'm just taking more time to deal with them. I could easily spend eight hours a day just on the phone.'

Harbour Town Golf Links, the venue this week, could not be more dissimilar to Augusta National. Augusta is hilly, with wide fairways and large greens. Harbour Town is narrow and tight, with the smallest greens on the Tour. Like Augusta the course produces high-quality champions: the defender is Davis Love III, and recent winners include Langer, Nick Faldo, Payne Stewart, Greg Norman, Fuzzy Zoeller and Tom Watson.

Asked whether winning the Masters improved or worsened his chances of winning the Heritage, Langer replied: 'Very much improved, because my confidence is very high. Certainly a lot better than if I'd missed the cut last week. Although the courses are total opposites, I like them both equally. They are both in my top 10 in the world.'