Bernhard Langer: Rory McIlroy’s game ‘perfect’ to end the European drought at Augusta

Winning the Masters once seemed as easy as falling off a log for a golden generation of European players.

From Seve Ballesteros in 1980 through to José María Olazábal in 1999, six Europeans captured 11 green jackets in 20 years. Bernhard Langer (twice), Sandy Lyle, Nick Faldo (three times), and Ian Woosnam also triumphed in those golden years but while Europe has had great players since the turn of the century, we’re still waiting for that overdue Masters win.

With the exception of Luke Donald, whose strength was his putting, many believe that Europe’s best players of the past 10 to 15 years have been ball-strikers like Lee Westwood for Colin Montgomerie.