When Tiger Woods burst onto the scene, he proved that it was possible for youth to trump experience.
While there are times when players are said to be past it, there are occasions when even the old timers prove that experience is vital for success, especially at a difficult course like Augusta. Here we look at the oldest players to have won the US Masters.
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Ben Crenshaw
Ben Crenshaw kicks off our list, winning the tournament at the ripe old age of 43 years, 2 months and 30 days. His victory in 1995 was his second Masters title and certainly looked unlikely after the first round.
He couldn’t finish the first round in the top ten, but he raised his game to finish round two in tied fourth position, just two points behind the leader Jay Haas.
Brian Henninger became Crenshaw’s rival for glory after they ended round three tied in first position. As Henninger capitulated in the final round, the trophy was there for the taking. Crenshaw saw off a late charge from Davis Love III to claim his second Masters title and prove that experience can help keep your cool under pressure.
Tiger Woods
It’s hardly a surprise that Tiger Woods has made an appearance in this list. He’s the second most successful player in the tournament’s history, having won it on five occasions.
He will also be the defending champion at this year’s tournament having won the 2019 US Masters at the age of 43 years, 3 months and 15 days. In winning this title, he was over twice the age he was when he won his first title back in 1997.
Tiger didn’t really look like he was going to make an impact at the tournament until the second round, when he scored 68 to leave him tied sixth position, only one shot behind the five joint leaders.
While many of the contenders fell away in round three, Woods held his nerve to sit tied in second with fellow American Tony Finau, two shots behind Italian Francesco Molinari.
The final round separated Woods from the rest, as he finished as the winner, despite late charges from American trio Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Xander Schauffele.
If Woods can continue playing for another few years and win more Masters titles, then he could very well eclipse the final entry.
Jack Nicklaus
He is the most successful person to have ever participated at the US Masters, so it will hardly come as a surprise that he also holds the record for being the oldest player to have won it.
Six times Nicklaus has won the tournament, but the last time was in 1986, when he was 46 years and two months old. He was almost three years older than previous entry Tiger Woods when he won his most recent title.
His victory in 1986 was surprising to say the least. He spent the first two rounds outside of the top ten before managing to climb into tied ninth position, some four points behind the leader Greg Norman. An incredible score of 65 in the final round saw Nicklaus surpass the rest of the field to finish as the winner, one shot ahead of Norman and Tom Kite to cap off an incredible victory.