Phil Mickelson of San Diego, California, is now a six-time major champion. On Sunday, at the age of 50, he made golfing history by becoming the oldest player ever to win a major title. The Arizona State product was one-over-par in the fourth round of the 2021 PGA Championship, but it was good enough for a four-round score of -6, where he beat American Brooks Koepka and South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen by two strokes. Mickelson’s most significant round this past weekend at Kiawah Island in South Carolina was on Friday, when he shot a three-under-par 69, and moved from a tie for eighth place to a tie for first with Oosthuizen.
Let’s now take a look at the next four oldest golfers who have won a major title.
Julius Boros–The native of Fairfield, Connecticut was 48 years old when he won the 1968 PGA Championship in San Antonio, Texas. Boros won his third major title even though he was over par each time. At the 1968 PGA Championship, Boros beat New Zealand’s Bob Charles and the great American golfer Arnold Palmer by a single stroke.
Tom Morris–The native of St. Andrews, Scotland is the oldest golfer to win the British Open at age 46 in 1867. There he beat Willie Park Sr. of Scotland by two strokes to win his fourth British Open of his career.
Jack Nicklaus–At the 1986 Masters in Augusta, Jack Nicklaus of Columbus, Ohio, otherwise known as The Golden Bear, defeated Tom Kite of the United States and Greg Norman of Australia by a single stroke in shooting a score of -9. Nicklaus became the oldest Masters champion at age 46, and won his 18th major title, a men’s golf record.
Jerry Barber–At the 1961 PGA Championship, Jerry Barber of Glendale, California became the oldest first-time major champion at age 45. At Olympia Fields, a suburb of Chicago, Barber defeated fellow American Don January in a playoff.
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