Golf’s Golden Oldies: Davis Love III becomes third oldest US PGA Tour winner

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Fifty-one-year-old Davis Love III created a slice of golfing history when becoming the third oldest player to win a US PGA Tour event last night when he captured the Wyndham Championship in North Carolina.

America’s 2016 Ryder Cup captain showed the youngsters he can still play a bit himself by outscoring a strong field which included early frontrunner Tiger Woods who eventually had to settle for tied 10th.

However, Love is three months younger than Art Wall when he won the 1975 Greater Milwaukee Open and it was over half a century ago that golf’s ultimate golden oldie Slammin’ Sam Snead claimed his eighth Greater Greensboro Open at the ripe old age of 52 years, 10 months and 8 days old!

The other PGA Tour over-50s winners are:
Jim Barnes –  51 years, 3 months, 7 days, 1937 Long Island Open
John Barnum – 51 years, 1 month, 5 days, 1962 Cajun Classic
Fred Funk – 50 years, 8 months, 12 days, 2007 Mayakoba Golf Classic
Craig Stadler – 50 years, 1 month, 18 days, 2003 B.C. Open

Snead’s other golden oldie records: He is the oldest to make a tour cut: 67 years, 2 months, 21 days at the 1979 Manufacturers Hanover Westchester Classic. He is also the oldest to finish in the top 10 in a PGA Tour event (63-3-4, 1975 B.C. Open), oldest to make the cut in a major (67-2-7, 1979 PGA) and oldest to finish in the top 10 in a major (62-2-15, 1974 PGA). 

Other significant senior moments….

  • Oldest major winner – Julius Boros, 48 years 4 months and 18 days when he won the US PGA Championship in 1968.

  • Oldest Masters winner – Jack Nicklaus at 46 years, two months and 23 days old.

  • Oldest Open Championship winner – Old Tom Morris, 46 years and 99 days in 1867

  • Oldest US Open winner – Hale Irwin, 45 years and 15 days in 1990

  • Oldest LPGA Tour winner – Beth Daniel, 46 years 8 months and 29 days at the 2003 BMO Financial Group Canadian Women’s Open

  • Oldest European Tour winner – Miguel Angel Jiménez, 48 years 10 months and 13 days at the 2012 UBS Hong Kong Open 

  • Oldest Ladies European Tour winner – Laura Davies, 46 years 11 months and 14 days when she won the 2010 Open de España.

  • Oldest Champions Tour winner – Mike Fetchick, 63 years exactly at the 1985 Hilton Head Seniors International

  • Oldest European Seniors Tour winner – Neil Coles, 67 years and 276 days at the 2002 Lawrence Batley Seniors Open

  • Oldest Ryder Cup player – Raymond Floyd, 51 years and 20 days in 1993

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