The Oldest Living Major Golf Champions
By: Kieran Clark | Thu 26 Jan 2023
On Sunday, 29th January, two-time major champion Jack Burke Jr turns 100. Winner of both the Masters and PGA Championship in 1956, this son of a golf professional has enjoyed a remarkable lifetime through the game, with the Texan playing and twice captaining in the Ryder Cup.
Burke has remained active courtesy of his ownership of the Champions Golf Club in Houston, which hosted the US Women's Open in 2020. More recently, the venue was sold to his son, but the joint-founder has remained chairman, a position he will hold for the remainder of his life.
The longevity of this World Golf of Fame member got us thinking about the oldest professional major champions alive today, with 24 men and women who etched their name in history currently in their 80s and 90s.
(87-Year-Old Gary Player - Image Credit: Kevin Diss Photography)
Jack Burke Jr
Date of Birth: 29/01/1923
Nationality: United States
Major Championships Won: 1956 Masters Tournament, 1956 PGA Championship
Betsy Rawls
Date of Birth: 04/05/1928
Nationality: United States
Major Championships Won: Western Open (1952, 1959), Women's PGA Championship (1959, 1969), US Women's Open (1951, 1953, 1957, 1960)
Don January
Date of Birth: 20/11/1929
Nationality: United States
Major Championships Won: 1967 PGA Championship
Kathy Cornelius
Date of Birth: 27/10/1932
Nationality: United States
Major Championships Won: 1956 US Women's Open
Joyce Ziske
Date of Birth: 1934
Nationality: United States
Major Championships Won: 1960 Western Open
Marlene Hagge
Date of Birth: 16/02/1934
Nationality: United States
Major Championships Won: 1956 Women's PGA Championship
Gary Player
Date of Birth: 01/11/1935
Nationality: South Africa
Major Championships Won: Masters Tournament (1961, 1974, 1978), PGA Championship (1962, 1972), 1965 US Open, The Open Championship (1959, 1968, 1974)
Sir Bob Charles
Date of Birth: 14/03/1936
Nationality: New Zealand
Major Championships Won: 1963 Open Championship
Bobby Nichols
Date of Birth: 14/04/1936
Nationality: United States
Major Championships Won: 1964 PGA Championship
Tommy Aaron
Date of Birth: 22/03/1937
Nationality: United States
Major Championships Won: 1973 Masters Tournament
Charles Coody
Date of Birth: 13/07/1937
Nationality: United States
Major Championships Won: 1971 Masters Tournament
Al Geiberger
Date of Birth: 01/09/1937
Nationality: United States
Major Championships Won: 1966 PGA Championship
Lou Graham
Date of Birth: 07/01/1938
Nationality: United States
Major Championships Won: 1975 US Open
Judy Kimball
Date of Birth: 17/06/1938
Nationality: United States
Major Championships Won: 1962 Women's PGA Championship
Murle Breer
Date of Birth: 20/01/1939
Nationality: United States
Major Championships Won: 1962 US Women's Open
JoAnne Carner
Date of Birth: 04/04/1939
Nationality: United States
Major Championships Won: US Women's Open (1971, 1976)
Lee Trevino
Date of Birth: 01/12/1939
Nationality: United States
Major Championships Won: PGA Championship (1974, 1984), US Open (1968, 1971), The Open Championship (1971, 1972)
Mary Mills
Date of Birth: 19/01/1940
Nationality: United States
Major Championships Won: Women's PGA Championship (1964, 1973), 1963 US Women's Open
Jack Nicklaus
Date of Birth: 21/01/1940
Nationality: United States
Major Championships Won: Masters Tournament (1963, 1965, 1966, 1972, 1975, 1986), PGA Championship (1963, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1980), US Open (1962, 1967, 1972, 1980), The Open Championship (1966, 1970, 1978)
Susie Berning
Date of Birth: 22/07/1941
Nationality: United States
Major Championships Won: 1965 Western Open, US Women's Open (1968, 1972, 1973)
Gloria Ehret
Date of Birth: 23/08/1941
Nationality: United States
Major Championships Won: 1966 Women's PGA Championship
Dave Stockton
Date of Birth: 02/11/1941
Nationality: United States
Major Championships Won: PGA Championship (1970, 1976)
Raymond Floyd
Date of Birth: 04/09/1942
Nationality: United States
Major Championships Won: 1976 Masters Tournament, PGA Championship (1969, 1982), 1986 US Open
Jerilyn Britz
Date of Birth: 01/01/1943
Nationality: United States
Major Championships Won: 1979 US Women's Open
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