Boros the most golden of golf's oldies

Veteran champion Clarke is a mere whippersnapper pitched against American legend

(Getty)

1 Julius Boros: 1968 USPGA Championship, 48 years, 4 months, 18 days

Over four rounds in sweltering Texan heat, Boros rewrote the history books as a chip to within two feet on the final green handed him a one-stroke victory over Arnold Palmer.

2 Old Tom Morris: 1867 Open Championship, 46 years, 3 months, 10 days

The oldest Open champion, Morris's success in 1867 was his fourth, and final, victory in the event – though in 1869, aged 48, he finished as runner up to his son, Tom Morris Jr.

3 Jack Nicklaus: 1986 Masters, 46 years, 2 months, 23 days

Jack's final, and most memorable, Major championship title came at Augusta National, where a scintillating final-round 65 saw him race through the field to take a sixth green jacket.

4 Jerry Barber: 1961 USPGA Championship, 45 Years, 3 months, 6 days

Trailing by four shots with three holes to play in the final round, Barber made putts of 20ft on the 16th hole, 40ft on the 17th and 60ft on the 18th to force a play-off from which he would prevail for his only major title.

5 Hale Irwin: 1990 US Open, 45 years, 15 days

An improbable 45ft birdie putt on the 18th green prompted wild celebrations from Irwin and sent him into a play-off with Mike Donald. Irwin would win the play-off to claim his third, and final, major.

6 Roberto de Vicenzo: 1967 Open Championship, 44 years, 93 days

Shrugging off challenges from Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, De Vicenzo mastered the links at Hoylake to win his solitary major title at the age of 44.

7 Harry Vardon: 1914 Open Championship, 44 years, 41 days

Vardon's victory in the 1914 Open Championship saw him claim his sixth, and final, Claret Jug. In 1920, as a 50 year old, Vardon finished runner-up in the US Open.

8 Raymond Floyd: 1986 US Open, 43 years, 9 months, 11 days

Floyd started the final day three shots behind Greg Norman, but a four-under par round of 66 saw him finish the tournament at one under; the only player in the entire field to break par over four rounds.

9 Ted Ray: 1920 US Open, 43 years, 4 months, 16 days

Notable for his big moustache, trilby hat, and propensity to play golf with a pipe stuck firmly in his mouth, the iconic Ray beat fellow British veteran Harry Vardon into second-place at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio.

10 Julius Boros: 1963 US Open, 43 years, 3 months, 20 days

Boros defeated Arnold Palmer and Jacky Cupit in a play-off having finished the tournament with a four round total of 293 - nine-over par, the highest major winning score in the post-war era.

11 Old Tom Morris: 1864 Open Championship, 43 years, three months

1864 marked the first year that the Open Championship awarded prize money. Aged 43, as winner, Old Tom took home the princely sum of £6 in addition to the Championship Belt.

12 Ben Crenshaw: 1995 Masters, 43 years, 88 days

Defeating Davis Love III by a stroke, Ben Crenshaw won his second green jacket aged 43. A visibly emotional Crenshaw dedicated the victory to his mentor Harvey Penick, who had died just days before the tournament.

13 Darren Clarke: 2011 Open Championship, 42 years, 337 days

At the 20th time of asking – a record number of appearances for a player winning their first Open– Clarke finally laid hands on the Claret Jug at the age of 42 years and 337 days, making him the oldest European Tour member to win a major championship.