Where would Westwood rank on this list of advanced-age winners?
If anyone has waited his turn to win the Masters, it’s Masters contender Lee Westwood. At age 38, this is his 13th appearance at Augusta. Who are others who paid their dues before winning a green jacket?
5. Craig Wood (1941) – Like Angel Cabrera and Bob Goalby, he won his one and only Masters at age 39. The difference with Wood: He had figured to have blown his two chance, finishing a stroke behind Horton Smith in the inaugural Masters (1934) and losing in a 36-hole playoff to Gene Sarazen (1935).
4. Phil Mickelson (2004) – “Lefty” was only 33, but he was long overdue. His first major came 13 years after he won his first PGA Tour event and in his 12th Masters appearance. Before his breakthrough, Mickelson had finished third at Augusta the previous three years.
3. Billy Casper (1970) – He won a U.S. Open at age 27. But his long-awaited Masters win came 11 years later, in his 14th appearance and after five top’10s, including a runner-up by a stroke the previous year to George Archer. Casper did it at age 38 in an 18-hole playoff over Gene Littler.
2. Ben Hogan (1951) – The Masters was cancelled during World War II (1942-45). In the years bracketing that period, Hogan was heartbreaking runner-up, losing in a playoff to Byron Nelson in 1942 and falling by a stroke to Herman Keiser in 1946. Finally, on his 10th try at age 38, Hogan won by two shots.
- Mark O’Meara (1998) – His dramatic victory, on a 20-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole, came at age 41 and on his 15th try, which remains a record. It was the first major of his career, but not his last as he won the 1998 British Open.
