Oldest Masters Winner in History

Jack Nicklaus is the oldest Masters winner in history, taking the 1986 title at 46 years and 2 months. Nearly 40 years later, no golfer older than that has slipped on a green jacket.

The win is famous for more than the age. Nicklaus arrived at Augusta without a major in six years, was seen as past his best, and then produced a closing 65 that ended with a back-nine 30. The oldest champion also authored one of the most celebrated final rounds the tournament has seen. Below is the full list of the oldest Masters champions and why age so rarely wins at Augusta.

The oldest Masters winners

Here are the oldest champions in Masters history, by their age on the final day.

Age at win	Champion	Year
46 years, 2 months	Jack Nicklaus	1986
43 years, 3 months	Tiger Woods	2019
43 years, 2 months	Ben Crenshaw	1995
42 years, 5 months	Gary Player	1978
41 years, 3 months	Mark O’Meara	1998

Nicklaus sits clear at the top, more than three years older than the next name. Woods and Crenshaw are separated by less than a month at 43, and the list thins out below the mid-40s, which is the point where winning a major becomes rare rather than merely difficult.

Nicklaus in 1986: 46 and unwritten off

Nicklaus went into the 1986 Masters ranked well down the world order and had not won a major since 1980. A newspaper column that week suggested he was finished, a clipping he later said he kept for motivation.

He answered with a Sunday charge. Playing the back nine in 30 strokes, he birdied 9, 10 and 11, eagled the par-five 15th, and struck a tee shot to inches at the par-three 16th. The closing 65 carried him past a field that included Greg Norman, Seve Ballesteros and Tom Kite. It was his sixth Masters, the tournament record, and the 18th major of a career no one has matched. For the player with the most green jackets, see our guide to the most Masters wins.

Woods and Crenshaw: the emotional 43-year-olds

Tiger Woods is the second-oldest champion, winning in 2019 at 43 years and 3 months. The win landed 14 years after his previous Masters and followed multiple back surgeries that had put his career in doubt, making it one of the most talked-about comebacks in golf.

Ben Crenshaw’s 1995 win came at 43 years and 2 months, days after he served as a pallbearer for his lifelong coach Harvey Penick. Crenshaw, a two-time champion, holed the key putts on an emotional Sunday to win a green jacket few expected. The two oldest winners after Nicklaus both arrived with a story rather than form on their side.

Why age rarely wins at Augusta

Augusta National rewards two things that fade with age: distance off the tee and nerve on fast, sloping greens. The course has been lengthened repeatedly, which stretches the advantage held by younger, longer hitters and makes the second shots harder for veterans to control.

That is why the oldest-winner record has held since 1986. Fit veterans still make the cut, and Fred Couples played the weekend at 63 in 2023, but converting four rounds into a win past the mid-40s asks for a week like Nicklaus produced. It has not happened since.

The record in context

Nicklaus’s 46 is a soft target only in theory. No player over 50 has won, and no one older than Nicklaus has won at any age, so the mark doubles as the ceiling for a serious veteran run. It sits alongside his six titles and 18 majors as part of the case that his Augusta record may be the hardest in golf to top.

This is the companion to our look at the youngest Masters winner, where Tiger Woods holds the mark from the other end. For how players even reach Augusta, see how to qualify for the Masters, and for the low rounds shot there, the lowest score in Masters history. Forty-six years and two months is the age to beat, and it has stood since 1986.