Looking Back at the Oldest & Youngest U.S. Open Winners

A look at the oldest and youngest U.S. Open champions.

Jordan Speith hits his approach shot. / Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images

The 2025 U.S. Open is taking place this week at the Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania, running from June 12-15.

The tournament has a long history that dates back to when the first U.S. Open was held in 1895. As the competition gets underway, here's a look back at the five oldest and youngest U.S. Open champions.

Oldest U.S. Open Winners

Golfer	Age	Year
Payne Stewart	42 years, four months, 21 days	1999
Tom Kite	42 years, six months, 12 days	1992
Ted Ray	43 years, four months, 16 days	1920
Raymond Floyd	43 years, nine months, 11 days	1986
Hale Irwin	45 years, 15 days	1990

Hale Irwin became the oldest U.S. Open champion ever when he won the tournament in the playoff in 1990 at the age of 45. Irwin had previously won two U.S. Opens over a decade earlier in 1974 and 1979.

Hale is the only 45-year-old to ever win the U.S. Open, but several other golfers in their 40s have taken home the title, including Floyd, Ray, Stewart, and Kite.

Youngest U.S. Open Winners

Golfer	Age	Year
Horace Rawlins	21 years, 1 month, 30 days	1895
John McDermott	20 years, 11 months, 21 days	1912
Gene Sarazen	20 years, four months, 18 days	1922
Francis Ouimet	20 years, four months, 12 days	1913
John McDermott	19 years, nine months, 14 days	1911

John McDermott became the youngest ever U.S. Open champion when he won the title in 1911. He would go on to win back-to-back titles, and remained one of the youngest champions ever when he repeated in 1912. McDermott was notably also the first ever American to win the U.S. Open.

Gene Sarazen was both one of the youngest and most dominant golfers of his time. He won the U.S. Open at 20 years of age in 1922, and would later win it again in 1932. He was also the youngest ever PGA Championship winner, and the youngest player to win back-to-back PGA championships.

Many of the youngest U.S. Open champions came in the early era of the tournament, dating back to the first champion, Horace Rawlins. Jordan Speith is the most recent young winner, winning the 2015 title at the age of 21, 10 months, and 25 days, putting him just outside of this list.

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