--- description: Jordan Spieth, winner of the Masters Golf Tournament 2015, is only 21. Have golfers been getting younger? title: See Where Masters Champion Jordan Spieth Fits Into Golf History image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Sports](/section/sports/) ## Sports Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [golf](/tag/golf/) ## golf Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # See Where Masters Champion Jordan Spieth Fits Into Golf History  by [Jack Linshi](/author/jack-linshi/)  ## Jack Linshi Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 13, 2015 5:45 PM CUT  by [Jack Linshi](/author/jack-linshi/)  ## Jack Linshi Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 13, 2015 5:45 PM CUT 21-year-old Jordan Spieth drove himself into golf history Sunday, [winning the Masters](http://www.golf.com/tour-and-news/jordan-spieth-could-be-champion-on-off-course "undefined") with a final score of 18 under par. Spieth tied Tiger Woods for the best tournament total and became the second 21-year-old to win the event, following Woods’ 1997 performance. Spieth’s stellar performance at such a young age raises the question of whether golfers are tending toward the younger side. According to the [Golf Channel](http://www.golfchannel.com/news/joe-posnanski/does-age-really-matter-golf-yes-it-does/ "undefined"), the answer is no: The median and mean age of major champions has remained stable for decades at 32 years of age. Spieth’s win doesn’t change that magic number, but it does fall nicely into a trend of Masters winners’ ages rising and falling, as shown in the chart above. [Some](http://blog.hole19golf.com/insights-from-winners-ages-at-the-masters/ "undefined") observers attribute the periodic trends to repeat-champions in different generations in golf history. Jack Nicklaus, for example, has the [most Masters victories](http://www.masters.com/en%5FUS/scores/stats/historical/index.html "undefined"), with five between 1963 and 1975 — and a sixth in 1986\. Four-time champions include Arnold Palmer (1958, 1960, 1962, 1964) and Tiger Woods (1997, 2001, 2002, 2005). Though age might not be changing among Masters winners, the champions _do_ seem to be getting better. Masters winners’ final scores have trended upwards since the first tournaments in the 1930s, with over half of the 10-under-par totals being scored by champions in the last 20 years: ### See Sports Illustrated's 100 Best Masters Photos  Adam Scott celebrates his playoff win at the 2013 Masters with caddie Steve Williams. Simon Bruty—Sports Illustrated  Tiger Woods and caddie Steve Williams celebrated after Woods chipped in for birdie on the 16th hole Sunday at the 2005 Masters. Neil Leifer—Sports Illustrated  Phil Mickelson birdied the 18th hole to win his first major at the 2004 Masters. Robert Beck—Sports Illustrated  In what many consider the greatest Masters ever, Jack Nicklaus, at age 46, fired a final-round 65 in 1986 to win his sixth green jacket. John Iacano—Sports Illustrated  Woods threw his signature fist pump after sinking the winning putt for his first major in 1997. John Iacano—Sports Illustrated  Woods then made his way through the patrons to give his father, Earl, a bear hug. Bob Martin—Sports Illustrated  This photo of Woods teeing off on 18 during the final round of the 2001 Masters made the cover of Sports Illustrated. Click to see more of Sports Illustrated's 100 Best Masters Photos on golf.com Fred Vuich—Sports Illustrated ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3819389/masters-tournament-jordan-spieth-age/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3819389/masters-tournament-jordan-spieth-age/"},"headline":"See Where Masters Champion Jordan Spieth Fits Into Golf History","datePublished":"2015-04-13T17:45:07.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:04:35.480Z","description":"The average age of Masters winners is a steady 32","url":"https://time.com/3819389/masters-tournament-jordan-spieth-age/","keywords":["golf"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jack Linshi","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/jack-linshi/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/golf/","name":"golf"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3819389/masters-tournament-jordan-spieth-age/","name":"See Where Masters Champion Jordan Spieth Fits Into Golf History"}}]}] ```