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Kim, McIlroy and Other Young Guns Are Playing Against History at the Masters

Apr 6, 2010, 8:15 PM UTC

â†µThe 2010 Masters will be the 74th time the tournament has been played, and with much of the buzz coming from names like Anthony Kim, Rory McIlroy and Ryo Ishikawa, we thought it would be interesting to look, historically, at a young player's chance of winning at Augusta.â†µ

â†µâ†µIn the previous 73 Masters, there have been just 24 players to take home the green jacket while still in their 20s. Wait, that number is actually wrong. The green jacket has only been given to a player in his 20s those 24 times, but with Tiger Woods winning four titles and the likes of Seve Ballesteros and Jack Nicklaus winning their fair share of others, there have been just 17 players to win the Masters before turning 30 years old.â†µ

â†µâ†µNow, keep in mind that Kim – who won last week in Houston and is one of the favorites this weekend – is just 24 years old. McIlroy doesn’t turn 21 until May and Ishikawa is just 18 years old. There are other youngsters who are getting some attention as well, the oldest of which seems to be Martin Kaymer, who checks in at the ripe old age of 25. So let’s use 25 as our Masters champion threshold.â†µ

â†µâ†µSeven. Seven players in Masters history have ever won the tournament at the age of 25 or younger. Horton Smith won the first-ever Masters in 1934 at the age of 25. Byron Nelson won his first green jacket at the same age. Gary Player also won his first at the age of 25. Jack Nicklaus, Seve Ballesteros and Tiger Woods each won his second green jacket at the age of 25.â†µ

â†µâ†µOf the seven players, just four have ever won the tournament at any age younger than 25. At age 24, George Archer won the 1969 Masters by one stroke over a trio of players that included Billy Casper, who would go on to win the tournament the following year. Jack won his first Masters in 1963 at the age of 23, while Seve won his first in 1980 at the age of 22. Tiger has the record for the youngest champion, winning his first at the age of 21. It’s interesting that of those three – to this point – Jack is the only one to win a Masters after turning 30.â†µ

â†µâ†µThis statistic hasn’t put a damper on McIlroy’s enthusiasm heading into this weekend’s tournament, as he thinks a young gun has a great chance to win the title this year.â†µ

â†µâ†µâ‡¥“It’s a great time for the youngsters, especially the Europeans - you’ve got myself, Martin Kaymer, Ross Fisher, Paul Casey, Ian Poulter, and you’ve also got Ryo Ishikawa, Rickie Fowler and Anthony Kim [who won in Houston]. This could be the year one of us breaks through, wins a major and kicks on from there.”â†µâ†µ

To be fair, Poulter isn’t exactly a youngster anymore at 34 years old. And Casey, as talented as he is, is 32, while Ross Fisher is 29 years old. Rickie Fowler, who McIlroy also mentioned, is just 21, but would have to be considered a long shot in this tournament.â†µâ†µHere’s an interesting side note that came up while doing this research: 1957-58 was a great time for Masters champions to be born. Five different green jacket winners – Ballesteros, Bernhard Langer, Nick Faldo, Ian Woosnam and Sandy Lyle – are currently 52 years old. Larry Mize (51) and Mark O’Meara (53) are right there as well.â†µ

â†µâ†µBut back on the subject of the young guns, McIlroy also had some interesting quotes about Tiger Woods, when talking to the BBC:â†µ

â†µâ†µâ‡¥“I’d definitely rather have my lifestyle than Tiger’s - not being able to go out is not my idea of fun. I’d still like to be as good as him, though...”â†µâ‡¥â†µâ‡¥“I’d rather win half the majors Tiger has and have my lifestyle than have won all the majors he has [14] and not be able to go out in public.”â†µâ‡¥

â†µâ†µYes, I think any of us would take seven majors and a trip to movies too, Rory. Heck, most of us would take one.â†µ

This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.

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