Longest Time Between U.S. Open Wins by Same Golfer

Which golfers have gone the longest in-between victories in the U.S. Open? Only a few golfers have gone as long as eight years between winning this major championship.

In addition to looking at the longest spans between any golfer's consecutive wins in the U.S. Open, we'll also look at the longest span between any golfer's first and last wins in this major. Obviously, that means we are only looking at all the golfers who have multiple U.S. Open victories.

Longest Span Between U.S. Open Wins

11 years — Julius Boros, 1952 and 1963. In the first of Boros' three major champion wins at the 1952 U.S. Open, he beat runner-up Ed "Porky" Oliver by four strokes. In the 1963 U.S. Open, Boros won a three-way playoff over Arnold Palmer and Jacky Cupit. Boros was 43 years old and, at the time, the second-oldest winner of a U.S. Open. (He later won the PGA Championship at age 48 and for decades held the record as the oldest major championship winner.)
11 years — Hale Irwin, 1979 and 1990. Irwin also won in 1974, so his 1979 U.S. Open victory was his second. And in that 1979 tournament, Irwin beat runners-up Gary Player and Jerry Pate by two strokes. It was his third U.S. Open title, in 1990, that puts him on this list. There Irwin won a 19-hole playoff over Mike Donald. At age 45 in 1990, Irwin became the oldest U.S. Open winner.
10 years — Gene Sarazen, 1922 and 1932. Sarazen was only 20 when he won in 1922 (by one over Bobby Jones and John Black), making him one of the youngest U.S. Open winners. He became the third, and so far last, of the golfers with at least a 10-year gap between wins in this major when he took the 1932 U.S. Open by three strokes.
8 years — Jack Nicklaus, 1972 and 1980. The two wins that put Nicklaus on this list were his third and fourth U.S. Open titles. He previously won this major in 1962 and 1967.
8 years — Payne Stewart, 1991 and 1999. Stewart's two U.S. Open championships happened eight years apart. And the second one was his final win (he died in a plane crash a couple months later).

Longest Span Between Golfer's First and Last U.S. Open Wins

18 years, Jack Nicklaus — The Bear's first win was in the 1962 U.S. Open, in which he defeated Palmer in an 18-hole playoff. Eighteen years later, Nicklaus won the U.S. Open for the fourth and final time.
16 years, Hale Irwin — Irwin's first and last U.S. Open wins were in 1974 and 1990, with another win in-between.

Only two other golfers have recorded first and last U.S. Open victories with a span of at least 10 years: Boros (11 years, 1952, 1963) and Sarazen (10 years, 1922, 1932).

Related articles:

Sources:
United States Golf Association. USOpen.com, U.S. Open Records, https://victory.usopen.com/history-landing/scoring-and-stats/records.html.
United States Golf Association. U.S. Open History, Champions, https://victory.usopen.com/history-landing/scoring-and-stats/champions.html.

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