The Best Men's Golfers Over 40: The Players Defying The Aging Process To Remain Competitive

The current era of men’s golf is blessed with some of the brightest talent the game has ever seen.

On the PGA Tour, the likes of Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy regularly set an incredibly high bar for others, while LIV Golf features players as gifted as Bryson DeChambeau, Joaquin Niemann and Jon Rahm among its ranks.

It’s not just the game’s younger players who can be relied upon to produce impressive performances, though.

Many of the best players in the game are over the age of 40. Here are some of the top performers who have gone beyond that milestone, and comment below who we've missed!

Justin Rose

The Englishman is aging like a fine wine, regularly producing in the biggest tournaments of all and returning to the world's top-10 this year.

In 2025 alone, the 45-year-old narrowly missed out on a maiden Masters title to Rory McIlroy in a playoff, while he put in a more than creditable performance at The Open at Royal Portrush, placing T16.

He also finished sixth at the Genesis Scottish Open before claiming his 12th PGA Tour win at the FedEx St. Jude Championship.

It’s not just individual events where Rose remains impressive, either. He was a key member of the European Ryder Cup team in 2025, claiming two points from his three matches as his team won 15-13.

Adam Scott

Scott may not be quite as sharp as he was in the earlier part of his career, when he won The Masters and enjoyed a spell at the top of the world rankings, but the 45-year-old remains one of the game’s best performers.

That was shown at the 2025 US Open, where he was in contention for the title during the final round at Oakmont, before he placed T12.

He also produced successive top-10 finishes in his homeland at the BMW Australian PGA Championship and the Crown Australian Open.

When he tees it up at The Masters in 2026, it will be his 98th consecutive Major appearance.

Tiger Woods

Of course, for Woods, the sample size of his competitiveness is small nowadays, with the passing of his mother and injuries ensuring that he didn’t make a professional start in 2025.

However, it would surely be foolish to dismiss Woods’ chances of more success given the glittering career he has had and the number of times he has been written off in the past.

The American is now 50, and he will surely hope that, once 2026 starts, he can continue working towards a competitive return.

Whenever that day comes, the priority will be staying fit. If he manages that, anything is possible where the 15-time Major winner is concerned.

Alex Noren

The Swede turned 43 in July, but he proved age is just a number when, a month later, he won the Betfred British Masters – his first title anywhere since 2018.

Three weeks later, he went even better, claiming victory in the DP World Tour’s flagship event, the BMW PGA Championship, for the second time.

His run of wins came too late to make it into the European Ryder Cup team, having to settle for the role of vice captain, but there’s little doubt he would have performed had he made it.

Later in the year, he confirmed his PGA Tour card for 2026 via the Race to Dubai rankings.

Sergio Garcia

At the age of 45, 2017 Masters champion Garcia’s best years might be behind him, but he remains fiercely competitive.

The fiery Spaniard placed ninth in the LIV Golf individual standings, helped by the 38th professional win of his career at its Hong Kong event.

Ryder Cup legend Garcia had rejoined the DP World Tour in the hope of making the team for the Bethpage Black match, and while that wasn’t to be, there’s no doubt that, on his day, he remains one of the best players around.

Louis Oosthuizen

The South African may be three years the wrong side of 40, but that hasn’t stopped him from retaining his competitive edge.

In 2025 alone, Oosthuizen finished a creditable 30th in the LIV Golf points list, with the highlights being two runner-up placings.

Once the LIV Golf season wrapped up, he focused on the Asian Tour and DP World Tour, finishing T3 at the Link Hong Kong Open and T4 at the Alfred Dunhill Championship.

Phil Mickelson

Phil Mickelson is now 55, but the six-time Major winner proved on several occasions in 2025 that he has the ability to roll back the years.

He had four top-10 finishes with LIV Golf in 2025, and while he didn’t fare as well in the Majors, missing the cut in three and placing T56 at The Open, he finished runner-up at The Masters relatively recently, in 2023, while it's only four years since he became the oldest men's Major champion in history, when he won PGA Championship.

Dustin Johnson

The American isn’t the force he once was, when he won two Major titles and reached the top of the world rankings, but on his day, he can still compete with the best.

Now 41, Johnson placed 14th in the LIV Golf standings in 2025, more than holding his own against many of the League’s younger talent just three years after he won it.

True, his Major performances have tailed off, with three missed cuts in 2025, although he has said on more than one occasion that he feels his game is not far from returning to its best.

He finished T23 at The Open, suggesting there could be some truth in that claim.

Lucas Glover

Just two years ago, Lucas Glover claimed back-to-back PGA Tour wins at the Wyndham Championship and the FedEx St. Jude Championship.

The American, who is now 46, proved he still has what it takes to compete with the very best earlier in 2025, too.

Glover had five top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour, but two were particularly impressive, with a pair of ties for third at Signature Event the Pebble Beach Pro-Am and flagship event The Players Championship.

Bubba Watson

It’s now approaching 12 years since the second of Bubba Watson’s Masters titles, but he proved he still has what it takes to compete at Augusta National in April, finishing T14.

The 47-year-old also had an excellent season on the LIV Golf League the year after finishing in the Drop Zone.

His standout performance was runner-up at LIV Golf United Kingdom on his way to finishing 11th in the standings – redemption after being kept on at the circuit for “business reasons” the previous year.

Notable Mentions

While the players listed above are among the higher-profile players over 40, there are some players with plenty of years under their belt who are flying more under the radar.

One is Australian Marc Leishman, who claimed his first LIV Golf title in April at its Miami event, before winning in his homeland for the first time in 17 years at the Victorian PGA Championship.

The 42-year-old also finished tied for third at the BMW Australian PGA Championship.

Another LIV Golfer still performing well beyond 40 is Paul Casey, who turned 48 in July.

The Crushers GC player finished 16th in the LIV Golf standings, with a T2 in Dallas the highlight. He was also tied for 11th at the PIF Saudi International in November.

Another veteran Crushers GC player on the list is Charles Howell III, who finished 21st in the points list before coming T9 at the Link Hong Kong Open and sharing Casey’s position at the PIF Saudi International.

The 46-year-old also has one LIV Golf win, which came in 2023 at Mayakoba.

Yet another LIV Golfer who defies the aging process is Richard Bland, who turned 52 in February but continues to impress on the circuit.

He placed 27th in the season-long standings in 2025, a year after claiming two senior Major titles at the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship and US Senior Open.

Graeme McDowell showed that, at 46, he still has plenty to offer too, with runner-up at LIV Golf Virginia on his way to 34th in the standings.

Another from the circuit still competitive is 45-year-old Matt Jones, who finished 40th in the standings before turning his attention to the Asian Tour, where he placed T6 at the Link Hong Kong Open.

Then there’s the baby of the group, Jason Kokrak, who turned 40 in May. He came 41st in the standings, but he had more success away from LIV Golf.

The American was tied for third at the International Series Macau and T5 at the PIF Saudi International in 2025.

Stinger GC's Charl Schwartzel, who won The Masters in 2011, proved he can still perform at the highest level during the 2025 LIV Golf season. The 41-year-old, who also won the first-ever LIV Golf event in 2022, came close to a second title this year, finishing runner-up in Miami.

One of the oldest players in the list is three-time Major winner Padraig Harrington, who spends much of his time on the PGA Tour Champions nowadays.

He picked up two senior Major titles in 2025, too – the US Senior Open and the ISPS Handa Senior Open, where he was cheered on by Rory McIlroy.

The list couldn’t be complete without mentioning Angel Cabrera, who has returned to action with a bang following a spell in jail.

The Argentinian claimed his maiden PGA Tour Champions title in April at the James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational, but that was just the start.

He also won two senior Major titles, the Regions Tradition and the Senior PGA Championship, bringing his haul to three wins in less than two months.