Julius Boros

Born in Fairfield, Connecticut, Boros was of Hungarian descent, and played varsity baseball in college.^[3] He then worked as an accountant while playing high-standard amateur golf.^[1][2]

Boros turned professional in 1949 at age 29.^[1][2] He won 18 PGA Tour events, including three major championships: the 1952 and 1963 U.S. Opens and the 1968 PGA Championship. He won his first by four strokes in the heat at the Northwood Club in Dallas, also his first PGA Tour victory, which interrupted the U.S. Open streak of 36-hole leader Ben Hogan for a year. In the windy 1963 U.S. Open near Boston, Boros defeated Arnold Palmer and Jacky Cupit in a playoff, after all had finished the 72 holes at a post-war record nine over par.

For over a half century, Boros was the oldest player to win a modern major, taking the 1968 PGA Championship in San Antonio by a stroke at age 48. One of the runners-up was Palmer, who never won the PGA Championship to complete his career grand slam. The previous oldest winner of a major was Old Tom Morris, age 46 in the 1867 Open Championship. Boros' mark was surpassed by Phil Mickelson, who won the PGA Championship in 2021 at age fifty.

Boros' best results among the majors were at the U.S. Open, with nine top-five finishes; he contended in that championship as late as 1973 at age 53, and tied for seventh.^[1][2]

Boros was a member of the Ryder Cup team in 1959, 1963, 1965, and 1967. He was PGA Player of the Year in 1952 and 1963, and his total career PGA Tour earnings were $1,004,861. Boros was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1982.^[1][2]

While other players often walked around a hole and studied the green for several minutes before putting – sometimes from their knees, Boros is remembered for not wasting any time on either the greens or the fairways. He would walk up to the ball and "just do it". Noted for his relaxed, nonchalant-looking swing and manner, he is remembered for his catchphrase "swing easy, hit hard." Boros had an exceptional short game.^[1]

Boros was also instrumental in starting the Senior PGA Tour in the late 1970s. The exciting televised playoff victory of Boros and partner Roberto De Vicenzo over Tommy Bolt and Art Wall Jr. at the Legends of Golf tournament in 1979 raised the profile of professional senior golf competition.^[1]

Boros' first wife, Buttons Cosgrove, died in childbirth in 1951. Boros and his second wife, Armen, had seven children: four sons and three daughters. His son Guy Boros won on the PGA Tour in 1996, at the Greater Vancouver Open in late August.^[1][2][4]

Boros suffered a fatal heart attack in 1994 on the golf course at the Coral Ridge Country Club in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He was found sitting in a golf cart under a willow tree by two club members near the 16th hole, his favorite spot on the course.^[1][2]

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Jun 14, 1952	U.S. Open	71-71-68-71=281	+1	4 strokes	Ed Oliver
2	Aug 11, 1952	World Championship of Golf	68-71-70-67=276	−12	Playoff	Cary Middlecoff
3	May 9, 1954	Ardmore Open	68-69-72-70=279	−1	1 stroke	Jerry Barber
4	Jul 18, 1954	Carling Open	71-70-68-71=280	−8	Playoff	George Fazio
5	Aug 14, 1955	World Championship of Golf (2)	70-72-69-70=281	−7	2 strokes	Fred Haas
6	May 11, 1958	Arlington Hotel Open	70-64-68-71=273	−15	1 stroke	Cary Middlecoff
7	Nov 9, 1958	Carling Open Invitational (2)	74-66-70-74=284	−4	2 strokes	Billy Casper
8	Sep 14, 1959	Dallas Open Invitational	68-66-70-70=274	−10	1 stroke	Dow Finsterwald,   Earl Stewart,   Bo Wininger
9	May 15, 1960	Colonial National Invitation	70-71-69-70=280	E	1 stroke	Gene Littler,   Kel Nagle
10	May 12, 1963	Colonial National Invitation (2)	71-66-71-71=279	−1	4 strokes	Gary Player
11	Jun 9, 1963	Buick Open Invitational	66-71-68-69=274	−14	5 strokes	Dow Finsterwald
12	Jun 23, 1963	U.S. Open (2)	71-74-76-72=293	+9	Playoff	Jacky Cupit,   Arnold Palmer
13	Apr 5, 1964	Greater Greensboro Open	68-70-73-66=277	−7	Playoff	Doug Sanders
14	Feb 12, 1967	Phoenix Open Invitational	69-67-69-67=272	−12	1 stroke	Ken Still
15	Mar 12, 1967	Florida Citrus Open Invitational	70-67-67-70=274	−10	1 stroke	George Knudson,   Arnold Palmer
16	Jun 11, 1967	Buick Open Invitational (2)	72-72-70-69=283	−5	3 strokes	Bob Goalby,   R. H. Sikes,   Bert Yancey
17	Jul 21, 1968	PGA Championship	71-71-70-69=281	+1	1 stroke	Bob Charles,   Arnold Palmer
18	Aug 18, 1968	Westchester Classic	70-65-69-68=272	−16	1 stroke	Bob Murphy,   Jack Nicklaus,   Dan Sikes

PGA Tour playoff record (4–6)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1952	World Championship of Golf	Cary Middlecoff	Won 18-hole playoff; Boros: −4 (68), Middlecoff: −2 (70)
2	1954	Miami Beach International Four-Ball (with   Dutch Harrison)	Tommy Bolt and   Dick Mayer	Lost to birdie on first extra hole
3	1954	Carling Open	George Fazio	Won with par on first extra hole
4	1958	Dallas Open Invitational	John McMullin,   Gary Player,   Sam Snead	Snead won with birdie on first extra hole
5	1959	Houston Classic	Jack Burke Jr.	Lost 18-hole playoff; Burke: −8 (64), Boros: −3 (69)
6	1963	U.S. Open	Jacky Cupit,   Arnold Palmer	Won 18-hole playoff; Boros: −1 (70), Cupit: + 2 (73), Palmer: +5 (76)
7	1963	Western Open	Jack Nicklaus,   Arnold Palmer	Palmer won 18-hole playoff; Palmer: −1 (70), Boros: E (71), Nicklaus: +2 (73)
8	1964	Greater Greensboro Open	Doug Sanders	Won with par on first extra hole
9	1969	Greater Greensboro Open	Gene Littler,   Orville Moody,   Tom Weiskopf	Littler won with birdie on fifth extra hole Weiskopf eliminated by par on first hole
10	1975	Westchester Classic	Gene Littler	Lost to par on first extra hole

This list may be incomplete

• 1951 Massachusetts Open
• 1956 Carolinas PGA Championship
• 1964 Carolinas PGA Championship
• 1979 South Florida PGA Championship

• 1971 PGA Seniors' Championship
• 1977 PGA Seniors' Championship
• 1979 Legends of Golf (with Roberto De Vicenzo)

Year	Championship	54 holes	Winning score	Margin	Runner(s)-up
1952	U.S. Open	2 shot lead	+1 (71-71-68-71=281)	4 strokes	Ed Oliver
1963	U.S. Open (2)	3 shot deficit	+9 (71-74-76-72=293)	Playoff1	Jacky Cupit,   Arnold Palmer
1968	PGA Championship	2 shot deficit	+1 (71-71-70-69=281)	1 stroke	Bob Charles,   Arnold Palmer

¹Defeated Jacky Cupit and Arnold Palmer in an 18-hole playoff - Boros 70 (-1), Cupit 73 (+2), Palmer 76 (+5).

CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
"T" = tied

• Most consecutive cuts made – 14 (1950 Masters – 1956 U.S. Open)
• Longest streak of top-10s – 4 (1951 U.S. Open – 1953 Masters)

Professional

• Ryder Cup: 1959 (winners), 1963 (winners), 1965 (winners), 1967 (winners)
• World Cup: 1953, 1968
• Hopkins Trophy: 1952 (winners), 1953 (winners)

• List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins
• List of men's major championships winning golfers

• Julius Boros at the PGA Tour official site
• Julius Boros at the World Golf Hall of Fame