Once-Great Golfers Whose Time to Compete and Win Has Come and Gone

Yes, 51-year-old Davis Love III's win at the Wyndham Championship indicates that aging, fading former stars can still rise to the occasion on the PGA Tour. However, it's worth noting that Love tallied only one other top-10 finish and made just eight of 18 cuts in 2015. 

In other words, Love's win was largely a fluke, an "any given Sunday" type of victory. Thus, any of the players on this list could catch lightning in a bottle and raise a trophy. However, their best days and their time of routinely contending on the PGA Tour are behind them. 

And as players hit 40, their performance tends to fall off a cliff. A simple, but often overlooked fact.

"Once-great" has varying definitions, which we'll flesh out. But the common theme: These players are done playing their best golf. 

Here are eight golfers beleaguered by Father Time. 

Phil Mickelson

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Age: 45

2014-15 record: 16 of 19 cuts made, three top-10 finishes, T2 finish at the Masters 

Last win: 2013

Phil Mickelson is now 45 years old, and his long, loose swing isn't what it once was. While he managed to rely on experience to contend at Augusta (where experience is vital), he's sloppy off the tee (161st in driving accuracy) and into greens (177th in greens in regulation). It's difficult to contend with regularity when you're not giving yourself looks at birdie, even with Mickelson's short game. 

Tiger Woods

Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images

Age: 39

2014-15 record: Six of 11 cuts, three top-25 finishes

Last win: 2013

A modest goal for Tiger Woods (beyond getting healthy): Return to the level of proficiency exhibited during the 2013-14 season, when he tallied five victories. Still, with a battered body, a spate of back issues, a short game in disarray and no apparent progress in solving his issues off the tee, do we really believe Woods, who will be 40 when he tees it up next, will win again? 

Ernie Els

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

Age: 46

2014-15 record: 10 of 18 cuts made, three top-25 finishes

Last win: 2012

Forty-six-year-old Ernie Els had seven top-25 finishes in 2014. That number declined to three last year as the Big Easy began to suffer the putting breakdown that accompanies gets older (173rd in strokes gained: putting). Els just isn't a competitive golfer anymore, as evidenced by his 158th ranking in strokes gained total.

Retief Goosen

Osama Faisal/Associated Press

Age: 46

2014-15 record: 16 of 25 cuts made, three top-10 finishes, T3 Frys.com Open

Last win: 2009

It's been more than five years since Retief Goosen last raised a trophy on the PGA Tour. The two-time U.S. Open winner is slowing down as he creeps toward 50, and his game from tee to green isn't up to snuff. The Goose was 150th on tour in strokes gained: tee-to-green in 2015. 

Padraig Harrington

Chris Carlson/Associated Press

Age: 44

2014-15 record: Nine of 21 cuts made, one win (Honda Classic)

Last win: 2015

True, he won last year, but the victory was his first since 2008. 2015 was the second year in a row in which Harrington missed more cuts than he made. He also finished 141st on tour in strokes gained: tee-to-green and 181st in both greens in regulation and driving accuracy. 

Steve Stricker

Dave Martin/Associated Press

Age: 48

2014-15 record: Seven of nine cuts

Last win: 2012

Steve Stricker is easing into retirement as he nears Champions Tour age. He played 11 times in 2014 and only nine times last year. While he made seven of nine cuts, it's difficult to think Stricker will be sharp enough to knock off the hungry young whippersnappers on tour.  

Vijay Singh

Matt Sullivan/Getty Images

Age: 52

2014-15 record: 16 of 23 cuts, one top-10 finish

Last win: 2008

The best golfer in his 40s in PGA Tour history, Vijay Singh hasn't won this decade. And while his ability to continue making cuts is admirable, the combination of being one of the worst putters on tour and losing distance off the tee as he ages makes another win unlikely and routine contention impossible. 

Mike Weir

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Age: 45

2014-15 record: Four of 18 cuts made, one top-25 finish

Last win: 2007

Mike Weir, Masters champion and last a winner in 2007, has been awful recently. Arguably the worst driver of the golf ball on tour (he averaged just 260 yards off the tee last year), Weir's game is in total disarray. He's missed more than 10 cuts in each of the past five years. Weir doesn't look to have anything left in the tank. 

Stats via PGATour.com.

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