You’re never too old to be a winner

Once again we’ve seen that age is no barrier to success in golf.

Unlike most other sports, there is no real cut-off point. Golfers coming on to the Tour in their 20s know they could be playing competitive golf for more than 30 years.

Ernie Els and Ken Duke were two very different winners on both sides of the Atlantic last weekend, but are separated by just nine months in age.

At 43, Els looked to be on his way out, especially when he failed to make The Masters last year.

That turned out to be wake-up call for him to remind people that he wasn’t too old.

It drove him to success at The Open. Victory at Lytham showed he’d won that particular battle.

Ernie could hardly have had a better build-up to defending his title at Muirfield in a couple of weeks than his wire-to-wire win in Germany last Sunday.

Duke, meanwhile, is one of those journeyman pros who has kept plugging away for most of his career on the PGA Tour.

Last week in the Travelers Championship was his chance and he took it to claim his first-ever win.

Forty used to be the cut-off point for pros to remain successful, but not any more.

Els, and Darren Clarke the year before, both won The Open aged 42. In testing conditions, they used all their experience and know-how to lift the Claret Jug.

The money on offer now is also a great incentive to keep going, if you’re prepared to make the necessary sacrifices.

The secret is to devise a schedule around courses where you play well and don’t overdo things on the practice ground. There is now the carrot of the Seniors Tour, too. Players know with that on the horizon, they don’t need to start winding down too much.

If they remain competitive with the youngsters, they’ll hope to make hay when they turn 50, and top up their pensions.

That’s the plan for Colin Montgomerie, who reached that figure last weekend and is playing his first Seniors’ event in the United States at the moment.

The two golfers who offer the best example to everyone are Gary Player and Tom Watson.

Tom’s performance at Turnberry in 2009 in so nearly winning The Open again was incredible. For someone at 59, who’s had two hip replacements, to come within a shot of victory had a profound effect.

When I came into the game, Gary Player was considered an eccentric for his approach to keeping fit.

Back then, golf and fitness did not go together. It was common for players to smoke on the course, and head into the bar for a few drinks afterwards.

That has all changed. The pros now head to the physio units on the practice ground to warm down after playing.

Golf has benefited from all the sports science involved, and players can stay competitive for longer.

What Gary was doing over 40 years ago is now considered the norm.

I had lunch with him recently and he’s not changed a bit. He still loves his golf and is even competing in a seniors’ tournament in Switzerland next weekend.