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Julius Nicolas Boros (March 3, 1920 – May 28, 1994) was an Americanprofessional golfer noted for his effortless-looking swing and strong record on difficult golf courses, particularly at theU.S. Open.^[1]^[2]

Early life and amateur career

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Born inFairfield, Connecticut, Boros was ofHungarian descent, and played varsitybaseball in college.^[3] He then worked as anaccountant while playing high-standard amateur golf.^[1]^[2]

Professional career

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Boros turned professional in 1949 at age 29.^[1]^[2] He won 18PGA Tour events, including threemajor championships: the1952 and1963 U.S. Opens and the1968 PGA Championship. He won his first by four strokes in the heat at theNorthwood Club inDallas, also his first PGA Tour victory, which interrupted the U.S. Open streak of 36-hole leaderBen Hogan for a year. In the windy 1963 U.S. Open nearBoston, Boros defeatedArnold Palmer andJacky 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 the1968 PGA Championship inSan Antonio by a stroke at age 48. One of the runners-up was Palmer, who never won the PGA Championship to complete his careergrand slam. The previous oldest winner of a major wasOld Tom Morris, age 46 in the1867 Open Championship. Boros' mark was surpassed byPhil Mickelson, who won the PGA Championship in2021 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 as1973 at age 53, and tied for seventh.^[1]^[2]

Boros was a member of theRyder Cup team in1959,1963,1965, and1967. He wasPGA Player of the Year in 1952 and1963, and his total careerPGA Tour earnings were $1,004,861. Boros was inducted into theWorld 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 theSenior PGA Tour in the late 1970s. The exciting televised playoff victory of Boros and partnerRoberto De Vicenzo overTommy Bolt andArt Wall Jr. at theLegends of Golf tournament in 1979 raised the profile of professional senior golf competition.^[1]

Personal life

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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 sonGuy Boros won on the PGA Tour in1996, at theGreater Vancouver Open in late August.^[1]^[2]^[4]

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

Professional wins (25)

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PGA Tour wins (18)

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Legend
Major championships (3)
Other PGA Tour (15)

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 (withDutch Harrison)	Tommy Bolt andDick 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

Other wins (4)

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This list may be incomplete

Senior wins (3)

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1971PGA Seniors' Championship
1977PGA Seniors' Championship
1979Legends of Golf (withRoberto De Vicenzo)

Major championships

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Wins (3)

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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).

Results timeline

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Tournament	1950	1951	1952	1953	1954	1955	1956	1957	1958	1959
Masters Tournament	T35	17	T7	T10	T16	T4	T24	CUT	T39	T8
U.S. Open	9	T4	1	T17	T23	T5	T2	T4	3	T28
The Open Championship
PGA Championship									T5	T44

Tournament	1960	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966	1967	1968	1969
Masters Tournament	5	CUT	T11	T3	CUT	CUT	T28	5	T16	T33
U.S. Open	T3	CUT		1	CUT	T4	T17	WD	T16	T13
The Open Championship							15
PGA Championship	T24	CUT	T11	T13	T21	T17	T6	T5	1	T25

Tournament	1970	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979	1980
Masters Tournament	T23	CUT	CUT	CUT	T26
U.S. Open	T12	T42	T29	T7	WD	T38		CUT
The Open Championship
PGA Championship	T26	T34	WD	CUT		T40	CUT	T58	CUT	CUT	CUT

Win

Top 10

Did not play

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

Summary

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Tournament	Wins	2nd	3rd	Top-5	Top-10	Top-25	Events	Cuts made
Masters Tournament	0	0	1	4	7	13	25	18
U.S. Open	2	1	2	9	11	17	26	21
The Open Championship	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1
PGA Championship	1	0	0	3	4	10	22	15
Totals	3	1	3	16	22	41	74	55

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

U.S. national team appearances

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Professional

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

References

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^^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j"Julius Boros – member bio". World Golf Hall of Fame. RetrievedDecember 23, 2013.
^^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^gDorman, Larry (May 30, 1994)."Julius Boros, 74, a Pro Golfer Known for His Masterly Touch".The New York Times. RetrievedNovember 8, 2011.
^Sidorsky, Robert (2009).Golf 365 Days: A History. Abrams.ISBN 978-0810972810.
^"Revival wins World Series for Mickelson".Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. August 25, 1996. p. C4.

External links

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Julius Boros at thePGA Tour official site
Julius Boros at theWorld Golf Hall of Fame

Julius Boros in themajor championships

U.S. Open champions

† indicates the event was won in a playoff; ‡ indicates the event was won wire-to-wire; # indicates the event was won by an amateur; 1942–1945cancelled due toWorld War II

v t e PGA Championship champions
Match play era	1916Jim Barnes 1919Jim Barnes 1920Jock Hutchison 1921Walter Hagen 1922Gene Sarazen 1923Gene Sarazen 1924Walter Hagen 1925Walter Hagen 1926Walter Hagen 1927Walter Hagen 1928Leo Diegel 1929Leo Diegel 1930Tommy Armour 1931Tom Creavy 1932Olin Dutra 1933Gene Sarazen 1934Paul Runyan 1935Johnny Revolta 1936Denny Shute 1937Denny Shute 1938Paul Runyan 1939Henry Picard 1940Byron Nelson 1941Vic Ghezzi 1942Sam Snead 1944Bob Hamilton 1945Byron Nelson 1946Ben Hogan 1947Jim Ferrier 1948Ben Hogan 1949Sam Snead 1950Chandler Harper 1951Sam Snead 1952Jim Turnesa 1953Walter Burkemo 1954Chick Harbert 1955Doug Ford 1956Jack Burke Jr. 1957Lionel Hebert
Stroke play era	1958Dow Finsterwald 1959Bob Rosburg 1960Jay Hebert 1961Jerry Barber† 1962Gary Player 1963Jack Nicklaus 1964‡Bobby Nichols 1965Dave Marr 1966Al Geiberger 1967Don January† 1968Julius Boros 1969‡Raymond Floyd 1970Dave Stockton 1971Jack Nicklaus 1972Gary Player 1973Jack Nicklaus 1974Lee Trevino 1975Jack Nicklaus 1976Dave Stockton 1977Lanny Wadkins† 1978John Mahaffey† 1979David Graham† 1980Jack Nicklaus 1981Larry Nelson 1982‡Raymond Floyd 1983‡Hal Sutton 1984Lee Trevino 1985Hubert Green 1986Bob Tway 1987Larry Nelson† 1988Jeff Sluman 1989Payne Stewart 1990Wayne Grady 1991John Daly 1992Nick Price 1993Paul Azinger† 1994Nick Price 1995Steve Elkington† 1996Mark Brooks† 1997Davis Love III 1998Vijay Singh 1999Tiger Woods 2000‡Tiger Woods† 2001David Toms 2002Rich Beem 2003Shaun Micheel 2004Vijay Singh† 2005Phil Mickelson 2006Tiger Woods 2007Tiger Woods 2008Pádraig Harrington 2009Y. E. Yang 2010Martin Kaymer† 2011Keegan Bradley† 2012Rory McIlroy 2013Jason Dufner 2014Rory McIlroy 2015Jason Day 2016Jimmy Walker 2017Justin Thomas 2018Brooks Koepka 2019Brooks Koepka 2020Collin Morikawa 2021Phil Mickelson 2022Justin Thomas† 2023Brooks Koepka 2024‡Xander Schauffele 2025Scottie Scheffler
† indicates the event was won in a playoff; ‡ indicates the event was won wire-to-wire; 1943cancelled due toWorld War II

Julius Boros in theRyder Cup

v t e United States Ryder Cup team –1965
Julius Boros Billy Casper Tommy Jacobs Don January Tony Lema Gene Littler Dave Marr Arnold Palmer Ken Venturi Byron Nelson (non-playing captain)
Won: 19.5 – 12.5 Johnny Pott: Made the team, but did not participate in the event due to a back injury.

v t e United States Ryder Cup team –1967
Julius Boros Gay Brewer Billy Casper Gardner Dickinson Al Geiberger Gene Littler Bobby Nichols Johnny Pott Arnold Palmer Doug Sanders Ben Hogan (non-playing captain)
Won: 23.5 – 8.5