The Top Five Most Successful Young Golfers of All Time

~ Youthful Exuberance - Throughout the last two centuries, some of golf's greatest champions earned multiple major championship victories before the age of 25. But which golfers truly stand out for the success they enjoyed during their youths? ~

In honor of 22-year-old Rory McIlroy's dominating performance at this year's U.S Open championship, it is appropriate to remember some of the game's most successful younger champions.

The following five golfers are well-regarded for their career achievements, multiple tournament victories, and record-setting performances - which occurred before they celebrated their 25th birthdays.

1.) Bobby Jones

By the time Robert Tyre Jones Jr. retired from competitive golf at the age of 28, he was well-known as the most successful golfer in the history of the game.

With thirteen major championship victories, including a record-tying four U.S. Opens, three British Opens, five U.S. Amateurs, and one British Amateur, no one had ever enjoyed so much success in such a short time span.

Jones earned his first major championship at the age of 21 (at the 1923 U.S. Open) and claimed twelve more major victories throughout the next seven years.

To this day, his claim to fame remains the 1930 season in which he captured the Grand Slam - the U.S. Open, the British Open, the British Amateur, and the U.S. Amateur - during a single calendar year.

Even after 81 years, no other golfer has yet matched such a feat - and, likely, no one ever will.

2.) Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods is arguably one of the greatest, if not the greatest, golfers of all time. Whether or not he will eventually break Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 major championship victories has yet to be determined.

But one fact is certain. Few golfers have ever dominated the game at such an early age like Woods.

From his twelve-shot triumph at the 1997 Masters (at the age of 21) to his fifteen-shot romp at the 2000 U.S. Open (at the age of 25), Woods has established, re-established, and once again broken multiple records, time after time - all before be celebrated his 30th birthday.

With more than 70 PGA TOUR wins and 14 major championship victories, no one has ever won at such a rapid - and consistent - pace in the history of the game.

No matter what Woods accomplishes in the future, he will always be remembered, along with Jones, as one of the two most successful young golfers of all time.

3.) Seve Ballesteros

The late Seve Ballesteros changed the landscape of European golf forever when he almost defeated Johnny Miller during the 1976 British Open at the tender age of 19.

Three years later, Ballesteros captured the claret jug to become one of the youngest winners in the history of the British Open championship. Upon doing so, he dominated world golf - and major championships - throughout the next five years.

In 1980, he became the youngest winner of the Masters Tournament. By 1984, at the age of 27, he had claimed two British Opens and two Masters, along with dozens upon dozens of tournaments in all four corners of the globe.

By the time he retired from the game in 2007, he had won 50 European Tour events, five major championships, and more than 90 tournaments across the world.

Amazingly, he had earned all of his professional victories before he was 40-years-old.

Few golfers have ever captured the attention - and imagination - of the sporting world like Ballesteros. He truly was one of a kind - and will always be remembered as one of the game's most likable personalities and most naturally gifted individuals.

4.) Young Tom Morris

On Christmas Day 1875, Young Tom Morris, the son of one of the game's founders, Old Tom Morris, tragically passed away at the age of 24.

Although his time on earth was far too short, his impact on the game remains as significant today as it was when he contended in multiple Open Championships throughout the 1860s and 1870s.

Morris competed in his first Open Championship when he was only 14-years-old. He finished in ninth place the following year and in fourth place in 1867, while he was still only 16-years-old.

In 1868, at the age of 17, Morris became the youngest major champion of all time after defeating his own father by three strokes at the Open Championship.

Morris would then claim three more Open Championships, including an 11-stroke victory in 1869 and a 13-stroke triumph in 1870 - all before he was 22-years-old.

He is still the only golfer to have won four consecutive Open Championships, as well as the only major champion to have claimed a title at the age of 17.

In addition, he, along with Tiger Woods, is the only golfer to have won a major championship by more than 12 strokes.

One can only wonder what else he would have accomplished had his life not ended so abruptly and tragically.

5.) Gene Sarazen

As golf commentators and fans remember some of the most talented champions of all time, they often forget to mention seven-time major champion Gene Sarazen.

But, throughout the 1920s and 1930s, Sarazen enjoyed one of the finest careers in golf history, especially when he captured multiple major championships during his early 20s.

In 1922, at the age of 20, Sarazen defeated Bobby Jones for his first U.S. Open victory. A few months later, he earned the 1922 and 1923 PGA Championships to become one of only a handful of individuals to have successfully defended the tournament.

Additionally, Sarazen won dozens of PGA TOUR events - 39 in total - all before he celebrated his 41st birthday.

Quite simply, few golfers have ever captured so many tournaments in such a time short time span - including all four of golf's major championships.

The "Squire," along with Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen, changed professional and amateur golf throughout the 1920s and 1930s, allowing individuals like Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, and Jack Nicklaus to pave the way for today's generation.

As each of these five individuals, along with Rory McIlroy, proved on a regular basis, age is just a number.

Greatness can be achieved at all times and amidst all circumstances.

Yet, as golf's future champions prepare to leave indelible imprints on the game, two questions linger - which one of today's young golfers will dominate the game next - and what type of impact will they have on the future of golf?