PGA Tour golfer, 71, started his career before Rory McIlroy was even born

Reed Hughes is competing in the Sanderson Farms Championship this week, aged 71.

The Mississippi-born star earned his spot in the field at the Country Club of Jackson when winning the Gulf States E-Z-GO Section Championship last September.

The victory saw Hughes qualify to make his return to a PGA Tour-sanctioned start, having last featured in the 2012 Senior PGA Championship. He has made eight career PGA Tour appearances previously though, including the 2007 Zurich Classic, but has never made the cut at any of them.

Hughes' first Tour event came in 1984 when he competed in the Danny Thomas Memphis Classic, five years before Rory McIlroy was even born.

The veteran will be hoping to make history in Sanderson, Texas over the coming days, with the oldest player to ever make a PGA Tour cut being Sam Snead, who claimed the record in 1979 aged 67 years, 2 months, 23 days old at the Manufacturers Hanover Westchester Classic.

Hughes’ appearance has quickly made him a fans’ favourite in Jackson, despite a shaky start to the event. He scored four over in the first round of the Sanderson Farms Championship, hitting three birdies on the front nine and one birdie on the back nine.

Speaking to the PGA Tour whilst walking the green on Thursday, Hughes said: “I’ve got a lot of people pulling for me, that’s the biggest thing. I think they feel that I can do better than I do. I’m trying hard.

“I won the tournament last year to get in here and I was playing a lot better a year ago than I am now so I am kind of struggling with my game. I’ve done better so far than I figured I was going to do.”