Darren Clarke has joined many of his fellow Open Champions in paying tribute to Australia’s Kel Nagle, golf’s oldest Major Champion, who passed away on Thursday in Sydney.

“It is always very sad when one of the greats of the game passes away, and while I hadn’t had the pleasure of meeting Kel, I knew of him and his achievements in the game,” said Clarke.

“So it is sad whenever one of the legends passes away and what he achieved at St. Andrews in that 1960 Open was legendary.”

It speaks volumes for Nagle’s stature, and the game of golf in general, that players such as Clarke along with other Open Champions in World No. 1 Rory McIlroy, the South African winning Open duo of Ernie Els and Louis Oosthuizen plus Scotland’s Paul Lawrie, have paid tributes in memory of Nagle.

Nagle, who turned 94 on 21st December, will be laid to rest on Tuesday in Sydney.

Some of the greats gather during Australian Open week – Five-time Open winner Peter Thomson (standing), the late Kel Nagle (foreground), Peter Hines, long-time dear friend to Kel (middle) and Dave Mercer (right).