Irwin won 45 times after age 50

After a Hall of Fame career on PGA Tour, Hale Irwin turned it up a notch

In today’s world of 24-hour sports, cable television, blogs and the like, the initial part of this week’s story would have never taken place. Yet back in June of 1970, it was the way things were done. The information cycle wasn’t what it is today.

It was the afternoon wave of the first round of the 1970 Western Open at the Beverly Country Club in Chicago. I had already caddied that morning for Bob Lunn. I decided I would walk around with the Tommy Aaron pairing that afternoon. My classmate and fellow high school golf team member Johnny Ostrowski was caddying for Aaron. Aaron was a top-20 money winner back then who would win the Masters three years later.

I got to the first tee about 30 minutes before Aaron’s tee time and Johnny O had a glum look on his face. He said that Aaron was nowhere onsite and feared Tommy would no-show. Alongside the first tee were several professionals sitting on the benches with their golf bags. They were the alternates, just in case someone happened to fail to make their tee time.

At one end of the bench was a young man in glasses sitting next to an attractive red-haired woman. He was totally unknown to the golfing public although he had a most interesting sports history. In 1965 and 1966 he was an All-Big Eight defensive back for the University of Colorado. In the spring of 1967 he won the individual NCAA Division I golf title for Colorado. One year later he finished in fourth place at the PGA Tour’s Q School. He had struggled during the 1969 season and the first half of 1970. He was the fourth alternate into the Western and if Aaron didn’t show up he would be on the tee shortly. Johnny O would be his caddie.

I was standing there when the young man who was barely older than us introduced himself to Johnny. Five minutes later he was announced on the first tee by the starter. The starter got his name mixed up and introduced the alternate golfer as “Irwin Hale” even though his golf bag plainly said Hale Irwin. He would go on to miss the cut that week at Beverly and I definitely recall how disappointed Johnny O was for having Tommy Aaron no-show. Little did we know …

One year later Hale Irwin won his first big pro tournament at Harbour Town. He would win there again in 1994. In between his Harbour Town victories, Hale would win 20 times on the PGA Tour. In what would be a most obvious Hall of Fame career, Irwin would win a trio of United States Opens, play on five winning Ryder Cup teams, and serve as playing captain for Team USA in the 1994 Presidents Cup Matches. Hale would have top-five finishes in the other three majors and came in tied for second at the British Open in 1983 when he finished one stroke behind Tom Watson.

Hale Irwin is one of five golfers along with Gary Player, David Graham, Justin Rose and Bernhard Langer who have won professional tournaments on all six continents. While Irwin would never be mentioned in the same breath as some of his contemporaries such as

Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino,

Tom Watson and the foreign contingent of Seve Ballesteros, Nick Price and Greg Norman, he was seen as a very tough competitor who was great enough to win three U.S. Opens during a 17-year period. He was an accuracy guy who was a great irons player.

When Hale Irwin turned 50 in the summer of 1995 he gravitated to the PGA Senior Tour for golfers ages 50 and older. The Senior Tour was the ultimate mulligan for the over50 set and Irwin became the most dominant golfer

in senior history with 45 wins. For all of his recent accomplishments, Bernhard Langer with 42 senior wins finds himself runnerup to the career successes of Hale Irwin. In the world of golfing longevity, no one can top Hale Irwin.

One month after turning 50 years old, Irwin won the Ameritech Senior Open by a gaudy eight strokes over Kermit Zarley. Two months later he won the Vantage Championship. The following April Hale won his first senior major, capturing the PGA Seniors by two strokes over Isao Aoki. The 1997 season was a breakout year for Irwin as he won a second PGA Seniors, this time by an out-of-this-world 12

strokes over Dale Douglass and Jack Nicklaus. He would end up winning nine tournaments that year on the Senior Tour. A third consecutive PGA Senior in 1998 was followed three months later with a triumph in the U.S. Senior Open. The 1998 campaign would end with another seven visits to victory lane by Irwin. He was by far the dominant golfer among the senior set.

The winning ways continued for Hale Irwin well past his 55 birthday. Between the ages of 55 and 59, Irwin won another 15 times and then added another three victories once he passed his 60th birthday. When he finally

started to slow down some 10 years ago, Hale Irwin had a record-best 45 wins on the PGA Champions Tour as well as seven senior majors. He won two U.S. Senior Opens, four Senior PGAs, and one Senior Players. During his golden era, there wasn’t yet a Senior British Open as an active part of the Senior Tour. Irwin collected $45 million during his time with the seniors and shot his age competitively or better 44 times in tournaments.

The woman who Irwin was sitting with on that bench in Chicago is his longtime wife Sally. They have two children. His son Steve is a professional golfer and while not as successful

as his famous father, Steve Irwin did qualify into the U.S. Open in 2011. An avid fundraiser for the St. Louis Children’s Hospital, there is now a Hale Irwin Wing to that hospital. In 2019 Hale received the Payne Stewart Award for his character, sportsmanship and his dedication to charity.

During the course of the past two weeks, we’ve explored the careers and highlights of the game’s two longevity professionals, namely 75-year-old Hale Irwin and 64-yearold Bernhard Langer. Both men had rock-solid Hall of Fame careers on the PGA Tour and then blossomed into senior superstars once they reached their 50th

birthdays. It’s hard to ascertain how golfers such as Irwin and Langer can keep going and going well into their sixth decade. Both men seem to be mentally tough, appear to be well grounded in their family lives, and have been able to remain fit and injury free. Unlike many of their contemporaries, Irwin and Langer have been precision golfers instead of power players or short-game gurus. They excel by hitting those iron shots close to the flagstick. For whatever reason, their combined regular and senior careers will never be matched … except by one another.

Next week: Newest senior star Phil Mickelson.