Hale Irwin
Personal information
Full name
Hale S. Irwin
Born
(1945-06-03) June 3, 1945 (age 79)
Joplin, Missouri, U.S.
Height
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Sporting nationality
Spouse
Sally Irwin
Children
2
Career
College
Turned professional
1968
Former tour(s)
Professional wins
83
Highest ranking
7 (May 19, 1991)[1]
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour
20
European Tour
3
Japan Golf Tour
1
Sunshine Tour
1
PGA Tour of Australasia
1
PGA Tour Champions
45 (2nd all-time)
Other
8 (regular)
7 (senior)
Best results in major championships
(wins: 3)
T5: 1975
T2: 1983
Achievements and awards
2019
Hale S. Irwin (born June 3, 1945) is an American professional golfer. He was one of the world's leading golfers from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s. He is one of the few players in history to win three U.S. Opens, becoming the oldest ever U.S. Open champion in 1990 at the age of 45. As a senior golfer, Irwin ranks second all-time in PGA Tour Champions victories. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in Champions Tour history. He has also developed a career as a golf course architect.
Irwin was born in Joplin, Missouri, and raised in Baxter Springs, Kansas, and Boulder, Colorado. His father introduced him to the game of golf when he was four years old; he broke 70 for the first time at age fourteen.[2] Irwin was a star athlete in football, baseball, and golf at Boulder High School[3] and graduated in 1963.
Irwin then attended the University of Colorado in Boulder, played football for the Buffaloes under head coach Eddie Crowder,[4] was a two-time All-Big Eight defensive back (1965, 1966),[5] and academic All-American. He won the individual NCAA championship in golf in his senior year in 1967.
In 1968, Irwin turned professional. Irwin's first PGA Tour victory was at the 1971 Sea Pines Heritage Classic.
Irwin's first U.S. Open triumph came at Winged Foot in 1974 at the age of 29. In what became known as "The Massacre at Winged Foot", Irwin won with a score of 7-over par, the second-highest winning score in relation to par of any U.S. Open since 1945. The course conditions at Winged Foot in 1974 were described as "brutal".[6] Johnny Miller and several other players suggested that the USGA had intentionally made the Winged Foot course setup particularly treacherous in response to Miller's record-breaking round of 63 at Oakmont the year before.[7] Irwin, however, said in 1974: "I've always enjoyed playing tough courses. It's much more of a challenge to me."[8] Irwin earned $35,000 for his victory at Winged Foot and said that he had a vivid dream three weeks earlier that he won the U.S. Open, which he only told his wife about.[9]
Irwin won the Piccadilly World Match Play ChampionshipatWentworth Club in 1974 and 1975. He missed out on a record-breaking third straight victory when he was beaten in the 1976 final by Australian David Graham on the second sudden-death playoff hole.[10]
Between January 1975 to the end of the 1978 season, Irwin made the cut in 86 consecutive PGA Tour events. To date, this is the fourth-longest streak of consecutive cuts made on the PGA Tour.[11]
In 1977, Irwin's three wins on the PGA Tour included a five-shot victory in the Colgate Hall of Fame ClassicatPinehurst Resort. Irwin shot a second round of 62 at Pinehurst for a 15-under par opening 36-hole total of 127, which was the best in any PGA Tour event for over a decade.[12]
Irwin's tournament victories kept him ranked high among his peers - he was ranked among the top five in McCormack's World Golf Rankings in every year from 1975 to 1979, inclusive. He ranked in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Rankings for a few weeks in 1991.[13]
Irwin added a second U.S. Open title in 1979atInverness Club. With its narrow fairways and heavy rough,[14] the Inverness course was a stern test for the players. Irwin's final round of 75 tied the post-World War II tournament record for the highest final round score by a U.S. Open champion.[15] The next month in The Open ChampionshipatRoyal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club, Irwin came to the final round with a two-shot lead. He was bidding to become one of the few golfers in golf history to win the U.S. Open and British Open in the same year.[16] Irwin said in 1979: "I would dearly love to win the British Open. It is special."[17] However, he was thwarted in his attempt at an historic double by the incredible recovery play of Seve Ballesteros.
In1983, Irwin had another close tilt at The Open Championship, but lost by a shot to Tom Watson at Royal Birkdale, after whiffing on a tiny putt of about an inch, during his third round of play. Irwin said that his mistake, which cost him the chance of a playoff with Watson, was "a mental lapse" and that he learned a lesson from it, later being very careful on short putts.[18]
Irwin later said that the greatest disappointment of his career was not at the British Open, but at the 1984 U.S. OpenatWinged Foot Golf Club. Irwin had led the tournament after the first three rounds but shot a final round of 79 to finish 6th. Reflecting on his final round collapse, Irwin said: "A number of factors were in play and it was very emotional. I thought it would be great to win 10 years later at the same venue and, more than anything else, my father was dying of cancer then and I thought it would be wonderful to give him a victory. I destroyed myself with the pressures I'd built up."[19]
After his victory in the 1985 Memorial Tournament, Irwin had occasional top-10 finishes in tournaments for the remainder of the decade but he did not have a further official PGA Tour win until an incredible year in 1990, which was capped by his third U.S. Open victory. In a remarkable tournament, Irwin holed an improbable 45-foot (14 m) birdie putt on the 72nd hole to join a playoff against fellow American Mike Donald. In the 18-hole Monday playoff, Donald was two shots ahead of Irwin with three holes to play. Donald missed a 15-foot par putt on the 18th which would have given him victory. Both men shot rounds of 74 in the playoff and Irwin won the title with a birdie on the first sudden-death playoff hole. After becoming the oldest ever U.S. Open champion at the age of 45, winning his first PGA Tour event for five years, Irwin was gracious in victory. He said of his playoff opponent Mike Donald: "God bless him. I almost wish he had won."[20] The following week, Irwin won the Buick Classic.[21]
During his career, Irwin won professional tournaments on all six continents on which golf is played: Africa, Australia, Asia, Europe, North America and South America. Irwin played on five Ryder Cup teams: 1975, 1977, 1979, 1981, and 1991. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1992.
Irwin's final PGA Tour win was at the 1994 MCI Heritage Golf Classic. This win at the age of nearly 49 made him one of the oldest winners in Tour history. Overall, he won prize money of just under six million dollars in his career.
Former U.S. Open champion and television analyst Ken Venturi said of Irwin: "Aesthetically and technically, Hale stands at the ball as well as any player I've ever seen."[22]
Irwin qualified to play on the over-50 Senior PGA Tour in 1995, and enjoyed even greater success at this level than he did on the PGA Tour. Through the 2021 season, he is the career leader in wins and earnings with 45 victories and over $26 million.[23][24] Irwin won three consecutive PGA Seniors' Championships between 1996 and 1998, including a 12-stroke victory in the 1997 tournament, which was the largest ever margin of victory in a 72-hole Champions Tour event until Bernhard Langer's 13-stroke victory in the 2014 Senior Open Championship.[25] Irwin's nine victories in 1997 tied the Senior Tour record set by Peter Thomson in 1985.[19]
Irwin won the U.S. Senior Open in 1998 and 2000 for a career total of five USGA titles. He narrowly missed out on a third U.S. Senior Open title in 2004 when he finished one stroke behind Peter Jacobsen.[26]
Irwin is the oldest player to finish in the top five in a senior major, with a third-place finish at the 2012 Senior PGA Championship at the age of 66.[27] In the 2012 3M Championship, Irwin shot a score under his age for the first time in his career. His round of 65 included an eagle on the 9th hole and six consecutive birdies on the back nine.[28] Irwin has since gone on to shoot his age 44 times in official PGA Tour Champions events (as of August 11, 2020), well ahead of Gary Player's second-place 30. While he has continued to play PGA Tour Champions well into his seventies, he has significantly cut back his tournament schedule, competing in no more than eight tour events in any season since 2015.[29]
In 2000, Irwin was ranked as the 19th greatest golfer of all time by Golf Digest magazine.[30]
Irwin is married to wife Sally and has two children.[31] Irwin's son Steve qualified for the 2011 U.S. Open. Steve Irwin said of his father: "I'm very proud of him. The U.S. Open is what truly defined his career. It's been my ultimate goal in golf to play in the U.S. Open since I began competing."[32]
For 25 years, Hale Irwin helped to raise money for the St. Louis Children's Hospital, which named a wing in his honor. Irwin also enjoys hunting and fishing and spending time with his grandchildren. He is the uncle of former CU lineman Heath Irwin.[33]
In 2019, in acknowledgement of his character, sportsmanship and commitment to charity, Irwin received the PGA Tour's Payne Stewart Award presented by Southern Company.[34]
Legend
Major championships (3)
Other PGA Tour (17)
No.
Date
Tournament
Winning score
To par
Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1
Nov 28, 1971
68-73-68-70=279
−5
1 stroke
2
Sep 16, 1973
Sea Pines Heritage Classic (2)
69-66-65-72=272
−12
5 strokes
3
Jun 16, 1974
73-70-71-73=287
+7
2 strokes
4
Jun 1, 1975
66-69-68-68=271
−17
4 strokes
5
Jun 30, 1975
71-68-71-73=283
−1
1 stroke
6
Feb 22, 1976
Glen Campbell-Los Angeles Open
69-69-66-68=272
−12
2 strokes
7
Mar 7, 1976
74-66-64-66=270
−18
Playoff
8
May 29, 1977
Atlanta Classic (2)
70-70-66-67=273
−15
1 stroke
9
Aug 28, 1977
Colgate Hall of Fame Golf Classic
65-62-69-68=264
−20
5 strokes
10
Oct 16, 1977
68-67-64-67=266
−14
2 strokes
11
Jun 17, 1979
U.S. Open (2)
74-68-67-75=284
E
2 strokes
12
Feb 14, 1981
68-66-62-69=265
−23
6 strokes
13
Aug 23, 1981
65-73-67-72=277
−11
Playoff
Bobby Clampett, Peter Jacobsen, Gil Morgan
14
Mar 14, 1982
65-71-67-66=269
−19
1 stroke
15
May 29, 1983
71-71-70-69=281
−7
1 stroke
16
Feb 5, 1984
69-69-68-72=278
−10
Playoff
17
May 26, 1985
68-68-73-72=281
−7
1 stroke
18
Jun 18, 1990
U.S. Open (3)
69-70-74-67=280
−8
Playoff
19
Jun 24, 1990
66-69-68-66=269
−15
2 strokes
20
Apr 17, 1994
68-65-65-68=266
−18
2 strokes
PGA Tour playoff record (4–5)
No.
Year
Tournament
Opponent(s)
Result
1
Lost to birdie on first extra hole
2
David Graham, Lou Graham, Larry Ziegler
L. Graham won with birdie on third extra hole
D. Graham and Ziegler eliminated by par on first hole
3
Won with par on sixth extra hole
4
1976
Lost to birdie on fourth extra hole
5
John Cook, Bobby Clampett, Ben Crenshaw, Barney Thompson
Cook won with par on third extra hole
Clampett, Crenshaw and Thompson eliminated by birdie on first hole
6
1981
Bobby Clampett, Peter Jacobsen, Gil Morgan
Won with birdie on second extra hole
7
Won with birdie on second extra hole
8
Won with birdie on first extra hole after 18-hole playoff;
Irwin: +2 (74),
Donald: +2 (74)
9
Lost to birdie on first extra hole
No.
Date
Tournament
Winning score
To par
Margin of
victory
Runner-up
1
Oct 25, 1981
70-65-72-68=275
−13
8 strokes
No.
Date
Tournament
Winning score
To par
Margin of
victory
Runners-up
1
Dec 2, 1978
70-69-67-69=275
−9
1 stroke
Hugh Baiocchi, 
Mark McNulty, Robbie Stewart
No.
Date
Tournament
Winning score
To par
Margin of
victory
Runner-up
1
Nov 12, 1978
Mayne Nickless Australian PGA Championship
64-75-70-69=278
−6
8 strokes
No.
Date
Tournament
Winning score
To par
Margin of
victory
Runners-up
1
Nov 21, 1982
67-67-66-65=265
−7
2 strokes
No.
Date
Tournament
Winning score
To par
Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1
Oct 12, 1974
Piccadilly World Match Play Championship
3 and 1
2
Oct 11, 1975
Piccadilly World Match Play Championship (2)
4 and 2
3
Nov 11, 1979
World Cup
(with John Mahaffey)
141-141-152-141=575
−1
5 strokes
Scotland − Ken Brown and Sandy Lyle
4
Nov 11, 1979
74-70-72-69=285
−3
2 strokes
5
Jan 5, 1986
70-68-64-67=269
−19
6 strokes
6
Jan 4, 1987
69-68-70=207
−9
5 strokes
7
Dec 7, 2003
Office Depot Father/Son Challenge
(with son Steve Irwin)
62-61=123
−21
1 stroke
Jack Nicklaus and son Jack Nicklaus Jr.
Other playoff record (0–1)
No.
Year
Tournament
Opponents
Result
1
2002
Office Depot Father/Son Challenge
(with son Steve Irwin)
Craig Stadler and son Kevin Stadler
Lost to birdie on first extra hole
Legend
Champions Tour major championships (7)
Tour Championships (1)
Other Champions Tour (37)
No.
Date
Tournament
Winning score
Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1
Jul 30, 1995
−22 (66-63-66=195)
8 strokes
2
Oct 1, 1995
−17 (66-68-65=199)
4 strokes
3
Feb 25, 1996
−19 (66-67-64=197)
5 strokes
4
Apr 21, 1996
−8 (66-74-69-71=280)
2 strokes
5
Jan 19, 1997
−9 (71-67-69=207)
2 strokes
6
Feb 9, 1997
−15 (70-66-65=201)
1 stroke
7
Apr 20, 1997
−14 (69-65-72-68=274)
12 strokes
8
Apr 27, 1997
−6 (70-65-72=207)
1 stroke
9
Jul 20, 1997
−17 (65-68-66=199)
2 strokes
10
Aug 3, 1997
−13 (70-65-65=200)
2 strokes
11
Sep 14, 1997
−16 (70-65-65=200)
2 strokes
12
Oct 5, 1997
−18 (64-62-69=195)
1 stroke
13
Oct 19 1997
Hyatt Regency Maui Kaanapali Classic
−13 (67-63-70=200)
3 strokes
14
Mar 15, 1998
−13 (70-68-62=200)
1 stroke
15
Apr 19, 1998
−13 (68-68-69-70=275)
6 strokes
16
Apr 26, 1998
−7 (69-67-70-75=281)
1 stroke
17
Jul 19, 1998
−15 (62-66-73=201)
3 strokes
18
Jul 26, 1998
+1 (77-68-71-69=285)
1 stroke
19
Aug 30, 1998
−15 (69-64-68=201)
2 strokes
20
Nov 8, 1998
Energizer Senior Tour Championship
−14 (66-73-70-65=274)
5 strokes
21
May 9, 1999
−10 (69-68-69=206)
1 stroke
22
May 30, 1999
−13 (68-69-66=203)
2 strokes
23
Jun 27, 1999
Ford Senior Players Championship
−21 (67-71-64-65=267)
7 strokes
24
Jul 18, 1999
−10 (73-66-67=206)
1 stroke
Bruce Fleisher, Raymond Floyd, Gary McCord
25
Jul 25, 1999
Coldwell Banker Burnet Classic (2)
−15 (64-68-69=201)
2 strokes
26
May 14, 2000
−9 (71-67-69=207)
1 stroke
27
Jun 4, 2000
−18 (68-65-65=198)
1 stroke
28
Jul 2, 2000
U.S. Senior Open (2)
−17 (66-71-65-65=267)
3 strokes
29
Oct 22, 2000
−18 (71-62-65=198)
4 strokes
30
Mar 18, 2001
Siebel Classic in Silicon Valley
−10 (71-70-65=206)
5 strokes
31
Apr 28, 2001
−21 (65-65-65=195)
4 strokes
32
Oct 7, 2001
−11 (69-68-68=205)
3 strokes
33
Feb 10, 2002
−16 (68-64-68=200)
1 stroke
34
Mar 10, 2002
−17 (67-64-65=196)
5 strokes
35
Aug 11, 2002
3M Championship (3)
−12 (66-70-68=204)
3 strokes
36
Oct 6, 2002
−8 (69-69-70=208)
Playoff
37
May 19, 2003
−8 (69-66-73=208)
Playoff
38
Oct 12, 2003
−8 (68-73-67=208)
2 strokes
39
Apr 25, 2004
Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf
−11 (66-68-71=205)
1 stroke
40
May 30, 2004
−8 (67-69-69-71=276)
1 stroke
41
Jan 30, 2005
−16 (67-66-67=200)
5 strokes
42
Feb 27, 2005
−8 (72-69-68-67=276)
1 stroke
43
Sep 4, 2005
Wal-Mart First Tee Open at Pebble Beach
−13 (66-69-68=203)
1 stroke
Morris Hatalsky, Gil Morgan, Craig Stadler
44
Oct 2, 2005
−13 (69-68-66=203)
2 strokes
45
Jan 21, 2007
−23 (66-62-65=193)
5 strokes
Champions Tour playoff record (2–6)
No.
Year
Tournament
Opponent
Result
1
Lost to par on first extra hole
2
Lost to birdie on second extra hole
3
1999
AT&T Canada Senior Open Championship
Lost to par on second extra hole
4
Lost to par on first extra hole
5
2002
Lost to birdie on seventh extra hole
6
2002
Won with birdie on first extra hole
7
Won with birdie on second extra hole
8
Administaff Small Business Classic
Lost to birdie on first extra hole
Year
Championship
54 holes
Winning score
Margin
Runner(s)-up
1 shot deficit
+7 (73-70-71-73=287)
2 strokes
U.S. Open (2)
3 shot lead
E (74-68-67-75=284)
2 strokes
U.S. Open (3)
4 shot deficit
−8 (69-70-74-67=280)
Playoff1
1Defeated Mike Donald with a birdie on the 19th hole after they were tied at 74 (+2) in an 18-hole playoff.
Tournament
1966
1967
1968
1969
T61
Tournament
1970
1971
1972
1973
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
1979
T13
CUT
T4
T4
T5
5
8
T23
T19
T36
T20
1
T3
T26
T41
T4
1
T24
9
T32
T46
T24
6
T31
T22
T11
T9
T5
T34
T44
T12
CUT
Tournament
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
CUT
T25
CUT
T6
T21
T36
CUT
T8
T58
T39
T39
6
14
CUT
CUT
T17
T54
T2
T14
T30
T16
T42
T14
T25
T32
T26
T38
Tournament
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
T10
47
T27
T18
T14
T29
1
T11
T51
T62
T18
CUT
T50
T52
CUT
WD
T53
T57
T19
T12
T73
T66
T6
T39
T54
T29
T41
Tournament
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
T27
T52
CUT
WD
CUT
CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place.
Tournament
Wins
2nd
3rd
Top-5
Top-10
Top-25
Events
Cuts made
0
0
0
4
7
13
21
17
3
0
1
5
7
13
34
27
0
1
0
1
3
7
11
11
0
0
0
1
3
10
26
24
Totals
3
1
1
11
20
43
92
79
Tournament
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
T34
7
T17
T3
T42
CUT
T14
T51
T19
T49
T15
T5
CUT
T24
CUT
CUT
T5
T27
CUT
CUT
4
T55
T46
CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Year
Championship
Winning score
Margin
Runner(s)-up
1996
−8 (66-74-69-71=280)
2 strokes
1997
−14 (69-65-72-68=274)
12 strokes
1998
−13 (68-68-69-70=275)
7 strokes
1998
+1 (77-68-71-69=285)
1 stroke
1999
Ford Senior Players Championship
−21 (67-71-64-65=267)
7 strokes
2000
U.S. Senior Open (2)
−17 (66-71-65-65=267)
3 strokes
2004
−8 (67-69-69-71=276)
1 stroke
Results not in chronological order before 2017.
Tournament
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
–
2
T13
4
T20
T37
3
6
–
1
1
1
T11
T2
T5
T2
T5
2
T5
1
T3
1
T11
T11
T10
2
T19
2
1
T4
3
T6
Tournament
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
T10
13
T42
T32
T52
T41
T38
T50
T45
T53
T54
T72
80
T15
1
T46
T23
T42
CUT
T59
T65
4
3
T56
T67
CUT
CUT
2
25
T32
CUT
T40
T32
CUT
T4
CUT
T56
CUT
70
CUT
CUT
CUT
T12
T9
2
T7
T27
T15
T41
T45
T30
T68
T75
T57
T68
T13
CUT
The Senior Open Championship was not a senior major until 2003.
CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
This list may be incomplete.
Professional
† indicates the event was won in a playoff; ‡ indicates the event was won wire-to-wire; # indicates the event was won by an amateur; 1942–1945 cancelled due to World War II
† indicates the event was won in a playoff
† indicates the event was won in a playoff
† indicates the event was won in a playoff
Won: 21 – 11
Won: 12.5 – 7.5
Won: 17 – 11
Won: 18.5 – 9.5
Won: 14.5 – 13.5
Won: 20 – 12
