Hale Irwin

Hale Irwin
Personal information
Full name	Hale S. Irwin
Born	June 3, 1945 (1945-06-03) (age 64) Joplin, Missouri
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Nationality	United States
Career
College	University of Colorado
Turned professional	1968
Current tour(s)	PGA Tour Champions Tour
Professional wins	87
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	20
Champions Tour	45 (1st all time)
Other	10 (regular) 12 (senior)
Best results in Major Championships (Wins: 3)
The Masters	T4: 1974, 1975
U.S. Open	Won: 1974, 1979, 1990
Open Championship	T2: 1983
PGA Championship	T5: 1975
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame	1992 (member page)
Champions Tour leading money winner	1997, 1998, 2002
Champions Tour Player of the Year	1997, 1998, 2002
Champions Tour Rookie of the Year	1995
Byron Nelson Award (Champions Tour)	1996, 1997, 1998, 2002

Hale S. Irwin (born June 3, 1945) is an American professional golfer. He is one of the few players in history to have won three U.S. Opens and was one of the world's leading golfers for much of the 1970s and 1980s. He has also developed a career as a golf course architect.

Irwin was born in Joplin, Missouri, but was raised in Baxter Springs, Kansas. He graduated from the University of Colorado in 1967, where he was a two-time All-Big Eight defensive back, as well as an academic All-American in football. He won the individual NCAA Division I Championship in golf in 1967 and turned professional the following year.

Irwin had 20 victories on the PGA Tour beginning with the 1971 Sea Pines Heritage Classic and finishing with the 1994 MCI Heritage Golf Classic, and won prize money of just under six million dollars. His 1994 Heritage win at the age of nearly 49 made him one of the oldest winners in Tour history. He also won two Piccadilly World Match Play Championships at Wentworth in the 1970s. His successes 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.^[1]

Irwin played on five Ryder Cup teams: 1975, 1977, 1979, 1981, and 1991.

Irwin's first U.S. Open triumph came at Winged Foot in 1974, and he added a second in 1979. The next month, he came to the final round of the The Open Championship with a two-shot lead, but was thwarted in his attempt at an historic double by the incredible recovery play of Severiano Ballesteros. In 1983, Irwin had another close tilt at the Open, but lost by a shot, having called a penalty on himself in an early round for casually taking an "air shot" over a short putt. He was rarely on leaderboards from then for most of the rest of the 1980s, but enjoyed an incredible swansong in 1990, capped by his third U.S. Open victory, which came in a playoff against Mike Donald which Irwin had only joined after holing an improbable 45-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole.

Irwin qualified to play on the over-50 Champions Tour (formerly the Senior PGA Tour) in 1995 and has enjoyed even greater success at this level than he did on the PGA Tour. He has won 45 Champions Tour titles and tops the all-time Champions Tour money list with earnings of over USD $23 million. He was the winner of the U.S. Senior Open in 1998 and 2000.

Irwin was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1992.

In 2000, Irwin was ranked as the 19th greatest golfer of all time by Golf Digest magazine.^[2]

Irwin is the uncle of Heath Irwin.

Contents 1 Amateur wins (1) 2 Professional wins (87) 2.1 PGA Tour wins (20) 2.2 Other wins (10) 2.3 Champions Tour wins (45) 2.4 Other senior wins (12) 3 Major championships 3.1 Wins (3) 3.2 Results timeline 4 Champions Tour major results 4.1 Wins (7) 5 United States national team appearances 5.1 Professional 6 See also 7 References 8 External links

Amateur wins (1)

• 1967 NCAA Division I Championship

Professional wins (87)

PGA Tour wins (20)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning Score	Margin of Victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Nov 28, 1971	Sea Pines Heritage Classic	-5 (68-73-68-70=279)	1 stroke	Bob Lunn
2	Sep 16, 1973	Sea Pines Heritage Classic	-12 (69-66-65-72=272)	5 strokes	Jerry Heard, Grier Jones
3	Jun 16, 1974	U.S. Open	+7 (73-70-71-73=287)	2 strokes	Forrest Fezler
4	Jun. 1, 1975	Atlanta Classic	-17 (66-69-68-68=271)	4 strokes	Tom Watson
5	Jun 29, 1975	Western Open	-1 (71-68-71-73=283)	1 stroke	Bobby Cole
6	Feb 22, 1976	Glen Campbell-Los Angeles Open	-12 (69-69-66-68=272)	2 strokes	Tom Watson
7	Mar 7, 1976	Florida Citrus Open	-18 (74-66-64-66=270)	Playoff	Kermit Zarley
8	May 29, 1977	Atlanta Classic	-15 (70-70-66-67=273)	1 stroke	Steve Veriato
9	Aug 28, 1977	Colgate Hall of Fame Golf Classic	-20 (65-62-69-68=264)	5 strokes	Leonard Thompson
10	Oct 16, 1977	San Antonio Texas Open	-14 (68-67-64-67=266)	2 strokes	Miller Barber
11	Jun 17, 1979	U.S. Open	Even (74-68-67-75=284)	2 strokes	Jerry Pate, Gary Player
12	Feb 14, 1981	Hawaiian Open	-23 (68-66-62-69=265)	6 strokes	Don January
13	Aug 23, 1981	Buick Open	-11 (65-73-67-72=277)	Playoff	Bobby Clampett, Peter Jacobsen, Gil Morgan
14	Mar 14, 1982	Honda Inverrary Classic	-19 (65-71-67-66=269)	1 stroke	George Burns, Tom Kite
15	May 29, 1983	Memorial Tournament	-7 (71-71-70-69=281)	1 stroke	Ben Crenshaw, David Graham
16	Feb 5, 1984	Bing Crosby National Pro-Am	-10 (69-69-68-72=278)	Playoff	Jim Nelford
17	May 26, 1985	Memorial Tournament	-14 (72-67-68-67=274)	1 stroke	Lanny Wadkins
18	Jun 18, 1990	U.S. Open	-8 (69-70-74-67=280)	Playoff	Mike Donald
19	Jun 24, 1990	Buick Classic	-15 (66-69-68-66=269)	2 strokes	Paul Azinger
20	Apr 17, 1994	MCI Heritage Golf Classic	-18 (68-65-65-68=266)	1 stroke	Greg Norman

Other wins (10)

• 1974 Piccadilly World Match Play Championship
• 1975 Piccadilly World Match Play Championship
• 1978 Australian PGA Championship, South African PGA Championship
• 1979 World Cup (team - with John Mahaffey and individual)
• 1981 Bridgestone Open
• 1982 Brazil Open
• 1986 Bahamas Classic
• 1987 Fila Classic

Champions Tour wins (45)

• 1995 (2) Ameritech Senior Open, Vantage Championship
• 1996 (2) American Express Invitational, PGA Seniors' Championship
• 1997 (9) MasterCard Championship, LG Championship, PGA Seniors' Championship, Las Vegas Senior Classic, Burnet Senior Classic, BankBoston Classic, Boone Valley Classic, Vantage Championship, Hyatt Regency Maui Kaanapali Classic
• 1998 (7) Toshiba Senior Classic, PGA Seniors' Championship, Las Vegas Senior Classic, Ameritech Senior Open, U.S. Senior Open, BankBoston Classic, Energizer Senior Tour Championship
• 1999 (5) Nationwide Championship, Boone Valley Classic, Ford Senior Players Championship, Ameritech Senior Open, Coldwell Banker Burnet Classic
• 2000 (4) Nationwide Championship, BellSouth Senior Classic at Opryland, U.S. Senior Open, EMC Kaanapali Classic
• 2001 (3) Siebel Classic in Silicon Valley, Bruno's Memorial Classic, Turtle Bay Championship
• 2002 (4) ACE Group Classic, Toshiba Senior Classic, 3M Championship, Turtle Bay Championship
• 2003 (2) Kinko's Classic of Austin, Turtle Bay Championship
• 2004 (2) Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf, Senior PGA Championship
• 2005 (4) Turtle Bay Championship, Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am, Wal-Mart First Tee Open at Pebble Beach, SAS Championship
• 2007 (1) MasterCard Championship at Hualalai

Senior majors are shown in bold.

Other senior wins (12)

• 1995 Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge (with Raymond Floyd and Jack Nicklaus)
• 1996 Lexus Challenge (with Sean Connery)
• 1997 Senior Slam at Los Cabos
• 1998 Senior Match Play Challenge, Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge (with Gil Morgan and Larry Nelson)
• 1999 Senior Skins Game, Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge (with Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson)
• 2000 Our Lucaya Senior Slam
• 2001 Senior Skins Game
• 2002 Senior Skins Game
• 2003 Office Depot Father/Son Challenge (with son Steve)
• 2005 Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge (with Jay Haas and Craig Stadler)

Major championships

Wins (3)

Year	Championship	54 Holes	Winning Score	Margin	Runner(s)-up
1974	U.S. Open	1 shot deficit	+7 (73-70-71-73=287)	2 strokes	Forrest Fezler
1979	U.S. Open (2)	3 shot lead	E (74-68-67-75=284)	2 strokes	Jerry Pate, Gary Player
1990	U.S. Open (3)	4 shot deficit	-8 (69-70-74-67-74=280)	Playoff1	Mike Donald

¹Defeated Mike Donald with a birdie on the 19th hole after they were tied at 74 after an 18-hole playoff.

Results timeline

Tournament	1966	1967	1968	1969
The Masters	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
U.S. Open	T61	DNP	DNP	DNP
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP

Tournament	1970	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979
The Masters	DNP	T13	CUT	DNP	T4	T4	T5	5	8	T23
U.S. Open	DNP	T19	T36	T20	1	T3	T26	T41	T4	1
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	T24	T9	T32	T46	T24	6
PGA Championship	T31	T22	T11	T9	DNP	T5	T34	T44	T12	CUT

Tournament	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989
The Masters	CUT	T25	CUT	T6	T21	T36	CUT	DNP	DNP	DNP
U.S. Open	T8	T58	T39	T39	6	14	CUT	CUT	T17	T54
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	T2	T14	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	T30	T16	T42	T14	T25	T32	T26	DNP	T38	DNP

Tournament	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999
The Masters	DNP	T10	T47	T27	T18	T14	T29	DNP	DNP	DNP
U.S. Open	1	T11	T51	T62	T18	CUT	T50	T52	CUT	WD
The Open Championship	T53	T57	T19	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	T12	T73	T66	T6	T39	T54	DNP	T29	DNP	T41

Tournament	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004
The Masters	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
U.S. Open	T27	T52	CUT	WD	DNP
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	CUT

DNP = did not play
WD = withdrew
CUT = missed the half way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

Champions Tour major results

Wins (7)

Year	Championship
1996	Senior PGA Championship
1997	Senior PGA Championship (2)
1998	Senior PGA Championship (3)
1998	US Senior Open
1999	Senior Players Championship
2000	US Senior Open (2)
2004	Senior PGA Championship (4)

United States national team appearances

This list may be incomplete.

Professional

• Ryder Cup: 1975 (winners), 1977, 1979 (winners), 1981 (winners), 1991 (winners)
• Presidents Cup: 1994 (winners)

See also

• Golfers with most PGA Tour wins
• Golfers with most Champions Tour wins
• Golfers with most Champions Tour major championship wins

References

External links

• Profile on PGA Tour's official site
• Hale Irwin on about.com
• University of Colorado - Athletics Hall of Fame - Hale Irwin

v • d • e U.S. Open champions 1895 Horace Rawlins · 1896 James Foulis · 1897 Joe Lloyd · 1898 Fred Herd · 1899 Willie Smith · 1900 Harry Vardon · 1901 Willie Anderson · 1902 Laurie Auchterlonie · 1903 Willie Anderson · 1904 Willie Anderson · 1905 Willie Anderson · 1906 Alex Smith · 1907 Alec Ross · 1908 Fred McLeod · 1909 George Sargent · 1910 Alex Smith · 1911 John McDermott · 1912 John McDermott · 1913 Francis Ouimet · 1914 Walter Hagen · 1915 Jerome Travers · 1916 Chick Evans · 1917–18 Cancelled due to World War I · 1919 Walter Hagen · 1920 Ted Ray · 1921 Jim Barnes · 1922 Gene Sarazen · 1923 Bobby Jones · 1924 Cyril Walker · 1925 Willie Macfarlane · 1926 Bobby Jones · 1927 Tommy Armour · 1928 Johnny Farrell · 1929 Bobby Jones · 1930 Bobby Jones · 1931 Billy Burke · 1932 Gene Sarazen · 1933 Johnny Goodman · 1934 Olin Dutra · 1935 Sam Parks, Jr. · 1936 Tony Manero · 1937 Ralph Guldahl · 1938 Ralph Guldahl · 1939 Byron Nelson · 1940 Lawson Little · 1941 Craig Wood · 1942–45 Cancelled due to World War II · 1946 Lloyd Mangrum · 1947 Lew Worsham · 1948 Ben Hogan · 1949 Cary Middlecoff · 1950 Ben Hogan · 1951 Ben Hogan · 1952 Julius Boros · 1953 Ben Hogan · 1954 Ed Furgol · 1955 Jack Fleck · 1956 Cary Middlecoff · 1957 Dick Mayer · 1958 Tommy Bolt · 1959 Billy Casper · 1960 Arnold Palmer · 1961 Gene Littler · 1962 Jack Nicklaus · 1963 Julius Boros · 1964 Ken Venturi · 1965 Gary Player · 1966 Billy Casper · 1967 Jack Nicklaus · 1968 Lee Trevino · 1969 Orville Moody · 1970 Tony Jacklin · 1971 Lee Trevino · 1972 Jack Nicklaus · 1973 Johnny Miller · 1974 Hale Irwin · 1975 Lou Graham · 1976 Jerry Pate · 1977 Hubert Green · 1978 Andy North · 1979 Hale Irwin · 1980 Jack Nicklaus · 1981 David Graham · 1982 Tom Watson · 1983 Larry Nelson · 1984 Fuzzy Zoeller · 1985 Andy North · 1986 Raymond Floyd · 1987 Scott Simpson · 1988 Curtis Strange · 1989 Curtis Strange · 1990 Hale Irwin · 1991 Payne Stewart · 1992 Tom Kite · 1993 Lee Janzen · 1994 Ernie Els · 1995 Corey Pavin · 1996 Steve Jones · 1997 Ernie Els · 1998 Lee Janzen · 1999 Payne Stewart · 2000 Tiger Woods · 2001 Retief Goosen · 2002 Tiger Woods · 2003 Jim Furyk · 2004 Retief Goosen · 2005 Michael Campbell · 2006 Geoff Ogilvy · 2007 Ángel Cabrera · 2008 Tiger Woods  · 2009 Lucas Glover

Hale Irwin in the Ryder Cup v • d • e United States Ryder Cup team – 1979 Andy Bean · Lee Elder · Hubert Green · Mark Hayes · Hale Irwin · Tom Kite · John Mahaffey · Gil Morgan · Larry Nelson · Lee Trevino · Lanny Wadkins · Fuzzy Zoeller · Billy Casper (non-playing captain) v • d • e United States Ryder Cup team – 1981 Ben Crenshaw · Raymond Floyd · Hale Irwin · Tom Kite · Bruce Lietzke · Johnny Miller · Larry Nelson · Jack Nicklaus · Jerry Pate · Bill Rogers · Lee Trevino · Tom Watson · Dave Marr (non-playing captain) v • d • e United States Ryder Cup team – 1991 Paul Azinger · Chip Beck · Mark Calcavecchia · Fred Couples · Raymond Floyd · Hale Irwin · Wayne Levi · Mark O'Meara · Steve Pate · Corey Pavin · Payne Stewart · Lanny Wadkins · Dave Stockton (non-playing captain)

v • d • e United States Presidents Cup team – 1994 Fred Couples • Jim Gallagher, Jr. • Jay Haas • Scott Hoch • John Huston • Tom Lehman • Davis Love III • Jeff Maggert • Phil Mickelson • Corey Pavin • Loren Roberts • Hale Irwin (non-playing captain)