Despite what the Rolling Stones once sang, Hale Irwin knows that time isn’t on his side, at least when it comes to his ongoing quest to win golf tournaments.
After all, the oldest winner in the history of the Champions Tour (Mike Fetchick) turned 63 years old the day he set the record, and Irwin will be 64 next month.
But ask the former University of Colorado athlete if he believes he can still win, and he’s quick to answer. “No question,” he said Saturday.
No doubt that’s partly the fierce competitor in Irwin talking. He wasn’t an All-Big Eight defensive back and a three-time U.S. Open champion for nothing. He plays to win, and when he thinks winning is no longer possible, he won’t play anymore.
Irwin discussed such issues on Saturday when he paid a visit to his old home state to help dedicate Colorado National Golf Club as the home course for CU, his alma mater.
Irwin, who won the 1967 NCAA title while at CU, has had a stellar professional career for 41 years. He won 20 times on the PGA Tour, including his three U.S. Opens, and his 45 Champions Tour victories is a record that won’t soon fall (Lee Trevino’s 29 wins is No. 2 on the all-time list). All of Irwin’s Champions Tour success and one PGA Tour victory came after he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1992.
But not even the fiercest competitor beats Father Time forever. Where it used to be the norm for Irwin to win multiple tournaments in a year — he did it 11 straight seasons from 1995 through 2005 — breaking through for victories has becoming considerably tougher since 2005. He’s won one tournament in the last 3½ years, and none since January 2007.
But putting that into perspective, no one has won more times on the Champions Tour after turning 60 than Irwin (three). And he’s been so successful for so long that it would be a mistake to think he can’t win again.
“The question is, when I play the golf I’m capable of playing, will that be good enough to win?” Irwin said. “The caliber of play on the Champions Tour is so good that you can’t just accept the level of play you once did and expect to do as well.”
Irwin hasn’t recorded a top-10 finish on the Champions Tour since October 2007, but he’s had spurts of good play. For instance, in his first tournament of this year, he shot 65-67 and was just three shots out of the lead going into the final round of the Mitsubishi Electric Championship. But a closing 74 left him in 11th place.
“I’m a great 30th-place player,” he said sarcastically, before turning more serious. “Actually, my game is starting to jell a little. But keeping the drive is more and more challenging.”
Irwin points out that one of his biggest career accomplishments — becoming the oldest winner of the U.S. Open (age 45) in 1990 — came after a five-year victory drought on the PGA Tour. So he’s hoping for a little déjà vu in that regard.
Asked if still enjoys playing tour golf, Irwin said, “I don’t enjoy the way I’m playing. But I recognize that I’ve been on tour for 41 years, and there’s not a whole lot that’s new. That’s part of the issue. I’m not as excited to play as I used to be, but once I actually start playing, the desire is there.”
Despite not being in contention nearly as much in recent years, Irwin doesn’t foresee his playing days coming to an end anytime soon.
“It’s been part of me for so long, I’m not ready to put it aside,” he said. “But I’m not foolish enough to think that that time won’t come.”
Another former CU golfer who won the U.S. Open, Steve Jones, may have no control over when his tour career comes to an end. Jones, who also was on hand Saturday to held CU dedicate Colorado National Golf Club, turned 50 in December and thus should be embarking on his Champions Tour career. But left elbow problems have kept him from competing since August 2007, and there’s no return in sight, he indicated Saturday.
“Tennis elbow is one of the worst things that can happen” for a competitive golfer, said the eight-time winner on the PGA Tour, who acknowledged it’s possible he might never return to tour golf.
At this point, Jones can’t swing a club at all. He’s gone to many doctors, but none has helped solve the problem. “Everything I do is on my own; I’m the one who has to be on the offensive” as far as trying treatments, he said, noting that so far nothing has helped.
“It’s not a lot of fun, but there’s nothing I can do about it,” he said.
Jones has contemplated what he might do, occupation-wise, if his elbow doesn’t get better. But for now, he says, “My work is to get well.”
