Hale Irwin first broke 70 on a golf course at age 14.
Now, less than 15 months shy of his 70th birthday, he’s still breaking 70 on a fairly regular basis. In fact, in half of the dozen rounds he’s played this year on the Champions Tour, the former University of Colorado athlete has shot in the 60s.
Just last Saturday, the three-time U.S. Open champion shot better than his age for the third time in his Champions Tour career. The 68-year-old fired a bogey-free 5-under-par 66 in the second round of the Toshiba Classic in Newport Beach, Calif.
He also accomplished the age-bettering feat (by four shots) last September in the final round of the Shaw Charity Classic in Calgary, where a 7-under-par 64 was his lowest round on the Champions Tour since 2007.
Irwin first bettered his age in a Champions event at the 2012 3M Championship, where, at age 67, he closed with a 7-under-par 65.
The World Golf Hall of Famer has won a record 45 times on the Champions Tour, but he’s fully aware that no one older than 63 has claimed a victory on the circuit. Still, he’s shown enough glimmers of greatness to keep him competing on a regular basis.
“I’m trying to enjoy what I have,” Irwin said last year on the eve of the Senior PGA Championship. “I’m trying to keep things in perspective. I’m trying to open my front a little more, so I’m not as restrictive to what’s a good shot and a bad shot.
“I think any player, at any level, you reach a stage where your skill set kind of … you question it. Your mental preparation wobbles a little bit. How do you go about your next expectation?
“That’s kind of where I am. My expectations are hopefully realistic, but they’re still lofty. Maybe I’m trying to over-achieve. That’s a battle I’m facing right now.”
Irwin, of course, is the inspiration for the Hale Irwin Elite Player Program at CommonGround Golf Course, which is owned and operated by the CGA and CWGA. During the mid-1960s, he won four CGA championships (three stroke play, one match play) before claiming the 1967 NCAA title and embarking on his pro career.
With Irwin shooting under his age last weekend, we thought we’d note the multitude of major Champions Tour records held by the Colorado Sports Hall of Famer, the most successful player in the circuit’s history:
— Most Champions Tour career victories: 45 (next best is Lee Trevino with 29).
— Most consecutive years winning at least one tournament: 11, 1995-2005.
— Most consecutive years winning multiple tournaments: 11, 1995-2005 (next-best total is six).
— Most victories in a season: 9, in 1997 (tied with Peter Thomson).
— Largest winning margin: 12 strokes, 1997 Senior PGA Championship.
— Consecutive rounds under 70: 13, in 1999.
— Most victories in a single event: 6, Kaanapali Classic and Turtle Bay Championship, 1997-2005.
— Most consecutive victories in a single event: 5, Kaanapali Classic and Turtle Bay Championship, 2000-05; there was no event in 2004.
— Most Champions Tour Player of the Year honors: 3, in 1997, ’98 and 2002 (tied with Lee Trevino and Bernhard Langer).
— Most money won in season: $3,028,304 in 2002 (also holds No. 2 spot with $2,861,945 in 1998).
— Most years in top 10 on final money list: 12.
— Most consecutive years in top 10 on final money list: 11, 1995-2005.
— Most consecutive $2 million seasons: 6, 1997-2002.
— Most top-10 finishes in career: 209.
— Most consecutive top-five finishes: 19, in 1997-98.
— Oldest player to finish in top 5 in major championships: Irwin owns the top 3 spots on this list — third in 2012 Senior PGA (nearly 67 years old); fourth in 2011 U.S. Senior Open (66 years old); fourth in 2011 Senior PGA (nearly 66 years old).
— High start by a tournament winner: 6-over-par 77, 1998 U.S. Senior Open.
— And, though it’s not Champions Tour-related, Irwin remains the oldest winner of the U.S. Open, at 45 years, 15 days in 1990.
