Dec. 5, 2024

Hale Irwin - Part 5 (Final Tour Wins and the 1994 President's Cup)

Hale Irwin, 3-time winner of the U.S. Open, concludes his look back on his PGA TOUR days by recounting his final few individual and team wins. As a 45-year-old Hale prevailed at the 1990 U.S. Open at Medinah with a comeback for the ages. He has fond memories of the 1991 Ryder Cup at Kiawah, not because of the result but because of the camaraderie and grittiness displayed by both sides. Hale derived much satisfaction from his final win at the 1994 Heritage Golf Classic, his third win at Harbour Town. His appearance as the only President's Cup Player/Captain in 1994 capped off an incredible regular Tour career and set the stage for great things to come, "FORE the Good of the Game."

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"FORE the Good of the Game” is a golf podcast featuring interviews with World Golf Hall of Fame members, winners of major championships and other people of influence in and around the game of golf. Highlighting the positive aspects of the game, we aim to create and provide an engaging and timeless repository of content that listeners can enjoy now and forever. Co-hosted by PGA Tour star Bruce Devlin, our podcast focuses on telling their life stories, in their voices. Join Bruce and Mike Gonzalez “FORE the Good of the Game.”

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28:01 - [Ad] The Top 100 in 10 Golf Podcast

28:44 - (Cont.) Hale Irwin - Part 5 (Final Tour Wins and the 1994 President's Cup)

Irwin, Hale

Professional Golfer

When it comes to the toughest competitors and most analytical course managers ever to play, Hale Irwin is near the top of the list.

Irwin’s distinction was excelling when the conditions were toughest, and his three victories in the U.S. Open attest to a sharp mind, a solid game and an iron will. It was never more apparent than at the 1974 U.S. Open, when Irwin persevered to win the so-called “Massacre at Winged Foot” with a score of seven-over-par 287. In perhaps the most difficult conditions a U.S. Open has ever been played under, Irwin shot rounds of 73-70-71-73 to win by two strokes.

Five years later at Inverness, on another punishing U.S. Open layout, Irwin shot even par to win by two. The scenario was quite different in 1990 at Medinah Country Club. Irwin was 45 and had not won on the PGA TOUR in five years. He received a special exemption to get into the championship. Lurking, but never in the thick of it until the final nine holes, Irwin made a 50-foot birdie putt on the final green that tied Mike Donald. The next day he fell behind but drew even when Donald bogeyed the 18th. Then, in the first sudden-death finish ever in the U.S. Open, Irwin birdied the 19th hole to win. Irwin became the oldest winner of the championship.

“When I got onto the tour, I relished the harder courses because I just felt I was going to try harder.”
From 1971 to 1994, Irwin won 20 events on the PGA TOUR, on such difficult courses as Harbour Town – where his first, second and, at age 48, final PGA TOUR victories came – Butler National, Muirfield Village, Rivier… Read More