Hale Irwin - Part 6 (The Other Majors)
In this sixth installment of our eight-part conversation with World Golf Hall of Fame member Hale Irwin, we dive deep into the heart of major championship golf and reflect on the enduring lessons of a remarkable career. Hale, always thoughtful and candid, revisits his storied experiences at Augusta National, sharing his personal connection to the Masters and what it meant to walk its hallowed grounds—both as a competitor and a steward of the game’s history.
With insight only a three-time U.S. Open champion can provide, Hale opens up about how his game fit—or didn’t fit—the iconic venues of each major. He offers a behind-the-scenes look at the mental and physical toll of playing The Open Championship, revealing why family time, the grind of travel, and those rainy days with fogged-up glasses sometimes outweighed teeing it up across the pond.
From the roars of Augusta to the winds of Royal Lytham & St. Annes, Hale reflects on the challenges, triumphs, and close calls—like his proud 64 at the Masters and duels with legends like Seve Ballesteros and Tom Watson. We also touch on the PGA Championship, and Hale’s personal choices around scheduling, family priorities, and staying true to his own rhythm, even in the face of major championship expectations.
With humor, humility, and unmatched perspective, Hale Irwin shares stories that remind us that greatness isn’t only measured in trophies, but also in the values that guide a life in golf. Join us for another timeless chapter in the life and legacy of one of the game’s true champions.
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About
"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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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…
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