Hale Irwin - Part 7 (Senior Tour Majors)
In the seventh installment of our exclusive eight-part series with World Golf Hall of Fame legend Hale Irwin, we fast forward to the next chapter of his remarkable career—his unforgettable run on the PGA TOUR Champions. Hale reflects on turning 50 in 1995 and stepping into senior golf with the same fire and precision that defined his prime. In his own voice, he recounts celebrating his milestone birthday at a Wendy’s after a rain-delayed Memorial Tournament—and quickly pivoting to victory just weeks later.
Hale dives into his Champions Tour success, including his staggering 45 wins, highlighted by 11 straight seasons with multiple victories and a record-setting nine-win season in 1997. He shares the story behind his putting grip change at Walla Walla that led to a year-and-a-half of brilliance on the greens, and how rivals like Gil Morgan pushed him to reach new heights.
We revisit Irwin’s seven senior majors, including his dominant U.S. Senior Open wins and a 12-shot runaway at the PGA Senior Championship. He shares compelling stories of strategy, mental resilience, and even golfing with Sean Connery in celebrity events. Hale speaks candidly about how golf evolved with age—from burning ambition to deep appreciation—and how competition remained his driving force.
With insights into the camaraderie of the Champions Tour and the lasting impact of players like Bruce Devlin and David Graham, Hale paints a vivid picture of a time when golf wasn’t just a game—it was a second life. For fans of golf history and timeless storytelling, this is a masterclass from one of the game’s greatest.
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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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