# Hale Irwin
**Hale Irwin** (born 1945) is an American professional golfer from [Joplin, Missouri](https://www.edgepedia.org/joplin-missouri), who won 20 [PGA Tour](https://www.edgepedia.org/pga-tour) events between 1971 and 1994, including three U.S. Open championships (1974, 1979, and 1990), and 45 victories on the [PGA Tour Champions](https://www.edgepedia.org/pga-tour-champions), the circuit for players 50 and over.[1](https://www.golfmonthly.com/features/who-are-the-greatest-golfers-of-all-time) • [2](https://www.coloradogolfhalloffame.org/person/hale-irwin/) • [16](https://www.pgatour.com/pgatour-champions/player/01666/bernhard-langer/standings) His 1990 U.S. Open title, won at age 45, made him the oldest champion in the tournament's history.[2](https://www.coloradogolfhalloffame.org/person/hale-irwin/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| U.S. Opens | 1974 (Winged Foot), 1979 (Inverness), 1990 (Medinah); the 1990 win at age 45 makes him the oldest champion in U.S. Open history[3](https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/articles/2010/04/fivetime-usga-champion-irwin-reaches-milestone-2147486036.html) • [2](https://www.coloradogolfhalloffame.org/person/hale-irwin/) |
| PGA Tour wins | 20 between 1971 and 1994[1](https://www.golfmonthly.com/features/who-are-the-greatest-golfers-of-all-time) |
| Champions Tour wins | Irwin won 45 PGA Tour Champions events, a total later surpassed by Bernhard Langer, who holds the record with 47 wins, 16 more than second-place Lee Trevino[4](https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/articles/2015/06/reflective-irwin-tries-to-remain-focused-on-course.html) • [16](https://www.pgatour.com/pgatour-champions/player/01666/bernhard-langer/standings) |
| Senior majors | Seven: four Senior PGA Championships, two U.S. Senior Opens (1998, 2000), one Senior Players Championship[2](https://www.coloradogolfhalloffame.org/person/hale-irwin/) • [3](https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/articles/2010/04/fivetime-usga-champion-irwin-reaches-milestone-2147486036.html) |
| Amateur career | 1967 NCAA Golf Championship at the University of Colorado; two-time All-Big Eight defensive back in football[2](https://www.coloradogolfhalloffame.org/person/hale-irwin/) |
| Team play | Five U.S. Ryder Cup teams with a 13-5-2 record; captain of the U.S. team at the inaugural 1994 Presidents Cup[5](https://cdn.cybergolf.com/images/1214/IGM-Brochure.pdf) • [2](https://www.coloradogolfhalloffame.org/person/hale-irwin/) |
| Consistency streak | Made the cut in 86 consecutive tournaments from 1975 to 1978, the fourth-longest streak in PGA Tour history[6](https://worldgolfhalloffame.org/members/hale-irwin.html) |
| Honors | World Golf Hall of Fame (1992); 2019 Payne Stewart Award[2](https://www.coloradogolfhalloffame.org/person/hale-irwin/) |
## Early life and college athletics
Irwin grew up in Joplin, Missouri, learning the game on a nine-hole course with sand greens, and won an individual Colorado state high school golf title in 1963 while leading Boulder High to the team championship.[7](https://www.coloradosports.org/hall-of-fame/athletes/1986-inductees/hale-irwin/) • [2](https://www.coloradogolfhalloffame.org/person/hale-irwin/) At the University of Colorado he was a two-sport athlete: he won the 1967 NCAA Golf Championship and, in football, was a two-time All-Big Eight defensive back later named to the school's All-Century Team.[2](https://www.coloradogolfhalloffame.org/person/hale-irwin/) • [7](https://www.coloradosports.org/hall-of-fame/athletes/1986-inductees/hale-irwin/) He credited his college football career with shaping the tenacity that defined his golf.[4](https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/articles/2015/06/reflective-irwin-tries-to-remain-focused-on-course.html)
## PGA Tour career
Irwin turned professional in 1968 and qualified for his first U.S. Open as an amateur at The Olympic Club in 1966.[3](https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/articles/2010/04/fivetime-usga-champion-irwin-reaches-milestone-2147486036.html) His first professional start, the 1968 Memphis Pro Invitational, ended in a tie for 65th with no prize money; his first paycheck came a year later, $457.41 for a tie for 39th at the 1969 Cleveland Open Invitational.[3](https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/articles/2010/04/fivetime-usga-champion-irwin-reaches-milestone-2147486036.html) His first win came at the 1971 Sea Pines Heritage.[3](https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/articles/2010/04/fivetime-usga-champion-irwin-reaches-milestone-2147486036.html)
**Three U.S. Opens.** Irwin won the 1974 [U.S. Open](https://www.edgepedia.org/u-s-open-golf) at Winged Foot, a course so difficult that week the event was nicknamed "The Massacre," with a score of seven over par.[3](https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/articles/2010/04/fivetime-usga-champion-irwin-reaches-milestone-2147486036.html) He took his second title in 1979 at Inverness Club in [Toledo, Ohio](https://www.edgepedia.org/toledo-ohio), finishing at 284 (even par), three shots ahead of [Gary Player](https://www.edgepedia.org/gary-player) and Jerry Pate.[8](https://filecache.mediaroom.com/mr5mr_usga2/183547/download/21%20U.S.%20Open.pdf)
The third, in 1990 at Medinah Country Club outside Chicago, came only through a special exemption from the USGA into the field.[9](https://www.usga.org/articles/2010/05/museum-moment-irwins-memorable-1990-victory-2147486596.html) On the final regulation hole Irwin holed a winding 60-foot birdie putt to reach a playoff with Mike Donald, whom he beat the next day.[10](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-06-10-sp-383-story.html) His celebration, dancing around the green with putter aloft and high-fiving the gallery, became one of the most replayed moments in Open history and changed his public image from a dour, methodical player to a fan favorite.[10](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-06-10-sp-383-story.html) He and [Tiger Woods](https://www.edgepedia.org/tiger-woods) are the only men to win the U.S. Open three times in the modern era counted by that measure; Willie Anderson, Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan, and [Jack Nicklaus](https://www.edgepedia.org/jack-nicklaus) each won it four.[11](https://www.golfdigest.com/story/gw20050204sirakirwin) • [17](https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/media/online-media-center/usga-records/u-s--open-records.html)
**Playing style.** Irwin's game was built on keeping the ball in play, a strong iron game, and persistence rather than flair.[4](https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/articles/2015/06/reflective-irwin-tries-to-remain-focused-on-course.html) From 1975 to 1978 he made the cut in 86 consecutive tournaments, a streak behind only [Byron Nelson](https://www.edgepedia.org/byron-nelson), Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods in PGA Tour history.[6](https://worldgolfhalloffame.org/members/hale-irwin.html) His best finish in the other majors was a tie for second at the 1979 Open Championship.[6](https://worldgolfhalloffame.org/members/hale-irwin.html)
## Champions Tour dominance
Irwin joined the senior circuit in 1995 and won at least one tournament in each of his first 11 seasons, collecting 44 victories over that span.[12](https://www.usga.org/articles/2010/04/fivetime-usga-champion-irwin-reaches-milestone-2147486036.html) He won 16 tournaments across the 1997 and 1998 seasons alone, and his 45 career Champions Tour victories stand 16 clear of second-place [Lee Trevino](https://www.edgepedia.org/lee-trevino).[4](https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/articles/2015/06/reflective-irwin-tries-to-remain-focused-on-course.html) His seven senior major titles comprise four Senior PGA Championships, two U.S. Senior Opens (1998 at Riviera and 2000 at Saucon Valley), and one Senior Players Championship.[2](https://www.coloradogolfhalloffame.org/person/hale-irwin/) • [3](https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/articles/2010/04/fivetime-usga-champion-irwin-reaches-milestone-2147486036.html) His last senior victory came in 2007, and he remained competitive afterward, finishing fourth at the 2011 Senior PGA Championship and third the following year.[4](https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/articles/2015/06/reflective-irwin-tries-to-remain-focused-on-course.html)
In April 2010, at the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am in Lutz, Florida, Irwin made the 1,000th start of his combined PGA Tour and Champions Tour career, the 11th player to reach that mark.[3](https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/articles/2010/04/fivetime-usga-champion-irwin-reaches-milestone-2147486036.html) His official Champions Tour earnings total $27,158,515, on top of roughly $6 million earned on the PGA Tour.[13](https://www.pgatour.com/pgatour-champions/player/01559/hale-irwin) • [3](https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/articles/2010/04/fivetime-usga-champion-irwin-reaches-milestone-2147486036.html)
## Team play and golf design
Irwin played on five U.S. [Ryder Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/ryder-cup) teams, compiling a 13-5-2 record, and captained the U.S. squad at the inaugural [Presidents Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/presidents-cup) in 1994.[5](https://cdn.cybergolf.com/images/1214/IGM-Brochure.pdf) • [2](https://www.coloradogolfhalloffame.org/person/hale-irwin/) He also won internationally, including the World Match Play in 1974 and 1975, the Australian PGA, the South African PGA, and the 1979 World Cup Championship.[14](https://mosportshalloffame.com/inductees/hale-irwin/)
Off the course he founded a golf-design company in 1986, later renamed Hale Irwin Golf Design, and his Colorado courses include Indian Peaks in Lafayette, the Mountain Course at [Cordillera](https://www.edgepedia.org/cordillera) in Edwards, and Highlands Ranch Golf Club.[15](https://www.encyclopedia.com/books/culture-magazines/irwin-hale) • [2](https://www.coloradogolfhalloffame.org/person/hale-irwin/)
## Honors
Irwin was inducted into the [World Golf Hall of Fame](https://www.edgepedia.org/world-golf-hall-of-fame) in 1992, two years after his third U.S. Open title, and received the Ambassador of Golf Award in 2009.[2](https://www.coloradogolfhalloffame.org/person/hale-irwin/) The PGA Tour presented him with the 2019 Payne Stewart Award, and that year the Colorado Golf Association inaugurated the Hale Irwin Medal for Colorado golfers showing competitiveness, resiliency, and a record of winning.[2](https://www.coloradogolfhalloffame.org/person/hale-irwin/)
## References
1. [Who Are The Best Golfers Of All Time?, Golf Monthly](https://www.golfmonthly.com/features/who-are-the-greatest-golfers-of-all-time)
2. [Hale Irwin, Colorado Golf Hall of Fame](https://www.coloradogolfhalloffame.org/person/hale-irwin/)
3. [Five-Time USGA Champion Irwin Reaches Milestone, USGA](https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/articles/2010/04/fivetime-usga-champion-irwin-reaches-milestone-2147486036.html)
4. [Reflective Irwin Tries to Remain Focused on Course, USGA](https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/articles/2015/06/reflective-irwin-tries-to-remain-focused-on-course.html)
5. [Irwin Golf Management brochure](https://cdn.cybergolf.com/images/1214/IGM-Brochure.pdf)
6. [Hale Irwin, World Golf Hall of Fame](https://worldgolfhalloffame.org/members/hale-irwin.html)
7. [Hale Irwin, Colorado Sports Hall of Fame](https://www.coloradosports.org/hall-of-fame/athletes/1986-inductees/hale-irwin/)
8. [U.S. Open results, 1979, USGA media room](https://filecache.mediaroom.com/mr5mr_usga2/183547/download/21%20U.S.%20Open.pdf)
9. [Museum Moment: Irwin's Memorable 1990 Victory, USGA](https://www.usga.org/articles/2010/05/museum-moment-irwins-memorable-1990-victory-2147486596.html)
10. [Irwin Gets Set to Defend U.S. Open Title, Los Angeles Times (1991)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-06-10-sp-383-story.html)
11. [Sirak: Nothing Old About This, Golf Digest](https://www.golfdigest.com/story/gw20050204sirakirwin)
12. [Five-Time USGA Champion Irwin Reaches Milestone, USGA (alternate URL)](https://www.usga.org/articles/2010/04/fivetime-usga-champion-irwin-reaches-milestone-2147486036.html)
13. [Hale Irwin PGA Tour Champions player profile](https://www.pgatour.com/pgatour-champions/player/01559/hale-irwin)
14. [Hale Irwin, Missouri Sports Hall of Fame](https://mosportshalloffame.com/inductees/hale-irwin/)
15. [Irwin, Hale, Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/books/culture-magazines/irwin-hale)
16. [Bernhard Langer PGA Tour Champions Player Profile, Stats, Bio, Career](https://www.pgatour.com/pgatour-champions/player/01666/bernhard-langer/standings)
17. [U S Open Records, usga.org](https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/media/online-media-center/usga-records/u-s--open-records.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Racket and precision ball sports › Golf › Golfers › Senior golfers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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