IRWIN'S COMPETITION IN THE ROUGH THIS YEAR.Byline: Dave Shelburne Daily News Staff Writer The Romans had it right more than 2,000 years ago. Hale, the conquering hero. Hale Irwin Hale S. Irwin (born June 3, 1945) is an American golfer. He is the uncle of Heath Irwin. Irwin was born in Joplin, Missouri. He graduated from the University of Colorado in 1967, where he was a two-time All-Big Eight defensive back, as well as an academic All-American in , who opens play Friday in the Ralphs Senior Classic at Wilshire Country Club, is enjoying a year of Brobdingnagian achievement. The first golfer to earn $2 million in any single tour season, the 52-year-old three-time U.S. Open The term U.S. Open is applied to "open" United States national championships in a particular sport, in which anybody, amateur or professional, American or non-American may compete. These include:
The last time any pro golfer did that in one year on tour, Paul McCartney Noun 1. Paul McCartney - English rock star and bass guitarist and songwriter who with John Lennon wrote most of the music for the Beatles (born in 1942) McCartney, Sir James Paul McCartney was getting together some other new band before Wings. That would be 1963, when Hall-of-Famer-to-be Micky Wright won 13 tournaments on the LPGA LPGA abbr. Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour. No one has accomplished that on the PGA Tour since Sam Snead won 11 times in 1950. The most wins in a season by any Senior PGA Tour player was nine by Peter Thompson Peter Thompson can refer to:
If younger is better on the senior tour, why wasn't Irwin making his mark last year - his first full season as a senior? He was solid enough in '96, leading the tour in scoring and coming within $12,000 of winning the money title. But he had just two wins and was overtaken late in the season by Jim Colbert James Joseph Colbert (born March 9, 1941) is an American golfer. He was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey. He attended Kansas State University, where he finished second in the NCAA golf championships in 1964, before graduating and turning professional in 1965. , who won his second straight Player of the Year title. ``I think I've just applied myself better,'' Irwin said. ``I've stayed focused. I've been more patient. I referred to some of the frustrations of last year and . . . I just felt like I had been pushing too hard to win golf tournaments. ``This year, I've tried to let it sort of take its own path.'' The plan worked literally from the beginning, as Irwin won the tour-opening tournament in Hawaii, two of the next six events and five of the tour's first 13 stops. He enters the Ralphs with $2,131,364, leading his closest earnings competitor by more than $400,000 and also ranked first in scoring, greens in regulation, total driving, putting and birdies. If it can be called that in such an extraordinary season, he shook off his only ``slump'' - an 11-week winless period from late April to mid-July and has rebounded to win three times in the last 10 weeks. Irwin shakes his head in amazement with everyone else about his fantastic season and indicates the nature of the switch from PGA (1) (Professional Graphics Adapter) An early IBM PC display standard for 3D processing with 640x480x256 resolution. It was not widely used. (2) (Programmable Gate Array) See gate array and FPGA. to Senior PGA play may have taken more of an adjustment than he first thought. ``There's too many things that have been a part of you on the regular tour that you just don't put on the back burner Noun 1. back burner - reduced priority; "dozens of cases were put on the back burner" precedence, precedency, priority - status established in order of importance or urgency; "... and say, `See you later,' '' he said. ``I think we are all making some adjustments to a new schedule, new cities, new courses, just a whole new environment - albeit a golf environment. ``And, consequently, unless you're ready to make that step and commit completely to it, I think it does take a little bit of time. It did for me, because it's well-documented that I just wasn't quite ready to make that step.'' He's ready now, but is the senior tour ready for Irwin? This was supposed to be the year of the Tiger, but it has turned out to be another big celebration for the Baby Boomers See generation X. . A celebration Irwin seems well-equipped to extend for awhile, especially after his between-seasons determination to be a little more patient. ``I've got as much experience as most players out there, and my game is as good as most players out there,'' Irwin said of his self-examination following the '96 Senior tour. ``If I could just let it happen, rather than trying to make it happen, just see what could happen. And there we are.'' SENIOR SWINGERS What: Ralphs Senior Classic Where: Wilshire Country Club When: Friday through Sunday Purse: $1 million (winner's share $150,000) Defending champion: Gil Morgan Ticket information: 310/412-GOLF CAPTION(S): Photo, Box Photo: Hale Irwin, who opens play Friday in the Ralphs Senior Classic with nine victories, is the first golfer to earn $2 million in one season. Associated Press Box: SENIOR SWINGERS (see text) |
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