Senior players don't break 80

Tom Kite and Hale Irwin showed their age Thursday in the U.S. Open. At least they showed up.

The 57-year-old Irwin had his worst score at the U.S. Open since 1972, an 82 that he described as ``very humiliating.''

Equally disappointing to Irwin was that U.S. Senior Open champion Bruce Fleisher didn't even bother to take a shot on the tough Black Course at Bethpage State Park.

Fleisher took one look at the course a few weeks ago and decided there was no point in playing. He withdrew last Friday.

``I think he should be here,'' said Irwin, who received a special exemption to play in his 32nd consecutive U.S. Open. ``You have certain obligations to the game. You're representing the U.S. Senior Open. It's an honor to play.''

That left Irwin and Kite as the only seniors in the 156-man field.

Kite had an 80, his highest first-round score in the U.S. Open since his debut in 1970 as a 20-year-old amateur.

They weren't alone. Thirteen other players also failed to break 80 on a day when the conditions were nearly perfect.

Irwin knew what to expect.

The rough at Bethpage is no different than it was at Winged Foot in 1974, when Irwin won the U.S. Open at 7-over 287.

``A sand wedge back to the fairway is just as effective here as it was in '74,'' he said.

A three-time U.S. Open champion, Irwin has had his share of humiliating moments. He shot an 83 in the final round of the '72 Open at Pebble Beach. He opened with an 80 at The Olympic Club four years ago, although he rebounded with a 68 to miss the cut with honor.

Irwin faded badly at Pebble Beach two years ago with a 78-81 in his middle two rounds, then vanished again at Southern Hills last year after opening with a 67.

``I'm not ready to hightail it. I know I can do better,'' he said. ``But at least I got my licks in -- and I got licked, too.''

The same can't be said of Fleisher, whose official reason for withdrawing was a commitment to playing the Senior PGA Tour.

``All of us older gentlemen were surprised,'' Irwin said. ``It would have been great to see him here. He's the U.S. Senior Open champion. He can play. I've seen him play.''

Irwin didn't buy into the argument that Fleisher's decision to pull out gave a younger player -- Felix Casas of the Philippines -- a chance to play.

Besides, Fleisher couldn't have done much worse than the player who replaced him. The 35-year-old Casas struggled to an 82.

``If they didn't want that category (U.S. Senior Open champion), they wouldn't put it in there,'' Irwin said. ``You have a certain obligation to represent the seniors.''

Kite qualified by closing with a 64 in the final round at Southern Hills to tie for fifth. The top 16 and ties are eligible for the next U.S. Open.

He tried to keep it respectable with consecutive birdies on the back nine, but followed that with a triple-bogey on No. 15 and a double-bogey on 16, closing with two pars to limit the damage.

Irwin bogeyed two of the first three holes, and it only got worse -- a double-bogey on 18, a triple bogey on the par-3 3rd.

``I went from not being too bad to sagging pretty far down the list, and that was disappointing,'' he said.

Asked for a tougher day at the U.S. Open, Irwin said he had plenty.

``I just can't recall them,'' he said. ``The good part about being a senior is that you forget things real quick.''