Hale Irwin one back from Graham Marsh

With his 60th birthday and the Senior PGA approaching almost simultaneously, the most successful Champions Tour golfer ever began hearing whispers following three consecutive poorly played tournaments.

Too old. Too much competition. Maybe, after so many tournament wins over so many decades, too much success.

Hale Irwin didn't listen to any of it -- just as he ignored the talk five years and 16 tournament victories ago that, because of the undeniable skill-diminishing passage of time, even he couldn't expect to keep winning much longer.

So there he was again Thursday, high up on the opening-round leaderboard at the Senior PGA Championship, a Champions Tour major he dominates like no other. Irwin's 3-under 69 left him a shot behind Graham Marsh, a longtime successful golfer around the world who hasn't won on the Senior tour in six years.

So much for Irwin's 36th-place finish in the Legends of Golf, and that tie for 28th in the Kinko's Classic. If it's a major, count on Irwin to be in contention -- after all, he has four victories and two runner-up finishes in the Senior PGA just since 1996.

To Irwin, who celebrates his 60th birthday on June 3, almost being a for-real senior citizen hasn't aged his good-as-ever game.

``I'm happy with the score, but certainly I need some work to make it look a little better,'' said Irwin, who was joined in a four-man group at 69 by R.W. Eaks, Dave Barr and Tom McKnight.

Irwin won twice on the Champions Tour early this year, but finished out of the Top 10 in four consecutive tournaments before an encouraging sixth-place tie in the Bruno's Memorial Classic last week. That told him his game hadn't totally vanished.

Just in time, too; one more Champions Tour major title would be his eighth, tying him with record-holder Jack Nicklaus, who isn't playing this week.

``I was not aware of that ... but, I'm proud of what I've done,'' said Irwin, whose 42 Champions Tour titles are 13 more than second-place Lee Trevino's 29. Irwin also won 20 times on the PGA Tour.

There's more: Irwin's 69 was his 18th Senior PGA round in the 60s, breaking the record he previously shared with Sam Snead.

To put that in perspective, consider Marsh's 4-under 68 was the first of his 39 Senior PGA rounds below 70. He's an unexpected leader given his 56th- and 68th-place finishes in his last two Champions Tour events, but perhaps less surprising given his 56 tournament victories worldwide since 1975.

With Marsh, Irwin and the 62-year-old Ray Floyd high up on the leaderboard, it really was Old-timer's Day, fittingly enough because the tournament is being played on Arnold Palmer's home course, the classic, old-style Laurel Valley Golf Club.

The down-in-a-valley course is so rustic, one almost expects to see Byron Nelson emerge from a thicket of trees, wielding a mashie or spoon. Instead, the fans settled for 83-year-old Jack Fleck teeing it up as the 50th anniversary of his monumental 1955 U.S. Open win over Ben Hogan draws near.

Fleck shot a respectable 89, just six strokes off his age but, not wanting that score associated with him, didn't hand in his score card and withdrew.

The 75-year-old Palmer didn't do so after his 10-over 82, his third consecutive Senior PGA round of 80 or above. He withdrew a year ago at Valhalla following a first-round 86, but is sure to stick around Friday for the last round of his last major tournament in his western Pennsylvania back yard.

Palmer gave his big-as-ever gallery one thrill, a birdie 4 on the 524-yard, par-5 6th hole, but has almost no chance to reach his goal of making the cut. And he keeps dropping hints that, with little chance to be competitive any longer, the end to his tournament career is near.

``If I don't have some encouraging shots now and in the near future, how much tournament golf am I going to play?'' he said. ``I've got to be encouraged. And, right now, I'm a little more discouraged than I've been.''

Email this page to a friend | Return to top of page