It was such a well-run event, it was so much fun to play,” he said. “Coming back reminds me of the very first time I was in Akron. “I’m 75, do I really want to get my foot operated on? Is it going to work? You just don’t know.”Īlthough COVID-19 protocols may prevent Irwin from hitting a shot at Firestone on this visit, he has fond memories of Akron, where he started to play in the American Golf Classic, which followed the Rubber City Open. I still drive the ball accurately,” Irwin said. “The putting is still good, the short game is still good. It changed his swing pattern and affected his distance. He said he has a “bunion net” on the outside of his left foot, where the bone toward the end of his little toe separated. That’s kind of what I’ve done the last couple years,” Irwin said. “The body and the mind, you take just a little bit of a hesitant step and the field just goes right by you. Among Irwin’s recent highlights was a first-round 67 in the PURE Insurance Championship at Pebble Beach in September, 2018. Irwin’s last victory came in 2007, but he has shot his age or better 44 times on the Champions Tour, well ahead of Gary Player, second on that list with 30. He has won at least once for 14 consecutive years and has triumphed eight times at age 60 or older. 2 in the Charles Schwab Cup rankings with five top 10s in six events this year, Langer has one victory in 2020, that in the Cologuard Classic in Tucson, Arizona, on March 1. 27, has totaled 41 victories and will be among the favorites in the Bridgestone field. He was speaking from Denver, where he was celebrating his son’s birthday. “I may have to withdraw, that’s too strong a field,” Irwin joked. Instead, Irwin will join Andy North, Tom Kite, Hal Sutton, Larry Nelson and Gary Koch in the Westfield Legends Pro-Am on Thursday morning at Westfield Country Club. Irwin returns to Firestone Country Club this week for the Bridgestone Senior Players Championship, but he won’t be competing in the $3 million event. It was frustrating and I was tired of getting frustrated, so I just kind of stepped out of the arena and let those guys bang heads.” “Of course, someone like me that is highly competitive, I don’t like to accept something less than what I’m capable of. If you don’t do that wholeheartedly and with more attention than I was giving it, then you’re not going to play as well. If you’re going to play competitive golf, that’s what you do. “But things developed off the golf course that gave me opportunities to do other things. “I probably could have played a little bit longer, more effectively had I wanted to,” Irwin said Thursday. Hampered by a foot injury that would require three to six months of rehab if he underwent surgery, Irwin has played in three tournaments in 2020, the same number in 2019, and hasn’t competed in more than eight since 2015.
Not because he feels as if the machine-like Langer will eventually pass him, but rather that he wishes he could have competed more in the twilight of his career. As Bernhard Langer closes in on his record of 45 PGA Tour Champions victories, Hale Irwin doesn’t sound overly possessive.īut there is a hint of regret in the 75-year-old’s voice, a touch of disappointment.
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