Hale Irwin named as 2009 Ambassador of Golf

text size

AKRON, Ohio -- World Golf Hall of Fame member Hale Irwin has been named the 2009 Ambassador of Golf by Northern Ohio Golf Charities, World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational Executive Director Don Padgett announced Tuesday.

Martin/Getty Images

Hale Irwin

Ambassadors of Golf

Past recipients of the Ambassador of Golf Award: Year Award winner 1981 Chi Chi Rodriguez 1982 Bing Crosby 1983 Byron Nelson 1984 Gene Sarazen 1985 Gerald Ford 1986 Bob Hope 1987 Dinah Shore 1988 Joe Dey 1989 Frank Chirkinian 1990 Barbara Nicklaus 1991 Arnold Palmer 1992 Nancy Lopez 1993 Roberto DeVincenzo 1994 George H.W. Bush 1995 Michael Bonnallack 1996 Deane Beman 1997 Peter Thomson 1998 Ken Venturi 1999 Gary Player 2000 Ben Hogan Sam Snead 2001 Del de Windt 2002 Joanne Carner 2003 Robert Dedman Sr. Jack Vickers 2004 Lee Trevino 2005 Pete Dye 2006 Ken Schofield 2007 Tony Jacklin 2008 Charlie Sifford

The Ambassador of Golf Award is presented annually to a person or persons who have fostered the ideals of the game on an international level and whose concern for others extends beyond the golf course. Irwin, who has excelled on every level throughout his nearly five-decade career, has used his stature as an accomplished PGA TOUR and Champions Tour member to found and support the Hale Irwin Center for Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and the St. Louis Children's Hospital.

"We are pleased to honor Hale Irwin this summer during the Bridgestone Invitational as the 2009 Ambassador of Golf," said PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem, on behalf of the International Federation of PGA Tours. "Hale is the ultimate example of all that is good about the game of golf.

"His accomplishments on the golf course are impressive, from his 20-win career on the PGA TOUR, which included three major championships, to his record 45-win-and-counting career on the Champions Tour.

"Yet in addition to his perseverance, sportsmanship and humility as a Hall of Fame player, Hale has been even more accomplished as a person. His work to support the St. Louis Children's Hospital is a commitment that spans a quarter century. Hale most deservingly joins the esteemed list of past Ambassador of Golf recipients."

Irwin will be honored at a reception on Aug. 5 at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio, in conjunction with the Bridgestone Invitational.

"I am truly honored to receive this award," Irwin said. "As we've witnessed by past recipients, it is an impressive list of those who have contributed greatly to the game of golf.

"Over the years I have seen the true value of what golf can offer to an individual. The real focus of my life now is to try and perpetuate all of those good things that I have learned from the game and pass them on to future generations."

Irwin, born in Joplin, Mo., in 1945 and raised in Baxter Springs, Kan., was introduced to golf at age 4 by his father. The two spent countless hours on the sand greens at the local municipal course.

After moving to Boulder, Colo., Irwin became a star athlete in several sports, including football. He led Boulder High School to a state title as its quarterback his senior year and earned a football scholarship to the University of Colorado.

Irwin was a two-sport athlete in college: a three-year letterman in golf, eventually winning the Big Eight Conference Championship two years in a row and the 1967 NCAA Championship; and a two-time All-Big Eight selection as a football defensive back.

But it was golf, not football or marketing -- his field of study; he was a three-time Academic All-American -- that became Irwin's career.

Irwin joined the PGA TOUR in 1968 and captured his first tournament victory at the 1971 Sea Pines Heritage Classic. He would go on to win 19 more times on the PGA TOUR and is one of only 37 players in TOUR history with 20 career wins.

Most notably, Irwin won three U.S. Opens, including a triumph in 1974 at the so-called "Massacre at Winged Foot" in perhaps the most difficult Open conditions in history.

Five years later at Inverness, on another grueling U.S. Open course, Irwin shot even par to win by two. And finally, at the age of 45 and winless for five years, Irwin received a special exemption to compete in the 1990 U.S. Open. In the first sudden-death finish in U.S. Open history after an 18-hole playoff, Irwin birdied the 19th hole to defeat Mike Donald and become the oldest winner of the championship.

Irwin played on five Ryder Cup teams (1975, 1977, 1979, 1981 and 1991) and was a playing captain of the first U.S. Presidents Cup Team in 1994.

Irwin's Champions Tour career began in earnest in 1995, and he wasted no time making his mark, earning Champions Tour Rookie of the Year honors on the strength of two victories.

Twelve years later, he had racked up 45 wins and now stands as the Tour's all-time victory (45) and earnings leader (more than $25 million). He won the 1998 and 2000 U.S. Senior Open titles, the 1999 Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship, four Senior PGA Championships (1996-98, 2004) and claimed the season-long Charles Schwab Cup points race in 2002 and 2004.

Away from the course, Irwin is the consummate family man and is dedicated to his charity of choice.

Irwin founded and participated in a charity golf tournament in St. Louis for 25 years called the Hale Irwin St. Louis Children's Hospital Golf Benefit. The money raised through the many years of hard work eventually built the Hale Irwin Center for Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at St. Louis Children's Hospital, which offers a comfortable, non-threatening space for children and their families to receive specialized care from a team of dedicated experts in treating blood and cancer disorders.