Twenty minutes or so is all you need with Hale Irwin to determine that HE still has plenty of determination.
He may be 60 now, but the "youngsters" on the Champions Tour better keep an eye on him this weekend.
It's been a "poor" year so far by his standards. No wins…but still five top-10s out of 10 starts…and he's fifth on the money list with over $500,000 so far.
But he says, "The only part of my game that hasn't jelled yet is my putting."
Then he talks about subtle changes in posture that could have affected his stroke and how he's working on that. He says, "My stroke feels okay, but the putts haven't been dropping that I think I should make."
Then, after talking about small changes he's working on that could yield big results, he adds with a wry grin, "On the other hand, maybe I'm just putting lousy."
For the first time, he's going to skip the Ford Senior Players Championship in July to go to the British Isles for three weeks. He'll play the Scottish Open (the week before the British Open – with a STRONG field) and then play the British Senior Open the week following the British Open.
As for teeing it up against PGA Tour and European PGA Tour stalwarts in Scotland, he says, "Age isn't the determinate factor. Of course those kids can play. But they may find out that so can I!"
Hale's wife, Sally, sat in at the interview room. On the way out, I asked her how she liked Sandestin. That got a big smile and the response, "I like it!"
Hale had an even bigger smile when asked how he likes the Raven course. "I like it a lot! It sets up good for my eye. A lot of confining shots."
He thinks tee settings rather than pin placements will be bigger factors in determining scoring this weekend. "If I can shoot, say, four-under each day, I'd feel real good about it."
He's due for a win. And Raven, with tough rough the wind up, is the kind of course that suits his game.
