CU and Boulder High School grad Hale Irwin, a two-time U.S. Senior Open champion, named honorary chair for 2025 Senior Open that The Broadmoor will host
By Gary Baines – 12/9/2024
Hale Irwin has won two U.S. Senior Opens, competed in each of the previous two Senior Opens held at The Broadmoor, and graduated from both high school and college in Colorado. So Monday’s announcement that the World Golf Hall of Famer will serve as the honorary chair for next year’s Senior Open at The Broadmoor certainly shouldn’t be a surprise.
The 45th U.S. Senior Open is set for June 26-29 at The Broadmoor’s East Course in Colorado Springs, marking the third time in 18 years that the resort has hosted arguably the most prestigious tournament in senior golf (previously in 2008 and 2018). The USGA formally announced on Monday that Irwin will be the honorary chair for the 2025 event.
Irwin, 79, is the most famous golfer to have grown up in Colorado as the Boulder High School and University of Colorado alum has won 20 times on the PGA Tour — including three U.S. Opens — and 45 times on PGA Tour Champions. He also claimed the 1967 NCAA individual title to cap off his CU career.
“As a five-time USGA champion and with strong ties to the state and region, I am honored to serve as the honorary chair of this year’s U.S. Senior Open,” Irwin said in a release. “The foundation for my life as an athlete and eventually a professional golfer was established in Boulder County, and it excites me to return to a place where it began. I have been fortunate to have competed against many of the players who will play in this national championship. (Fellow former CU golfer) Dale Douglass, a Coloradan and former Senior Open champion, was a mentor and great friend who provided great insight during my career. It will be a privilege to represent him and the other legendary champions in this field as honorary chair.
“The Broadmoor is special place for me, my wife Sally, and our family along with my great association with longtime director of golf Dow Finsterwald. It is revered in the history of professional and amateur golf with great champions from (Jack) Nicklaus to (Annika) Sorenstam. I know how much the region, especially the Colorado Springs and Denver communities, will support this championship but also appreciates this great game.”
Irwin, who was born in Missouri but moved to Boulder as a 14-year-old, is no stranger to success at The Broadmoor. Shortly after capturing the NCAA individual golf title while competing for CU, Irwin won the prestigious Broadmoor Invitation tournament at the resort in 1967.
More generally, Irwin competed in the U.S. Senior Open 23 times, the most recent one being in 2018 — the last time The Broadmoor hosted the event. The only golfers to have played in the event more are Douglass (26 times) and Arnold Palmer (25). Irwin won the USSO title in 1998 and 2000, giving him five USGA championships in all. All told, he finished in the top 10 at the U.S. Senior Open eight times, with two runner-ups in addition to his two victories. He placed fourth in 2011 at age 66.
Irwin, No. 2 on the Champions Tour career wins list — two behind Bernhard Langer — last competed in a Champions event in January 2021. His 45 Champions victories include seven senior majors.
“Hale Irwin is one of the greatest golfers in the history of the sport and has continued to be active as a golf course architect and through his many charitable efforts,” said Hank Thompson, the USGA’s senior director of the U.S. Senior Open Championship. “His affinity with the state of Colorado and ties within the sports community will serve him well as an ambassador for the U.S. Senior Open and help bring together the region around this highly sought-after national championship.”
Irwin was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 1974 and the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 1986. He went into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1992. A two-sport standout at CU — he was an All-Big Eight cornerback in football — he was enshrined in the CU Athletic Hall of Fame in 2002.
As an amateur in Colorado, Irwin won the CGA Amateur three times, the CGA Match Play once, the CGA Junior Match Play once and the Colorado state high school individual title once.
Tickets for June’s U.S. Senior Open at The Broadmoor are on sale. For ticket information, CLICK HERE.
About the Writer: Gary Baines has covered golf in Colorado continuously since 1983. He was a sports writer at the Daily Camera newspaper in Boulder, then the sports editor there, and has written regularly for ColoradoGolf.org since 2009. The University of Colorado Evans Scholar alum was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2022. He owns and operates ColoradoGolfJournal.com