It was an anything-but-routine par.

      Later in the round, on the 12th tee, the Rogers Shrine chimes went off while Irwin was set up to the ball, but this time he backed off with a smile before having begun his swing.

     As for Irwin’s golf, it was all over the map. After a 74 Thursday, he started off on the right foot, making three birdies on his first seven holes to get back to 1 over for the tournament. It looked like he might duplicate the 64 he shot Wednesday in a practice round.

     “I thought I was off to the races,“  he said.

   But he three-putted from 14 feet for a bogey on No. 8 and missed a 5-foot birdie on No. 9, then played the back nine in 3-over-par 37.

     The putts on 8 and 9  “appeared to be momentum stoppers, but I didn’t play well the last nine holes,”  Irwin said.  “I was fortunate to shoot 3 over. You’ve got to be on your game (this week) and I’m not on my game, as witnessed by the last hole (an approach shot short of the green, then a three-putt for bogey).

    “I’ve got a long way to go to catch up. I’m surprised scoring is not lower. I hit it so badly (Thursday) and so badly on the back nine (Friday), but at least I’m still around.”

• No more, at least for now

    Former CU golfer Dale Douglass shot 82-79 to miss the cut at the U.S. Senior Open, and said he won’t play any more tournaments this year. Douglass wouldn’t close the door completely on playing a little on the Champions Tour next year, but it’s very possible that Friday marked the end of a tour career that’s lasted more than 45 years.

    “A 45-year career is pretty good,”  said Douglass, winner of 11 Champions Tour events and another three on the PGA Tour. “I’ve been home most of this year, and I don’t seem to be able to make a living playing golf (anymore). If I don’t play again, it’s been a great career.”

    Douglass won the 1986 U.S. Senior Open and was the oldest player in this year’s field, at 72. His father, Hal, used to be a club pro at the Broadmoor.

     Douglass’ 161 total was 13 more than what was needed to make the 36-hole cut this week. He made one birdie in two days.

     “I didn’t play as well as I expected,” the Castle Rock resident said.  “The greens were so difficult that it was difficult to two-putt. I’m just a little disappointed. I did the best I could.”

• The cut line

    Irwin, Colorado Springs native R.W. Eaks and Castle Rock’s Gary Hallberg were the only players with strong Colorado ties to survive the 36-hole cut. All three are tied in 28th place, at 5-over-par 145.

    Locals who didn’t make it to the weekend were Denver’s Mark Wiebe (who missed by one, at 149), Colorado Springs amateur Dave Delich (152), Evergreen’s Craig Stadler (153), Douglass (162) and Centennial’s Audie Dean (168).

    Overall, the biggest names to miss the cut were Curtis Strange (151), Ben Crenshaw (151) and Mark O’Meara (149).     

• Chip shots

     Attendance Friday was 20,212, bringing the tournament’s five-day total to 61,979. … Former U.S. Senior Open champion Larry Laoretti would have missed the cut anyway, but he was disqualified Friday for signing an incorrect scorecard after his second round. Laoretti signed for a 4 on the par-5 ninth hole, when he actually had a 6. … Tim Simpson withdrew before the second round because of a pulled muscle in his rib area. Simpson had shot 72 in Round 1.

Irwin Endures an Unbearable Day

Former Buff hits 20-yard tee shot, crosses path with bruin

By Gary Baines

Colorado Golf Journal, Friday, August 1, 2008

     COLORADO SPRINGS -- It was a bear of a day for Hale Irwin, both literally and figuratively.

     It started off with probably the shortest drive of his half-century of playing golf. It also included a relatively close encounter with a black bear that was a bit too large to be taken lightly. And it ended with quite a few golf shots he’d rather forget.

     Suffice it to say that the former University of Colorado athlete wasn’t bored Friday at the Broadmoor during his second round of the U.S. Senior Open.

     “It was a crazy day,” summarized Irwin.

     And despite some erratic play, the five-time USGA champion will be around for the weekend at the tournament, unlike last year.

     Irwin backed up his first-round 74 with a 1-over-par 71 Friday, leaving him in 28th place going into the weekend.

     Irwin and playing partners Tom Watson and Bernhard Langer -- the marquee pairing that teed off Friday morning -- were on the 13th hole when a large black bear ran across the fairway in front of them around noon. ESPN on-course reporter Dottie Pepper was in the fairway with the group, and ESPN cameras captured the action.

      “Dottie about wet her britches,” said Irwin, who noted that he saw the same bear in a back yard the previous day, Thursday.

     The bear later made its way through two drainage pipes on the West Course and departed the premises.

     That incident came 3½ hours after another bizarre happening. When Irwin was teeing off on the first hole, a par-4, chimes from the Will Rogers Shrine on nearby Cheyenne Mountain went off in the midst of Irwin’s downswing. He tried to stop his swing, but inadvertently made contact with his ball. It went about 20 yards, under a Rolex clock just off the left side of the tee.

     “It was the shortest tee shot I think I’ve ever hit,” said the three-time U.S. Open winner. “… It was like, what else can go wrong? I told them on press day they (the chimes, which go off every 15 minutes) were going to be a problem. It’s bothersome. People (here) may be used to it, but they’re not playing a golf championship. After that, I told my caddie to keep his watch handy every 15 minutes.“

     Remarkably, Irwin still made a par on the first hole.  A USGA official explained to him that under the Rules of Golf his stroke counted, which Irwin expected. After he received free relief from the clock near the tee, he hit his second shot, then his approach to 22 feet from the cup, and sank the putt.

A black bear runs across the 13th fairway during the second round of the 2008 U.S. Senior Open Championship at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs on Friday.
(Copyright USGA/John Mummert)

Hale Irwin