LIGONIER, Pa – If Graham Marsh, Hale Irwin and Raymond Floyd keep this up, maybe they’ll have to rename it the Senior Citizens PGA Championship. Marsh and Floyd, both in their 60s, and Irwin, the defending champion who has only a week left in his 50s, upstaged the younger and supposedly stronger members of golf’s 50-and-up club Thursday during the first round of the Senior PGA Championship.
The 61-year-old Marsh, trying to make up for a miserable year so far on the Champions Tour, returned to the putting style he used to win 56 tournaments worldwide for a 4-under 68 and a one-shot lead over Irwin, R.W. Eaks, Dave Barr and Tom McKnight.
Among those in a large group two shots back were the 62-year-old Floyd, who hasn’t won a tournament in five years; Curtis Strange, playing in his first Senior major after having little success on the Champions Tour so far, and Texas club pro Perry Arthur.
Successfully navigating the classic, old-style Laurel Valley Golf Club course, Marsh, Irwin and Floyd again showed that there’s new life in an age group once thought to be long past its prime, even among the seniors.
Lee Trevino once advised new Champions Tour members to play as much as possible before turning 55, figuring it was unlikely they’d do much winning after that. Irwin long ago exposed that theory as myth, winning 16 of his 42 tour titles after turning 55. Only Don January, with eight titles, won even half as many after passing 55.
“I don’t know if there’s a reason,” said Irwin, a two-time Champions Tour winner earlier this year but off his game in recent weeks. “I think more than anything else I’ve just not allowed myself to say I can’t do it. … I keep my standards high.”
Irwin’s 69 was his 18th Senior PGA round in the 60s, breaking the record he previously shared with Sam Snead. Doing so put him in prime contention for an eighth major championship on the Champions Tour, as many as Jack Nicklaus – even though Irwin turns 60 on June 3.
“I was not aware of that [Nicklaus milestone],” Irwin said.
Marsh is certainly aware of Irwin’s success, although he didn’t say if it’s motivating him to keep playing. Marsh has never finished higher than fifth in a Senior PGA, and he’s reached the Top 10 just once in eight tournaments this year.
Marsh’s theory? You’re never too old to try something new – or, in this case, the same putting style he used years ago while winning tournament after tournament in Europe, Japan, Australia and the PGA Tour. He made the change after finishing 56th and 68th in his last two tournaments.
“This crazy game, you never know,” Marsh said. “You just do the best you can and hope it stays with you. But sometimes when you make a change like that, it can hang around for a while.”
Kind of like Irwin, who averages a victory every 5.6 appearances on the Champions Tour.
“In general, I’m delighted,” said Irwin, who was even through No. 14 before getting three birdies in his final four holes. “The score indicates a much better round than what I played. I really didn’t hit the ball that well. … So I don’t want to get terribly excited.”
Neither did Strange, even though he’s off to his best start since moving onto the Champions Tour earlier this year. He birdied three of the first four holes, then dropped three shots on the back nine before flying the lake with his second shot on the par-5, No. 18 and holing a 15-foot eagle putt.
“No. 18 makes up for a lot of mistakes when you make eagle,” Strange said. “I’m smiling now, but I wasn’t smiling 20 minutes ago.”
After three days of persistent rain and chilly weather, temperatures warmed into the 70s for the first tournament at the 7,107-yard private course since the 2001 PGA Tour Pennsylvania Classic. Cloudy skies and a threat of showers are forecast Friday – nothing new for a tournament that’s been rain-drenched the last four years.
