Irwin Comes Home

By Ken Klavon, USGA

Town and Country, Mo. -- Hounded after his practice round Monday at Bellerive Country Club, Hale Irwin was mobbed by autograph seekers. It's always that way when Irwin, a three-time U.S. Open champion, comes back to the St. Louis area.

An adopted son of the region, Irwin grew up learning the game on a nine-hole course four-and-a-half hours away near Joplin, Mo. He still maintains a residence in Frontenac, a 10-minute drive from Bellerive. But his main home is in Pleasant Valley, Ariz.

For some time Irwin had this Senior Open on his radar, knowing more demands would be put on him with all the friends and family around.

He signed so many autographs that he massaged a sore thumb afterward.

"How do you say no?," said Irwin. "You have to. It's harder to say it when you're at home."

All-Nighter

Count Fleisher as one of the 31 players in the field this week to play the British Senior Open at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland. Looking fatigued, Fleisher, Dana Quigley and another player rented a private jet to get to St. Louis.

They arrived Sunday at 9 p.m. after an eight-and-a-hour flight from Belfast. To make matters worse, with a six-hour time difference, Fleisher felt like he should be eating dinner rather than working on chip shots.

The Champions Tour endured a brutal stretch this month. That's because the Senior Open represents the third major of July. It's also the reason why Allen Doyle, Irwin and other bigger-named players chose to skip last week, instead focusing on the Senior Open.

"The scheduling is horrible," said Irwin. "As much as the British Open should be in the rotation, it got hurt."

Irwin wanted to play, but felt playing in unpredictable weather might aggravate an already-sore back.

Fleisher, on the other hand, knew the stretch would be grueling yet sees no sense in complaining.

"The guys accept it, they do it. If they don't, then they don't play," said Fleisher.

He's In

Late Sunday Pete Oakley notified the USGA office at Bellerive that he'd be making the trip to play. Oakley got in via an exemption for winning the British Senior Open.

Of Note

There are a total of 26 amateurs and 11 past champions in the field this week. Six of the amateurs were exempt from qualifying.

What's more, there are 32 USGA champions with 56 titles among them entered.

Of Note Part II

Three players who competed in the 1965 U.S. Open are in the field. Who are they?

Raymond Floyd, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player, who won that year.

Player Withdrawals

Jim Colbert, Andy North and Christy O'Connor submitted their withdrawals. North was the first to withdraw, on Friday, citing back and knee injuries; Colbert on Saturday because of a hip malady; and O'Connor on Monday with an ingrown toenail.

Chuck Milne of Vancouver, Wash., will take North's place. It'll be his third Senior Open. His best finish came in 1999 when he tied for 53^rd. In 2000 he missed the cut.

The alternate taking Colbert's spot will be Terry DeLeo of Hopkinton, Mass., who shot a 72 in sectional qualifying on July 12 at Richmond Country Club in Richmond, Calif. DeLeo played in one other Senior Open, last year at the Inverness Club In Toledo, Ohio, where he missed the cut.

And taking O'Conner's place will be Mike Smith of Titusville, Fla. Smith shot a 68 at Wynlakes Golf and Country Club in Montgomery, Ala., on July 6.

Ken Klavon is the USGA Web Editor. E-mail him with questions or comments at kklavon@usga.org.