Golf champion and CU alumni chosen for being symbol of success
Another Victory for Irwin
The CU Senior Class Council has confirmed its commencement speaker for the spring 2007 graduation ceremony.
Hale Irwin, former NCAA golf champion and all-time leader in PGA Tour competitions, was chosen by the council to speak to the graduating class in May. Irwin was also a two-time, All-Big Eight defensive back in football and standout student at CU.
“We selected Hale Irwin as our top alumni prospect primarily because he excelled in all he has done,” said Steve Gilman, a senior finance student and commencement speaker co-chair for the Senior Class Council. “Hale Irwin is the council’s quintessential symbol of success, and we hope he will remind the CU community of the talent our institution builds and thrives upon.”
Irwin graduated from CU in 1967 after becoming one of the most successful athletes in school history. He won the 1967 NCAA championship in golf and went on to dominate the PGA Tour and is currently the all-time money leader on the PGA Champion’s Tour list with more than $16 million in earnings.
A graduate of Boulder High School, Irwin still holds the CU single-season golf stroke record at 71.86. He won U.S. Open Championships in 1974, 1979 and 1990, when he became the oldest player in tournament history to win the title at age 45.
Irwin’s career is painted with victory, as he swept 20 PGA Tour wins and 39 PGA Champion’s Tour victories. He has helped design and create several golf courses with some of his earnings and continues to instruct golf clinics.
“Irwin exemplifies how an individual has made a career out of following his passion,” said Nicole Frey, a senior management student and commencement speaker co-chair for the Senior Class Council. “I believe that message to be one of the most valuable and enduring legacies he has imprinted here at CU.”
Irwin was born in Joplin, Mo. in 1945 and began molding his swing nearly all on his own. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1992.
The Senior Class Council said that Irwin was their first choice to speak at the May graduation ceremonies and that his returning commitment to them demonstrates an inspiration to the graduating class.
“Our future is bright, and while we are closing one chapter of our lives, we have many more that have yet to be written,” Gilman said. “We want to remind our graduating seniors that they should always strive to enhance their alma mater, to maintain the integrity of this institution and to never lose faith or pride in the University of Colorado at Boulder.”
Spring Commencement will be held at 8:30 a.m. May 11 at Folsom Field.
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Tim McAvoy at tim.mcavoy@thecampuspress.com.
