Inaugural Hale Irwin Medalists Announced

Dale Douglass and Jennifer Kupcho will receive the first Hale Irwin Medals

“There’s no better player to ever come out of the state of Colorado than Hale Irwin.” Irwin Medal

With that incontrovertible pronouncement—and with the World Golf Hall of Famer himself seated right next to him—Colorado Golf Association Executive Director Ed Mate announced the creation of the Hale Irwin Medal, an award which “recognizes Colorado’s outstanding golfers who exhibit competitiveness, resiliency and a proven record of winning.”

Now 73, the Boulder High and University of Colorado product unquestionably embodies all those qualities.

After a stellar junior career, Irwin followed three consecutive CGA amateur titles (1963-1965) with a victory in the 1967 NCAA Division I individual championship. One of only six players to win three U.S. Open Championships, he became the oldest winner in history when he took the 1990 title at age 45. His prolific career included 20 victories on the PGA Tour and a record 45 wins on the PGA Tour Champions.

The Medalists

Announced at Meridian Golf Club in Englewood, the first recipients of the Hale Irwin Medal are Fort Morgan native Dale Douglass and Westminster’s Jennifer Kupcho.

The 83-year-old Douglass played on the University of Colorado golf team ten years before Irwin did. Douglass competed on the 1969 Ryder Cup team, won three PGA TOUR events and counts the 1986 U.S. Senior Open among his 11 Senior/Champions Tour victories.

He has gained entry into the Colorado Golf and Colorado Sports Hall of Fames, as well as the University of Colorado Athletic Hall of Fame, and now splits his time between Castle Rock and the Phoenix area.

Kupcho, a Wake Forest University senior who turns 22 on May 14th, won the 2018 NCAA Division I Individual National Championship. She was also member of the victorious Curtis Cup, Palmer Cup and U.S. Women’s Amateur teams and is currently the No. 1-ranked amateur golfer in the world.

She recently earned the ninth individual title of her collegiate career, shooting a 12-under 204 at the Bryan National Collegiate in Browns Summit, N.C. to share medalist honors with teammate Emilia Migliaccio. The two will compete against 70 other top female amateurs in the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur this weekend in Georgia. After qualifying in December, she will join the LPGA Tour once she graduates in June.

Douglass and Kupcho will receive their medals at a November 23 gala at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs.

Proceeds from the event will be support the Colorado Golf Foundation and its effort to support Junior Player Development, Caddie Programs and Community Golf Partnerships across the state.

Why the Medal?

Mate explained the reasoning behind the creation of the award. “The Colorado Golf Association believes it’s critically important that when you have a player like Hale Irwin, you celebrate that legacy. You don’t let time go by without honoring that incredible career. So we’ve concocted this idea to create the Hale Irwin Medal for Colorado players who have gone on to accomplish great things at the national level.”

Mate contended he didn’t know “if this is going to be a one-year award, a ten-year award, but we do know we want to honor the greatness of the state of Colorado and connect that greatness to Mr. Hale Irwin.”

“I’m not one to beat my chest, but I’m very proud of having my name on that medal,” Irwin said. “But it comes with a great responsibility, and there’s no one I feel more comfortable with than Ed and his staff at the CGA, and my son (former CGA Les Fowler and Mid-Amateur Player of the Year) Steve. It is very special.”

An Elite Legacy

Kupcho and Irwin are the only two Coloradans ever to capture the NCAA individual titles. Their connection has another layer.

As a teen, Kupcho was a member of the Hale Irwin Player Program, a CGA initiative “designed to inspire young people and, frankly, to remind them that you can come out of the state of Colorado and win three U.S. Opens and become a World Golf Hall of Famer,” Mate explained.

“It introduces kids with talent, determination and work ethic by giving them access to Commonground, access to instruction and maximizing their potential to their full extent.”

When asked what she thought she and Irwin had in common, Kupcho said via conference call,  “Probably one of the biggest things is grit on the course. He probably never quit, never gave up, and that’s one of my strongest qualities…You always have to come back stronger than from whatever you did on the last shot, the last round, last year…”

Irwin agreed. While bemoaning the differences between today’s game and the one he grew up playing—ascribing most of those to ball and club technology—he said, “You still have to hit it and put it in the hole, but there’s a lot of things these young people can learn that’s not about the game. Competitive zeal, the instinct to succeed. It’s how you get there. If we can promote that, and they become good golfers along the way, that’s great.”

Current members of the Irwin Player Program attended the announcement, including Caitlin Chin and Bead Boonta, who both qualified to be one of 80 competitors (out of approximately 28,800) at next week’s National Drive Chip & Putt competition at Augusta National (Grady Ortiz of Colorado Springs also qualified.)

Afterwards, they met Irwin, listened to his advice and hit shots as he looked on, all hoping they might one day be considered Hale Irwin Medal-worthy.

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Colorado AvidGolfer Magazine is the state’s leading resource for golf and the lifestyle that surrounds it, publishing eight issues annually and proudly delivering daily content via coloradoavidgolfer.com.

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