Hale Irwin

“Golf is a game of emotion and adjustment.”

“Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.”

“I think the U.S. Open is the best tournament in the world.”

“Golf is the loneliest sport. You are completely alone with every conceivable opportunity to defeat yourself.”

“Mistakes are part of the game. It's how well you recover from them, that's the mark of a great player.”

“A perfectly straight shot with a big club is a fluke.”

“Winning is a habit. Fortunately, so is losing.”

“I never thought I would be a good architect. I'm not a good politician. I'm not a good bureaucrat. You've got to be a bit of a chameleon to be any of those, and I'm not.”

“You've got to be a little bit of a masochist to be a professional golfer.”

“You learn to accept defeat. That's one of the most important things in golf.”

“You don't have to be a fantastic hero to do certain things – to compete. You can be just an ordinary chap, sufficiently motivated to reach challenging goals.”