The 2014 Champions Tour season begins on Friday in Hawaii, and considering there’s only 41 players in the by-invitation-only Mitsubishi Electric Championship field, it says something that five of them are current or former residents of Colorado.
Moreover, after the Colorado contingent entered the 2013 season having gone winless in the previous year, the locals begin 2014 after a stellar last 12 months. Players with strong Colorado ties won a remarkable five times on the Champions Tour in 2013.
Mark Wiebe (pictured) of Aurora claimed two titles, including the Senior British Open in a five-hole playoff. Former Castle Rock resident Esteban Toledo won twice as a Champions Tour rookie. And Craig Stadler of Evergreen established the record for the longest time between Champions Tour victories (8 years, 9 months — and 171 starts) when he won the Encompass Championship in June.
Joining Wiebe, Toledo and Stadler in the Mitsubishi Electric Championship field will be former University of Colorado athlete Hale Irwin and former Cherry Creek High School golfer Mike Reid. Also competing are Tom Lehman, who won the 2010 Senior PGA Championship at Colorado Golf Club, and Willie Wood, who captured the 1984 Colorado Open title.
The MEC field is limited to 2012 and 2013 tournament champions, winners of Champions Tour majors from the past five years and special invitees. The tournament runs Friday through Sunday at the Jack Nicklaus-designed Hualalai Course on Hawaii’s Big Island.
While Irwin hasn’t won in seven years, the three-time U.S. Open champion can’t be dismissed as a title contender, even though he’s 68 years old and is beginning his 47th tour season.
One reason is that with just 41 players competing this weekend, there are fewer to beat. In addition, the MEC is where Irwin won the last of his record 45 Champions Tour titles. And the Boulder High School graduate loves the Aloha State. He’s won nine official tour events in Hawaii, including eight Champions Tour tournaments and two MEC titles.
Beside, the World Golf Hall of Famer is already the oldest champion in the history of the event (61 years, 7 months in 2007). This week marks the 19th consecutive year Irwin has competed in the Mitsubishi Electric Championship (or its previous incarnations) — far and away the longest stretch in the field.
Last year, Irwin finished a season-best ninth in the MEC.
