Forty-nine years after his dad, Hale, won the prestigious Broadmoor Invitation, Steve Irwin teamed up last week with fellow Lakewood Country Club member Richard Bradsby to claim the title in the new incarnation of the tournament.
Irwin and Bradsby were the medalists in the stroke-play portion of the event with a four-ball score of 66 at The Broadmoor Golf Club’s East Course. Then they won three matches — two at the West Course and the final at the East — to earn the championship last Thursday.
In the final, Irwin and Bradsby defeated Jordan Wilson and Andy Emerson from Loch Lloyd, Mo., 2 and 1. In the semifinals, the Lakewood team ousted the 2015 champions.
For 75 years in the 20th century, The Broadmoor Invitation was considered one of the nation’s top amateur events. But its run ended in 1995. It was resurrected in 2014 as a scratch four-ball championship, though this was the first time competing in the event for Irwin and Bradsby. This year’s field featured 42 two-man teams, representing 13 states.
Irwin, a former CGA Player of the Year, has competed in one U.S. Open and two U.S. Amateurs. Bradsby is likewise a regular participant in CGA championships. (Irwin, left, and Bradsby, right, are pictured with Dow Finsterwald, the former director of golf at The Broadmoor.)
