FAR HILLS, N.J., Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Hale Irwin will extend the longest active streak of playing in the U.S. Open to 32 years in June after accepting a special exemption from the USGA on Friday.
The executive committee of the USGA took the action at its annual meeting in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The committee will continue to review considerations for special exemptions through the end of May.
Irwin, 56, has played in each U.S. Open since 1971, winning three of them, including the 1990 event. That victory gave him a 10-year exemption, which expired after last year's appearance at Southern Hills.
This year's Open will be held June 13-16 at Bethpage State Park in New York.
A star on the Senior PGA Tour, Irwin showed he has a lot of golf left at last year's Open, shooting an opening-round 3-under-par 67 that left him a shot off the lead. He finished in a tie for
52nd.
Irwin claimed his first Open title at Winged Foot in 1974, then won at Inverness in 1979 and Medinah in 1990, making him -- at 45 -- the oldest champion in the tournament's history.
