Irwin enjoys comfort of winning in Hawai'i

By Bill Kwon

Pardon the interruption. Even Hale Irwin doesn't mind, despite having his attempt to set a record for the ages put on hold for more than a year.

A victory in the Turtle Bay Championship will be a record fifth straight in the same event for Hale Irwin. Advertiser library photo

Pretty heady company, indeed.

Irwin won the Turtle Bay Championship all three years (2001, 2002 and 2003) when the event moved to the Turtle Bay Resort on O'ahu's North Shore from Ka'anapali, Maui. He also won the event in 2000.

The tournament wasn't held in 2004 because of a change in date on the tour schedule. It was moved from the latter part of the year to its new position as the first full-field event of the 2005 season.

So, technically, Irwin is the defending four-time champion despite having to wait one year, three months and 16 days.

Having won the event four consecutive years is a remarkable achievement in itself. It's already a Champions Tour record. Irwin also holds the Champions Tour record for winning the same event five times with a 1997 victory at Ka'anapali.

But a drive for five in a row? And at his age?

Irwin will be 60 in June.

On a tour where the belief is that there's a time limit on a winning curve for those players from 50 through 55. It's supposed to be all down hill after that.

Irwin is an exception. He's continuing to defy the odds as a still-winning member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.

There's no sign of him letting up, bad back and all.

"I think it's a number of factors," Irwin said about his continued success.

"Some of it is genes, which I inherited from my parents. And I've tried to keep myself current and, physically, I try to keep myself fit. I don't smoke and my drinking is minimal. I try to take care of myself."

However, the biggest reason adds Irwin: "I don't let opinions of others about what you can do or can't do affect me."

Irwin finished second on the Champion Tour's money list by going over the $2 million mark for the seventh time in the past eight years. He lost to Craig Stadler by some $300,000, but Irwin won the Charles Schwab Cup, which carried a $1 million annuity as the top prize.

And with his two victories last year, Irwin extended his record of most consecutive years with at least one victory to 10. Not surprisingly, Irwin holds the Champions Tour records for most wins (40) and career money ($20.6 million).

Judging by his performance in last week's MasterCard Championship at the Hualalai Resort on the Big Island, Irwin is ready to take on the 2005 season.

"I was pleased with the way I played," he said. "I was a little rusty but last week I played kind of without too much discomfort. It was fun to play without compromising a shot or two because of any physical pain."

With back-to-back rounds of 65 on the final two days, Irwin finished in a tie for third with Gil Morgan, a stroke behind Dana Quigley, who beat Tom Watson in a three-hole playoff.

That gave Irwin his 99th top-three finish in 229 starts since joining the Champions Tour in 1995. Even more remarkable, it was Irwin's 169th top-10 finish. In other words, he has finished in the top 10 in 73 percent of the tournaments he has entered.

His success on the over-50 tour shouldn't come as a surprise. It's an extension of his PGA Tour career in which he won 20 times, including the U.S. Open three times (1970, 1974 and 1990) and the 1981 Hawaiian Open.

Irwin has earned more than $3.5 million in official PGA events in Hawai'i. That's not counting the more than $1 million in winning the Champions Skins Game three times at Mauna Lani and Wailea.

"It must be something in the air," Irwin said. "Hawai'i is always a place where my wife (Sally) and I enjoy coming. We feel welcome here. There's a comfort level here for me."

As for any thoughts about setting the record for winning five in a row, Irwin said he doesn't want to get hung up on the past. He'd like to think of it as making it one in a row, starting with this week's Turtle Bay Championship.

Bill Kwon can be reached at bkwon@aloha.net.