Coming off his first winless season in 12 years, the 61-year-old Irwin closed with a 7-under 65 for a 23-under 193 total to become the sixth-oldest player to win on the senior tour.

Last year, he was shut out for the first time since joining the Champions Tour in 1995 and saw his streak of seasons with $1 million in winnings end at 10. His last win was the SAS Championship in October 2005.

Irwin, three strokes ahead of Kite and Brad Bryant at 16 under at the start of the round, pulled away at the end of the day behind his masterful short game. He attacked the pins early, birdieing three of his first four holes.

"You can't sit back and protect your lead around here," Irwin said before the round.

Irwin has been almost unbeatable when leading or sharing the lead heading into today, winning 30 of 41 times.

He has dominated in Hawai'i like no other golfer, winning nine times on the senior tour, including the 1997 MasterCard, and also taking the 1981 Hawaiian Open on the PGA Tour. He has $4.1 million in winnings, including unofficial money, in the state.

"Coming back here and playing as I have feels almost natural," he said. "In some respects, it's like coming home."

Thorpe closed with a 66 to tie for Kite (67) at 18 under. Defending champion Loren Roberts shot his second straight 67 to finish fourth at 17 under.

Champions Tour player of the year Jay Haas (66) was another stroke back along with Bryant (70) at 15 under.

With only a soft ocean breeze, the players had their third straight day of low-scoring conditions. They tore through Hualalai, a resort course with wide fairways, reachable par 5s, perfect greens and spectacular views of Mount Hualalai and the Pacific Ocean.

Irwin sealed the win with his birdies on Nos. 14 and 15 that put him at 23 under and turned it to a race for second place. He had seven one-putts on the front nine, making the turn at 32.

He avoided disaster on the par-4 13th when his tee shot sailed left and stopped about a foot away from the charcoal-black lava fields. He parred the hole to maintain a three-stroke cushion.

Yesterday, Irwin had 10 birdies and almost shot his age, but missed a 12-foot birdie putt on No. 18 and settled for a 62.

Thorpe, who has 12 wins on the 50-and-over tour including a victory at the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship last year, parred the first hole and then went birdie-eagle-birdie to move to 16 under. He birdied Nos. 10 and 13, but couldn't get any closer, parring out the rest of the way.

Kite had four birdies and eagled No. 10, but had two costly bogeys on the front nine.

Last year, Roberts won with a 25-under 191 total to break the tour record for relation to par in a 54-hole event and tie the stroke mark. He also broke the record for birdies in a three-round tournament with 26.