[ TURTLE BAY CHAMPIONSHIP ]
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Hale Irwin celebrated after sinking a birdie putt on the 17th green yesterday.
Irwin adds another
title to Hawaii collectionWin at Turtle Bay gives him
five victories in the same tournament
A little course knowledge wasn't a dangerous thing for Hale Irwin.
Outdueling Tom Kite, who was making his inaugural appearance at the $1.5 million Turtle Bay Championship, Irwin produced all the right swings when it mattered most to become the first senior golfer to win an event four consecutive times.
He shot a 67 yesterday to finish with an 8-under 208. Kite bogeyed three of the four par-5s yesterday, including the 18th, for a three-day total of 210. Graham Marsh, who tied a course record with a final-round 65, and Bruce Summerhays finished in a tie for third with 5-under 211s. In all, only 18 golfers finished under par in rainy and windy conditions.
Those seem to suit Irwin just fine as he became the first professional to win the same tourney five times. His first two victories were at the Kaanapali Classic on Maui in 1997 and 2000. The Champions Tour event moved to the Turtle Bay Resort the following year with Irwin capturing each of the three played here.
For Kite, it was his first time around the 7,044-yard course designed by Arnold Palmer. When asked on Saturday if Irwin had an advantage over Kite because of his success here, the Texan answered, "Since I haven't played here before, I really can't answer that. I know Hale has played well here in the past, but I've been able to have success at courses that I've played for the first time. Except for one hole, I love this course."
Kite fired a 5-under 67 on Saturday to hold a three-shot lead over Irwin entering yesterday's final round. But that was quickly erased as Irwin, playing one group in front of Kite, birdied three of the first four holes. Kite bogeyed the par-5 third and ninth holes. The Texan did manage back-to-back birdies at six and seven, but headed to the 10th tee one stroke behind Irwin at 6 under.
Irwin birdied four holes on the front side to make the turn at 7 under. He and Kite traded positions several times on the back, including a two-shot swing at the 11th, where Irwin bogeyed and Kite birdied. But birdies at the 14th and the 17th put Irwin at 8 under for the tourney as he stood on the 18th tee. Kite had caught Irwin briefly at 7 under with a 40-foot birdie putt at the 16th.
Then a fall squall blew across the course to add to the drama. The wind and rain blew so hard, so quickly, it forced Irwin to lay up on the 18th. He missed a 10-footer for birdie as Kite watched from the 18th fairway.
Once Irwin secured par, Kite decided to go for it from 240 yards out. His ball had not carried as far down the 18th fairway as he had would have liked because of the water on the fairway and his ball. Still, he decided to swing away, falling a yard short.
His golf ball carried the water guarding the 18th green, but not the rocks. It hit a large boulder and ricocheted to the right, eventually finding a watery grave. Kite had to chip in from the drop area to force a playoff, but didn't. He eventually bogeyed to finish two shots behind Irwin as he signed his score card in the tent.
Battling a bad back that threatened to end his career over the summer and a head cold his grandson passed on to him last week in Phoenix, Irwin said the familiarity of the course and the weather conditions that can change suddenly here were big keys for the win.
"I'm very, very happy," Irwin whispered in the press room. "This helps smooth over some of the problems I've had this summer with my back. The win could not come at a better place or time. You have to be careful on this course, but it has the ability to reward you if you make good shots.
"I always play well here, I like it here. I was very nervous at the 18th and the hole before that and the hole before that. The putt at the 17th was huge. I would have liked to have made the one at 18, but I played that hole just the way I wanted to. I never thought about going for it because I was too far back in the fairway."
For Kite, he felt he had no choice: get on the green in two and have a chance to putt for eagle and the win. If he missed, then a birdie forces a playoff, which would have been the second straight year extra holes were necessary for the win.
"If I hazard a guess, I'd say Tom would not have gone for it had he had it to do over again because there was enough water in the fairway to make that second shot too far," Irwin said. "I didn't hit a very good third shot in there and I pulled the putt, but par was good enough."
Irwin pocketed $225,000 to raise his career earnings in Hawaii, including six Senior Skins appearances, to more than $3.5 million. He won the Hawaiian Open in 1981 and has six senior titles, including the 1997 MasterCard Championship held on the Big Island. He has wins on every major island in the chain save Kauai.
