Quigley exceeds
his expectations

Hale Irwin may have been a big winner in Hawaii the past two weeks, but he'd be hard-pressed to match the mood of Dana Quigley.

After Irwin secured first place yesterday for the fifth consecutive time dating back to when the Turtle Bay Championship was called the Kaanapali Classic on Maui, Quigley pulled out a big cigar and said, "I'm on my way to Vegas, baby."

Quigley finished first at the MasterCard Championship last week and managed a second to Irwin at Turtle Bay to leave the island chain with $404,000 stuffed in his wallet. Irwin finished in a tie for third at the MasterCard, so he trails Quigley by $69,000 in prize money early in the 2005 campaign.

The 57-year-old Quigley still has a ways to go to catch Irwin in total prize money won in Hawaii. At last count, and this includes the unofficial cash at the senior skins, Irwin has won nearly $5 million in the 50th state.

Still, Quigley didn't want to quibble. He's happy with his 1-2 finish to start the season.

"I really don't think there's a whole lot better," Quigley said. "I don't think anyone has ever won them both over here. I think 1-2 is probably as about as good as can be. It's way beyond any expectation that I've had.

"After last week, I just felt like don't lay down. I was guarding against suffering some kind of letdown, hitting shots that I really wasn't committed to. I really focused on trying to grind it out for this one. And it paid off. I played well."

Quigley did more than just grind. His 11-under 205 equaled Irwin's old course record set here in 2001. Irwin bettered that mark yesterday by five shots. Quigley was incredulous when told his 205 would have tied the old mark.

"Is that so?" Quigley said. "How about that, well, we've got to get Hale disqualified. He'll get a DQ and I'll have the tournament record. That will be good. Much better story. He was really focused today. He knew what he was doing. This is a great golf course. You'd better be on your game to hold everything together."

FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM Dana Quigley won a total of $404,000 at the MasterCard Championship and Turtle Bay Championship.

Skins game next stop: Arnold Palmer and Tom Watson are headed to Maui for the Wendy's Champions Skins Game. Watson will defend his title on Saturday. The broadcast will be on ABC-TV on Super Bowl Sunday.

Joining these two legends are Jack Nicklaus and Craig Stadler. It is the first time Nicklaus will take his clubs out of the closet this year. Stadler opened the season with a tie for ninth at the PGA Tour's Sony Open in Hawaii. He then finished in a tie for seventh at the MasterCard Championship with Rodger Davis, before heading to the mainland to play with his son, Kevin, at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, where he finished in a tie for 14th.

This will be Stadler's first appearance in the senior skins. Nicklaus and Palmer have hinted they may be near the end of their careers, giving this weekend's event a special feel to it.

"I'm going over there to see how I do and then assess my game," Palmer said. He got married on Wednesday and may be ready to do more than just play golf. "I'm not going to make an announcement yet. Let's just see how I do."

Last year, Watson won the event, pocketing $400,000 after Palmer missed a short putt that could have made him the king.

"I'm looking forward to going over there and playing in what's a really fun event," Watson said. His tour of Hawaii has been solid so far. Watson lost to Quigley in a playoff at the MasterCard. He shook off the ill effects of that defeat to finish in a tie for third here this week. "My putting stroke is getting there. I just have to have the discipline to stick with it."

Inside the numbers: With a little wind kicking up at the Turtle Bay Resort the scores soared a bit. There were only 14 players in the 60s and 25 members of the senior set under par. By comparison, 21 golfers shot in the 60s on Friday and 45 were below par. The average score was 73.167 yesterday, the highest of the three rounds.

The hardest hole was the par-3 13th, with a scoring average of 3.269. Davis had a lot to do with that with his 6-over nine. He came back to birdie the next hole en route to a final-round 79, 10 shots worse than his opening 18 holes. There were six birdies, 49 pars, 18 bogeys and no doubles, but there were five triple bogeys or worse, including Davis' nine.

The easiest hole was the par-5 12th, with a scoring average of 4.692. There were 33 birdies, 38 pars, six bogeys and one triple by Bruce Schmierer, who finished last for the tournament at 27-over 243.