CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM Senior PGA golfer Hale Irwin signed an autograph for Rich Tucker yesterday at the Turtle Bay Pro-Am.

Irwin looks
to continue
Hawaii success

The Senior Tour's top
money winner defends at
Turtle Bay this weekend

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By Paul Arnett
parnett@starbulletin.com

Defending Turtle Bay Championship winner Hale Irwin walked off the 18th green yesterday at this North Shore resort all smiles and handshakes in what he hopes is a dress rehearsal for Sunday's final round.

His playing partners in the lighthearted pro-am were treated to an 18-under afternoon, the best for the day. They were reluctant to say good-bye to such good fortune, delaying Irwin's departure with autograph requests and the shuffle of business cards.

"I'll look you up whenever I'm In Arizona," one hopeful said to Irwin as he put his clubs away. Irwin flashed his famous smile and said, "You do that. Take care now."

How many businessmen have said the same thing to Irwin the past 35 years?

The 57-year-old couldn't begin to count them all. But if he left them with the same feeling these three guys had on this blustery afternoon on the Arnold Palmer course, it was four hours well spent.

CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM Hale Irwin has won this weekend's event three times, including twice before it moved from Kaanapali to Turtle Bay.

"I always enjoy coming over here," Irwin said. "The conditions have always been good. I don't care what kind of weather we're having. Hawaii is always a fantastic experience for me."

It's hard to argue with a man who recently topped the $22 million mark in PGA and Senior Tour career earnings. He is the second to break the $20 million mark. The first? Tiger Woods.

During his stellar career, Irwin has won five major titles in the island chain, including the 1981 Hawaiian Open. He also has a MasterCard Championship trophy and three Kaanapali/Turtle Bay titles to his credit. If he successfully defends Sunday, he will become the first golfer to win the same event four times since Jack Nicklaus turned the trick at The Tradition.

"You don't really think about stuff like that while you're playing," Irwin said. "You look back on that later on. But obviously I had a lot of success when this event was on Maui (Kaanapali Classic) and here last year at this beautiful place. Of course, I'd like to win here again."

Irwin is on pace to break his Senior Tour earnings record of $2.81 million in a season. This year, he already has three wins, six seconds and four thirds in 20 events for an official total of $2.6 million.

Throw in the money he won on Maui at the Senior Skins in January and Irwin has already pocketed $3.05 million this year.

He has played more golf in recent weeks than at any point in his career.

Since the U.S. Senior Open on June 30, Irwin has competed in 12 events, including seven in a row over the summer. Before taking last week off, Irwin played in five straight tournaments, a blistering pace for someone his age.

"It seemingly has been a lot in a row for me," Irwin said. "And that's something new for me in how many years I've played this crazy game. It's my 35th year of golf and I've never played in as many tournaments in a row as I have this year."

Still fun after all these years?

"If you say so," Irwin said, then smiled. "There are times when there's nothing better. And then of course there are times when you say, "What am I doing? I've got to get home.' It's like anybody who travels who goes through the hotels and being gone from home and family. You get tired of that after a while."

The other golfers in this event wish Irwin would stay home as well. There are five of the top 10 money winners entered in this week's event that began this morning. Bruce Fleisher is among them and has also had success in Hawaii. Only one golfer, Bruce Lietzke, has successfully defended this season.

"Hopefully, I can break that trend," Irwin said. "We certainly had fun out here today."