Coming off his first winless season in 12 years, the 61-year-old Irwin closed with a seven-under 65 for a 23-under 193 total to become the sixth-oldest player to win on the US Senior Tour. It was actually very good just to see him get back in the winner's column again and be a perceptible part of the competition at this stage in his career.
Beginning with the 1971 Sea Pines Heritage Classic and finishing with the 1994 MCI Heritage Golf Classic Irwin had 20 victories on the PGA Tour, and won prize money of just under six million dollars. His three major championship titles were the 1974, 1979, and 1990 U.S. Opens. Irwin played on five Ryder Cup teams: 1975, 1977, 1979, 1981, and 1991.
Last year, he was shut out for the first time since joining the Champions Tour in 1995 and saw his streak of seasons with US$1 million in winnings end at 10 on Sunday. His last win was the SAS Championship in October 2005. We can say that Irwin has been almost unbeatable when leading or sharing the lead heading into Sunday, winning 30 of 41 times.
He has been the leader in Hawaii like no other golfer could catch up to him, he won nine times on the Senior Tour, including the 1997 MasterCard, and also taking the 1981 Hawaiian Open on the US PGA Tour.
He has US$4.1 million in winnings, including unofficial money, in Hawaii.
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Ally White is a top senior copy writer on sportsbook action for Instant Action Sports.
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