Hale Irwin's bulging wallet since moving onto the US Seniors Tour makes it look as if some of the guys on the regular tour are playing for peanuts. His win in the season-ending Senior Tour Championship at the Dunes resort in Myrtle Beach on Sunday earned him a cheque for $347,000, brought his prizemoney for the season to $2,861,945 and took his earnings since joining the seniors circuit three years ago to $5.2 million.
The man who sported glasses, sideburns and wild trousers in the 1970s on his way to winning two of his three US Open titles has made the most of his second lease of life. Indeed, Irwin's prizemoney this season exceeded that of David Duval, who topped the regular tour with $2,591,031.
"Am I shocked with what I've accomplished? Those are the goals I have - to attain those goals is pretty lofty, but for me to say I'm shocked would mean I don't have that kind of faith or confidence in myself. And I do.
"Now, whether I do it or not is one thing. But I've been able to do it. Somewhere along the line, the streak will slow down a little, but I don't feel like it is going to happen right now. There is no sign of weakness in my game unless I let it happen."
Irwin won the Senior Tour Championship by five shots from Gil Morgan and, in so doing, established a new season scoring average record for the tour with 68.59. In this season's campaign, he had a remarkable 20 top-five finishes in 22 events. "It was a fantastic way to finish off an exquisitely played year," said Irwin, who has brought seniors golf to new heights.
For Greg Norman, the season doesn't hold such pleasant memories. The Shark played his last competitive round on April 22nd and went 147 days without even touching a club as he recovered from surgery to his left shoulder. On Thursday, with the season effectively over, Norman returns to action in the Shark Shootout at the Thousand Oaks club in California where he will partner his compatriot Steve Elkington. From 1983 to last April, Norman had never been worse than seventh in the world rankings and has the distinction of being world number one for a longer period than anyone else. He has now dropped to number 13 in the rankings, but he said: "I got my life back in terms of sheer privacy in the past few months. I enjoyed being away from the grind I had been stuck in for 20 years . . . and as long as I go back and start winning and playing at the level I want, then I'll be a happy camper."
