Dougherty holds off Irwin & Morgan

Steady Ed Dougherty broke up his own rhythm.

A four-time runner-up in 1999, Dougherty shot a 6-under-par 66 today and claimed his first Senior Tour title with a two-stroke victory at the Coldwell Banker Burnet Classic.

"This ranks right up there with my biggest thrills,'' Dougherty said. "I won the 1985 National Club Pro Championship and won the 1995 Deposit Guaranty on the PGA Tour. I was worried I'd have to wait until 2005 to win on the Senior Tour.''

Until today, Dougherty hadn't finished in the top six in any tournament this year. He was ranked 33rd on the senior money list and his 23-year PGA career included only the one title.

Dougherty earned $240,000 - his largest professional paycheck -- as he held off Hale Irwin and Gil Morgan by two strokes.

"I didn't even think about the money,'' Dougherty said. "I was looking upside down at the check and I had to ask how much I won. The tournament director said, `It's $3,000 more than you won on your best year on tour.'''

Dougherty's previous best payday was $185,000 for his 1999 runnerup finish at the U.S. Senior Open.

Dougherty's 19-under-par 197 broke Irwin's tournament record 199 set in 1997. He had no bogeys, 12 birdies and an eagle in his final 40 holes.

Dougherty, who started the day with a one-stroke lead, holed a 65-yard wedge shot for eagle on the par-5 No. 2.

Irwin, the 1997 and 1999 champion, eagled No. 5 and birdied No. 7 to tie Dougherty. But Irwin three-putted from 30 feet on No. 10 for his lone bogey of the tournament.

Dougherty lipped out a 5-foot birdie putt at No. 11, before coming back with birdies on Nos. 12 and 13 - the latter with a 40-foot chip - to open up a two-stroke lead with five holes to play.

His biggest shot of the day was a short putt at No. 16 that kept his lead at two.

"It was a gut-check putt, a 4-footer that looked like a 40-footer at the time,'' Dougherty said.

Irwin, playing in the next-to-last group, missed a 10-foot eagle putt on No. 18 that would have tied Dougherty. Irwin and Morgan each made birdie to pull within one stroke.

Dougherty needed to par No. 18 to win. He put his second shot on the par-5 hole in a greenside bunker, but his chip shot rolled within 5 feet and he sank it for a birdie.

"I just couldn't make the right putt on the back nine to break through,'' Irwin said. "I three-putted on No. 10, and that was a momentum breaker.''

Irwin has played his last 11 Burnet rounds at a combined 55-under-par since 1997. In that span he's won $677,000 here with two firsts, a tie for second and a tie for third.

Dougherty became the third player to get his first Senior win in Burnet's eight-year history, joining Leonard Thompson in 1998 and Vicente Fernandez in 1996.

Chuck Moran had his best senior finish as he was fourth at 12-under-par 204 to earn $96,000.

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