Four tied for lead into las day

Hale Irwin survived a wild finish at Turtle Bay with a share of the lead.

Gunning for his ninth career win in Hawaii, Irwin shot his second straight 3-under-par 69 on Saturday and is tied for the lead with Dick Mast, Mike Smith and Morris Hatalsky after two rounds of the Turtle Bay Championship.

Irwin played the first 14 holes without a bogey but made two over the final four. He offset them with two more birdies to join Mast, Smith and Hatalsky at 6-under 138.

"It was a tale of two nines," Irwin said. "I played solidly on the front. After the 12th hole, I was loose as a goose."

Mast had the best round among the leaders with a 67 that helped him climb from a tie for 22nd.

"I'm looking forward to tomorrow," Mast said. "There's no weak link in Irwin's game. I'll try to shoot 67 tomorrow and see what happens."

While Mast is seeking his first win as a professional, Irwin is bidding for his fifth of the season as he closes in on another Charles Schwab Cup.

A resident of Arizona, Irwin plays out of Kokuli'a on Kailua-Kona. His first win in the Aloha State came in the 1981 Hawaiian Open on the PGA Tour. Sixteen years later, he claimed the MasterCard Championship and this event. Irwin also won the Senior Skins Game in 1999, 2001 and 2002.

"It's a logjam," he said. "If the (winds) are up, it's probably not as wide-open as if the (winds) are down."

Golf commentator Gary McCord is alone in fifth place at 5-under 139, one shot better than Japan's Isao Aoki, Bob Gilder, South Africa's John Bland and Jim Albus.

Should Irwin finish fifth or better and Gilder place out of the top 10, Irwin will capture the second Charles Schwab Cup competition and the $1 million tax-free annuity that goes with it.

Irwin's wild stretch actually began at the 13th hole, where he sent a 4-iron off the rocks but saved par with a six-foot putt. He missed an eight-footer and took bogey at No. 15 but nearly eagled the par-4 16th from the fairway.

"I got an extremely good break at 13. I was surprised the ball hit the rocks but glad to get out of there with a 3," Irwin said. "I missed short birdie putts coming in."

At the par-4 17th, Irwin three-putted from 35 feet. He found a greenside bunker at the 538-yard 18th, but blasted out and rolled in a five-foot putt for birdie.

"I don't feel like I've played my best golf yet," Irwin said. "If I play reasonably well, I like my chances."

So does Smith, the only one of the leaders with a bogey-free round Saturday.

"I think you'll need at least 10-under. With Irwin in contention, you might need to be a little lower than that," Smith said. "You always expect him to play good. I hope to have the opportunity to worry about him tomorrow."

The Palmer Course at Turtle Bay, located on the North Shore of Oahu, was previously known as The Links at Kuilima. The par-72 course is a 7,008-yard layout.

First prize is $225,000.

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