Irwin claims title for fourth straight year

Hale Irwin shot a 5-under 67 in the final round of the Turtle Bay Championship on Sunday, becoming the first player on the Champions Tour to win an event four straight times and five times overall.

Irwin was 8 under for the three-round event at 208, two strokes ahead of Tom Kite. Irwin won his 38th event on the tour -- his second of the year -- and a $225,000 prize. His earnings on the year jumped to $1.3 million.

"This is the first week when my back didn't give me an issue," said Irwin, who has been suffering from back problems.

Jan Stephenson, the first woman to play on the Champions Tour, fired a final-round 78, her first day under 80, to finish at 242 -- 34 strokes back. She tied Bobby Mitchell for last place.

Irwin and Kite, who came in at 11th and 12th on the money list, played close down the stretch.

But Kite's undoing was a shot from the fairway into the water on No. 18. He needed 240 feet to carry over the water, but was a foot short. He bogeyed the hole while Irwin shot par to clinch it, avoiding the playoff situation he found himself in last year with Gary McCord.

Kite, who grabbed $132,000 Sunday, has $1,365,319 on the year but has yet to win a tournament.

Irwin birdied the holes he parred (Nos. 1, 3 and 4) and parred the holes he bogeyed (Nos. 2, 5, 8) on Saturday, shooting a 4-under 32 on the front nine. He bogeyed the 11th, but had two birdies on the back nine.

Irwin is tied at nine with Miller Barber for the Champions Tour record for consecutive years winning at least one tournament. Graham Marsh finished tied for third with Bruce Summerhays at 5-under 211.

Marsh made an amazing comeback from an eight-stroke deficit, tying the Champions Tour's Arnold Palmer Course record for a round at 65.

Despite firing the first ace since the Champions Tour moved to the Arnold Palmer Course in 2001, Marsh began the day tied for 20th place. To make it up, he charged through the first nine Sunday with five pars followed by four birdies for a 4-under 32. Marsh had three birdies in an error-free run through the back nine

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