Hale Irwin clinches Monday win

Hale Irwin finished a second-round 68 to slip past Morris Hatalsky on Monday and win the rain-delayed Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am by one shot.
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Irwin, the Champions Tour career victory leader, took advantage of ideal weather, which made the Tournament Players Club of Tampa Bay course play much easier than the previous three days. Irwin played his remaining 12 holes in 2 under to end with a 36-hole total of 8-under 134.

Hatalsky was one of only 22 golfers to complete the second round Saturday, when the scheduled 54-hole event was reduced to 36. Heavy rain Sunday washed out play after 68 minutes, pushing the conclusion back to Monday.

Hatalsky's 7-under 135 was the score to beat, and Irwin -- playing the back nine first -- pulled even with a birdie on No. 18. A birdie on No. 3 gave the winner of last month's Turtle Bay Championship the lead, and Irwin finished his 42nd career win with six straight pars.

"When I got up today and saw that the weather was so beautiful, I just went: 'Darn,'" Hatalsky said.

"In order for me to maintain that position I needed the wind to blow hard and they needed tougher conditions out there. Hale found a way to manage himself around the golf course and get on top."

Defending champion Mark McNulty (68) birdied two of his last four holes to pull even with Hatalsky, who spent Sunday relaxing and watching college basketball before returning to the course Monday in case there was a playoff.

Vincente Fernandez (69) and Tom Wargo (68) finished two shots back at 136, followed by Tom Pooley (68), Wayne Levi (68) and Jerry Pate (67) at 137.

Irwin won $240,000 for his second victory this season, boosting this year's earnings to a Champions Tour-leading $703,000 in four events.

Weather forces Monday finish

Hale Irwin summed up in three words the frustration of taking three days to play a little more than a round of golf.

``It's a mess,'' the Champions Tour career victory leader said Sunday after bad weather interrupted play again in the rain-shortened Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am.

The scheduled 54-hole event was reduced to 36 on Saturday, but more than an inch of new rain left puddles on the greens and tees and pushed back completion of the senior event until Monday.

Play at the TPC of Tampa Bay was halted after a little more than an hour.

``I think everybody starts off balance. I don't think there's any way you can go out there with any certainty knowing you're going to play one hole or nine holes,'' Irwin said. ``I think the certainty was we weren't going to play the entire day.''

When play resumes Monday, Irwin will have 12 holes to play and Morris Hatalsky's 7-under 135 will be the score to beat.

Hatalsky was one of 22 golfers to finish the second round Saturday. Two of the 76 pros didn't even begin round two until Sunday morning, and 30 remained on the course when play was suspended for the day.

Eighteen players completed the round in the 68 minutes the field played Sunday. Six others withdrew -- Mike Hill, J.C. Snead, Lanny Wadkins, Dave Stockton, Jim Colbert and Raymond Floyd.

Irwin, starting on the backside of the course, birdied his last hole Saturday to move to 6 under. He got in three more holes Sunday, making a birdie on No. 13 before losing a stroke with a bogey on the waterlogged No. 15.

Vicente Fernandez also had a birdie and bogey to play his three holes at par and remain 5 under. He was surprised officials tried to play because he felt conditions were worse than Friday, when nearly half the field didn't get onto the course because of lightning and heavy rain.

``I don't know that there is a solution,'' said Irwin, the winner of last month's Turtle Bay Championship in Hawaii. ``We're dealing with mother nature and we're dealing with the unpredictability of that. We know everybody is trying their best to get this tournament concluded. It's frustrating on all fronts.''

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