Morgan wins second Slam title

Gil Morgan finally emerged from Hale Irwin's shadow in the blazing heat south of the border with a successful defense of his Senior Slam title.

After watching Irwin dominate the Senior PGA Tour the last two years, Morgan turned the tables Wednesday, tying a course record with a 7-under-par-65 to win his second straight Senior Slam by two shots.

Morgan, who defeated Irwin by six strokes last year, finished at 12-under 132 and he pocketed $300,000 -- half of the total purse. He could have broken the course record set by Raymond Floyd in 1996 and twice equaled by Irwin, but three-putted for bogey on the 17th hole.

Irwin, the 1997 champion, started the day two shots ahead of Morgan, but carded a 69 to close at 10-under 134. He picked up $150,000.

Larry Nelson and Jay Sigel finished seven shots back after shooting 71 and 66, respectively.

Morgan, 52, won six titles last year, including two majors -- the Tradition and Senior Players Championship. But he was second to Irwin on the money list with $2,179,047. This year, he has only one top-10 finish in five events.

Irwin, 53, captured the PGA Seniors' Championship and U.S. Senior Open en route to seven victories and a Tour-record $2,861,945 in winnings. He also has started slowly in 1999, with his fourth-place showing at the GTE Classic two weeks ago his best to date.

First days report