Hale Irwin had a
1-under 71 in the gusting winds that came up at Richelieu Valley Golf Club today
and retained his one-stroke lead after three rounds of the $1.35 million Canadian
Senior Open.
"I
didn't play badly, I just didn't get the score I should have with how well I played,"
Irwin said after finishing 54 holes on the 6,705-yard course at 13-under 203,
one stroke ahead of Jim Ahern.
"The
good fortune I was having was absent today, but if I can execute the way I did
today in the final round, I'll be happy."
Irwin's Senior PGA Tour record of 13 consecutive rounds in the 60s ended on a
day when winds gusting above 30 mph cut the number of sub-70 rounds from 23 in
Friday's calm conditions to only 11 in the third round.
Ahern, who got into the 78-man field through the qualifying tournament and is
looking for his senior title, had a third-round 69.
"Someone
said something this week about the course being too easy," Ahern joked. "Well,
the golf course always catches up. There was a lot of cross winds. It was very
difficult."
Gil
Morgan, Irwin's chief rival for dominance of the over-50 circuit the last two
years, and South Africa's Hugh Baiocchi were at 205 after shooting 68 and 69,
respectively.
Larry
Nelson, who opened the tournament Thursday with a course-record 63, shot a 73
and was tied with Ed Dougherty, who shot 68, at 206.
Irwin, 54, has five tour wins this year and trails only Bruce Fleisher, who is
in a five-way tie at 8 under, on the money list with $1,672,855.
The 50-year-old Ahern, who played on the PGA Tour in the early 1970s, has two
18ths as best finishes as a senior.
"Jim's
play has been exemplary," Irwin said. "He stayed under control and he made some
putts. But what Sunday may bring, therein lies the test."
Ahern had three birdies early, then bogeyed 11 and 13 before rebounding with birdies
on 15 and 17.
"I'm
not going to look at the leaderboard," Ahern said of the final round when he will
play in the last group for the first time. "Tom McGinnis told me: 'Put your blinders
on.'
"I kind of
like it. It means I'm doing good. I worked so hard to get here, if I don't enjoy
it, I should be doing something else."
Morgan, who has 14 wins over the last four years but only one this year, put up
his third sub-70 round to move into contention for what would be a "turning point"
victory for this season.
"I
keep looking for a win," Morgan said. "I feel like I can still do it.
"I don't think I'm finished
winning. I'm still playing pretty well. I'm just not making enough putts to win."
The low round of the day
was a 64 by Allen Doyle, who went out early, before the winds began to swirl.
Doyle remains 10 shots off the lead at 3-under 213.
