It may finally be time for Hale Irwin to win again.

Irwin, seeking his first victory of 1999 after dominating the Senior PGA Tour the previous two years with 16 victories, birdied his final two holes for a 68 today to take a two-stroke lead after two rounds of the Nationwide Championship.

The 4-under-par 68 was the best round on a breezy, sunny day with temperatures in the low 80s.

Irwin, whose last win came in November, is ready.

"Absolutely. But I don't want to get too exuberant about it that I forget about the task at hand, which is to play good, solid golf," he said.

Irwin, who led the tour in putting the last two years while winning player of the year and more than $5.2 million, is averaging more than a stroke per round higher this year.

He had five birdies and one bogey for a 7-under-par 137 total over the 6,885-yard, par-72 Golf Club of Georgia course.

His round included two 20-foot putts -- one on 18 -- and a chip-in from 30 feet on No. 17.

"Those 20-footers to me seemed like ocean-goers where the last two years they were routine," Irwin said.

He opened the round with birdies on Nos. 1 and 2 and closed it with the birdies on 17 and 18 in the event in which he has finished second three of the last four years.

"It was a really good start and a really good finish," he said. "The substance in between was nothing special."

However, he said putting hasn't been the problem, just a matter of not playing enough and getting into a groove. He's played in only seven tournaments so far this year. His best finish was a fourth in the GTE Classic in February and he's 25th on the money list with $180,860.

Allen Doyle, a two-time winner this year, and Jose Maria Canizares of Spain were each two strokes back at 139. Both had 69s.

Another stroke back at 140 were Gary McCord and Bob Murphy and first-day co-leader Graham Marsh. McCord had a 69, including a 25-foot putt for an eagle on the par-5, 533-yard 18th hole. Murphy shot his second consecutive 70 and Marsh had 72.

Bruce Summerhays, Christy O'Connor and Jim Holtgrieve were at 141. Summerhays and O'Connor each shot 69s. Holtgrieve a 71.

George Archer, who shared the first-day lead with Marsh, had a 74 and was in a group at 142.

Defending champion John Jacobs shot a 75 and was well back at 149.

Leading money winner Bruce Fleischer shot a 74 and was at 146. Larry Nelson, third on the money list and last week's winner of the Bruno's Classic, was also at 146 after second straight 73.

Divots: The lowest 36-hold score in the nine years of the tournament was 130 (14-under) by Dave Stockton in 1994 at The Country Club of the South. The Golf Club of Georgia record is 134 (10-under-par) by Bruce Summerhays and Larry Laoretti in 1995. ... Irwin's three runnerup finishes leads the Nationwide in earnings with $415,600.