Irwin Makes It Three Straight

Mon., April 20, 1998

Golf

Hale Irwin could see other players’ spirits deflate as hole by hole, putt by putt, he refused to relinquish his hold on the PGA Seniors Championship.

“It’s delightful to see,” Irwin said Sunday - only slightly tongue-in-cheek - after he captured his third straight Seniors title with a 2-under-par-70 at Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

Irwin’s domination of the Champion course at the PGA National Golf Club left little room for drama, and he became the first man since World War II to win the tournament three years in a row.

Since becoming eligible in 1996, Irwin is 35-under for his 12 rounds on the course, which played especially difficult with gusty, 30-mph winds.

Irwin began Sunday with a birdie, and added two more at holes 6 and 11 for a 275 total and a seven-stroke victory over Larry Nelson, who had a closing 72.

PGA

Davis Love III’s on-target irons and precise putting got rid of Phil Mickelson on the front nine and almost matched the scoring record on the back as he won the MCI Classic in Hilton Head Island, S.C. for the fourth time.

Love shot a 65 for an 18-under 266, one off Loren Roberts’ 1996 record, and won by seven strokes, surpassing Nick Price’s record six-shot victory of a year ago.

Mickelson trailed by two at the start, and matched Love’s second-hole birdie before fading to a 73.

LPGA

Karrie Webb, born in Australia and soon to become a Florida resident, also feels right at home in Murrells Inlet, S.C.

Webb withstood Meg Mallon’s early challenge and intermittent showers to shoot a 5-under-par 67, finishing with a four-day total of 19-under 269. That was seven strokes better than last year, when a final-round 66 brought her from two shots off the pace to win the inaugural Myrtle Beach event.

Mallon shot a 69 to finish at 16-under 272, one stroke ahead of Dottie Pepper, who shot a 64.

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Irwin Makes It Three Straight

Jesse Tinsley

Jim Meehan

Molly Quinn

Rob Curley

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