ENERGIZER SENIOR TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP

November 9, 1997

Hale Irwin

HALE IRWIN: It has been a wonderful year. And, I just can't -- I can't be at all disappointed. As I said yesterday, whatever happened today was going to be a good -- the good part is I have had a great year. I played very well for the week. The fact is I just got outplayed by Gil. He was virtually errorless until the last few holes. I think he got a little conservative. He got off of his, what he had been doing well, but by then with a 5-shot lead, he could afford those miscues. But, I am a little disappointed that the ten victories didn't come. But, my gosh, you start getting greedy, I feel like when you are talking about that, it gets to be a little -- a little in the twilight zone, sort of. So, I am not at all unhappy. I am very delighted. In fact, I am relieved it is kind of over, all of this. And, can kind of get back to some sort of normalcy with the holiday season and put what has been an absolute memorable fantastic year in the books and enjoy it. I have not had much of an opportunity this year to enjoy what has been so hard to come by.

HALE IRWIN: I had chances every hole up through six holes. I finally made one at the 6th hole for a birdie. But I had putts at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 that I just couldn't get in. And, if I could make one of those, or a couple of those early, then we have an interesting ballgame. But, I just couldn't get them down, but I did birdie 6. Of course, Gil birdied 5. So, I just got one back, and I birdied 8 and he birdied 8. Then he birdied 9 and I bogeyed 10. It kind of just kept slipping out of my hands. I just didn't hit the shots I needed to today. I just wasn't nearly as crisp. And, actually I didn't play badly. I am rather pleased with the way I played. I just didn't get the results from it that I had the last few days. So, everything was there except the scoring and the results.

HALE IRWIN: As I said, 6th hole 9-iron, 10-foot putt. 8: Hit a sand iron to within ten feet, making that. No. 10: I got a bit unfortunate. My second shot had some mud on it and it flew the ball left of the green and I didn't have a particularly difficult pitch shot. Hit a poor one. Then missed about an eight foot par-putt. 14: I bogeyed once again. That hole has given me fits all week; get a little unfortunate that I drove it left, but not into the bunker. I was just short of the bunker, and had a very poor lie. All I do was advance it up short of the green where I failed to get it very close and then 2-putted for bogey. 16: I birdied hitting an 8-iron to within six feet of the hole. And, that was the extent of it.

HALE IRWIN: Well, let us see: 1st hole was about 15 feet. 2nd hole was about the same, about 15 feet. 3rd hole was about twelve feet. 4th hole was, oh, I'd say, 9 feet. 5th hole was twelve feet.

HALE IRWIN: Is there one highlight for me?

HALE IRWIN: Frozen in time?

HALE IRWIN: I can think of about nine of them. No, I have been very lucky. I have had a year full of memorable things. It is sort of like, what is your knee jerk reaction, I immediately think of -- all of a sudden I am thinking like the PGA Seniors 12 shot. I think of playing Boone Valley at home and winning which I think -- no bogeys. There is a lot of flashbacks. The Advantage, winning there with - I think of the 245 yard 3-wood at the last hole. Shots and tournaments sort of interplay there. It is sort of a whole -- the whole spectrum of things out there. I could not pick one defining moment, if that is what you are looking for because I think I have been very lucky and I have had more than my share of defining moments this year.

HALE IRWIN: I didn't have to prove anything. I don't feel like I had to prove anything. What I have tried to do is just play to what I feel like is my potential and I have done that. And, I have -- oh, my gosh, so many good shots, so many good results. I have been lucky along the way. And, you just can't do it if you don't have some good breaks. And, I have had my share of good breaks. It has been -- I guess I am sort of sharing this with Gil a little bit because I feel like Gil, with his six wins, and he is over 2 million now, I guess - what a year! What a fantastic year! And, I kind of like feel like I should share that with him because that is hard to do. I know how hard it is to do because I have done it. And, Gil has done it with three less tournaments. So, how well, how well he has played. So, I guess, in a way, I like to share it with the other players because we are all out here trying to do the same thing and I was able to, you know, finish No. 1, I guess?

HALE IRWIN: What is the official number?

HALE IRWIN: 2.3, that sounds good. I think that is -- I really deep down feel it is hats off to the SENIOR TOUR for what we have had this year between my play, and Gil's play and Graham Marsh and David Graham and Aoki, look at the year he has had. I think we have had some real highlights and that is what I remember as well as not one defining moment, but a whole series of them might not necessarily be mine. Graham Marsh's win at the US SENIOR how dear that was to him. Those kinds of things I appreciate.

HALE IRWIN: I can't compete with Gil's length. There is no way I can step up to the tee and, well, I am going to outdrive Gil and show him, put him in his place. That just doesn't work. He is very long, as you can see by the statistics. Where I have to make those shots up would be maybe in better iron-play or better putting or better management, something, and he had all those things going with him as well as -- that is the advantages of the long player, when he is on those other categories (sic), you really have a hard time. So, I can't be disappointed the way I played. I played up to my potential. I left a few shots out there today. But, all and all, I had a very good week. By the score, I just got outdone by a better player this week, and, playing all four days with Gil, I saw every shot. He had -- the 2nd hole, I think was a barometer of his week,. First he hits this big dove hook in the trees, 20-footer for par. Today, a dove hook, and he chips in for 3. Ding, ding. Somebody telling me something here?

HALE IRWIN: You don't consider that. He wasn't 18,; was he?

HALE IRWIN: See, you are way off. When you are averaging 4-under a day, you don't think it particularly with the weather we have had, it hasn't been exactly balmy and comfortable weather to play in, so that is exceptionally good play. And, my 14-under was -- shoot, I'd take that every year, every year, probably win just about every time except when Gil shoots 16. But, you know, there have been other players this year that have done that and I have done that to them. So I understand that and there is nothing you can do about it.

HALE IRWIN: Well, that was one. It was that I had to. It wasn't so much chances. I hit a lot of good shots today. In fact, I probably hit as many good shots today as I have hit all week. Again, I just come back to the little things that don't show up in statistics or show up, you know, the odd flight of the ball with mud on it, that kind of thing. You know, the lip-out putts which I had a couple today. Those little things can really make a difference in the last day because you have no other day to catch up. And, that was the only difference today. So, I wasn't taking chances as much. I was just trying to go -- only time I did get a little bit more aggressive than I might ordinarily was at the 15th when I took a driver and felt like if I could hit this thing and get it up the slot and try to force something to happen, but that was basically the only one.

HALE IRWIN: I knew I had to do something early. I felt like if I could get off to a good start and if I could get some pressure on him early, then we might see a little different shots -- he has been playing so well, you know, bang, bang, bang, he has been in a comfort zone. And, if I could try to push that comfort zone, then we might see some different shots from him. But, I didn't do it. He stayed in that zone and I just couldn't ever get myself in a position where I was -- felt like I was right there. I was always just a little too far back to get him. Then when I -- maybe an opportunity might arise, he would match my birdie or hit an equally good shot. He just played the kind of golf he needed to play. And, I just didn't play the kind of golf I needed to. Just a slight difference in the way we both played, but difference enough.

HALE IRWIN: I am not even going to think about that. I am going to enjoy this year. I don't want to get into next year already. It has been -- I haven't had time to enjoy this. And, I really want to enjoy this. This is a year that may never come again. And I want to reflect back on it and I want to go and look at all the highlight films. I haven't seen one highlight film since Day 1. And, I might go home and plug them into the VCR and watch them and be reminded of how spectacular this year was.

HALE IRWIN: Only if they have been sent to me. I don't tape them. But, sometimes you get ESPN tapes or people will send a tape. That is the way I want to remember this year. And, I am looking forward to it. My next event will be with my son in a father and son event. But, until that time, I am going to just "chill out," as the kids say, and have some fun.

HALE IRWIN: Yeah, I have said that all along. I am not of the belief that the SENIOR TOUR is getting the right kind of credibility. I think we seem to be sort of out there and there is a lot of attention given, not only in print and in video, but I think also by our own staffs that maybe we don't pay the attention that the SENIOR TOUR players should have. There is some good players out here and even though that bar has been raised, those players have come up with that. They have been playing better golf.

HALE IRWIN: I will leave that to draw your own conclusions. I have no idea about that. I know there is a lot of attention given over to the other TOUR, and that is not wrong. But, considering there is two fellows over here that beat one fellow over there, I kind of think there is maybe a little disparity there.

HALE IRWIN: Well, I wasn't into the counting bit. I really wasn't. After nine - ten would have been nice, but you start running out of events. The fact that ten would have been the record breaker, probably could have been one of the harder events in which to do it. So, I had a chance last week at L.A. leading after the first round. I had my chances. I had my chance this week. I just wasn't quite as sharp as I needed to be; as I had been in those other nine events. I was able to step in there, Boone Valley or Advantage. I just wasn't quite crisp enough with my play. But, that is not significant in any way because you can't be on all the time. We all know that. You just -- you have ups and downs. But, my ups have been very, very high. My downs have been still pretty high. So, I don't have any regrets whatsoever. I played well this year. I have tried hard and I hope that this is a springboard for another good year next year. Can it be as good? Good gosh, I don't know. But, you know, let us just say that I feel that there is still this kind of golf left in me for a while. Whether it will be as successful as this year has been, heaven only knows.

HALE IRWIN: Thank you.