GOLF ROUNDUP : Irwin Hot to Trot, Wins Again by 2 Shots

Hale Irwin has brought the victory lap to the PGA Tour.

Irwin circled the green at a trot to high-five with fans after sinking a birdie putt on the final hole for the second consecutive week, this time after winning the Buick Classic by two shots over Paul Azinger Sunday at Harrison, N.Y.

“I did what I had to do,” Irwin said. “But Azinger made it tough on me there at the end.”

Irwin, though admittedly exhausted, rode the emotional high of his U.S. Open victory over Mike Donald in a playoff last Monday through the week and finished with a five-under-par 66.

However, Irwin probably won the tournament on the front nine of his final round, when he built a four-stroke lead by going out in four-under-par 32.

“I felt it was a good omen to get off to such a good start,” Irwin said. “I wanted to get in position where they had to come get me, not make a bogey and get back in the pack. And that’s that I did.”

Irwin scored eight consecutive pars immediately after the turn, good enough to keep him in front. Irwin, 45, who broke a five-year victory drought with the 19-hole playoff to win his third U.S. Open, won this one with a 269 total, 15 under par.

It was the first time Irwin scored consecutive victories in his career, and made him the first player since Billy Casper in 1966 to follow up a U.S. Open victory with a victory the next week.

Irwin’s 19th career victory was worth $180,000 from the total purse of $1 million. It went with a $220,000 check from the Open to give him winnings of $400,000 in six days--more than in any previous full season in his 22-year PGA Tour career.

His victory lap last Sunday came after a 45-foot birdie putt on the final hole that got him into the playoff with Donald. Irwin made a similar trip around the green Thursday after making a hole-in-one in the first round of the Buick.

Azinger made Irwin work for his victory down the stretch with a bogey-free round of 65 that left him second at 271. He pulled to within one stroke of the lead with a 15-foot birdie putt on 15 and had a chance to tie for the lead but missed an eight-footer on the final hole.

Rookie Kirk Triplett came on with a 66 and was third at 272. He was followed by Ken Green at 67 for 273.

Blaine McCallister, who shared the third-round lead with Irwin, shot a 71 and finished at 274, tied with Jim Gallagher, who had a 67.

Patty Sheehan made six birdies on the back nine for a five-under-par 67 to come from behind and win the LPGA Rochester International for the second year in a row with a record 17-under-par 271 total at Rochester, N.Y.

Sheehan overtook Amy Alcott, who led by three shots at the turn, with a five-under 32 on the back nine. Alcott, who had a 73, finished at 275, and three-time Rochester champion Nancy Lopez, who had a 68, was another stroke back.

“It just all came together on the back,” Sheehan said.

The previous record on the 6,162-yard, par-72 Locust Hill Country Club course was 276 by Hall of Famer Sandra Haynie in 1982.

Sheehan had seven birdies and two bogeys in her round. She birdied Nos. 10, 11, 13, 15, 16 and 17 before finishing with a bogey.

Sheehan said the turning point came on the par-three 15th, when she sank a 1 1/2-foot birdie putt and Alcott made a bogey.

Sheehan took home the $67,000 winner’s check with her third victory of the season and became the LPGA’s leading money-winner this year with $364,474.

Tammie Green shot a 69 to finish fourth at 280.

Bob Charles shot a five-under-par 67 and held off charging Lee Trevino to defend his title in the $350,000 senior tournament at Concord, Mass.

Charles’ 13-under-par total of 203 gave him his first victory of the year and 14th of his career on the senior tour. He earned $52,500 to push his seasonal total to $210,789.

“I enjoy playing this course,” Charles said. “I think I’ve played here five times and I’ve finished in the top five every year except the year I had food poisoning.”

Charles, who started the day at eight under, collected two birdies on the front nine and took charge with two more on Nos. 11 and 12. His birdie on the 15th gave him breathing room.

Trevino’s final-round 66 for a 205 total earned him $28,000 and pushed his earnings for his first year as a senior to $508,633.

Chi Chi Rodriguez, who led the tournament after the first round and was tied for the lead after 36 holes, wound up third with his second consecutive 71 for a 206 total.

Trevino, who has won five of 11 tournaments this year, blamed his loss on the 72 he posted in the second round.

Cathy Mockett of Newport Beach had four birdies and an eagle to beat Barbara Blanchar 5-and-4 and win the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship at Westminster, Colo.

Mockett, 23, who will graduate from the University of Tulsa in December, took immediate control by winning the first three holes and was up by six holes after an eagle-three on the 12th.

“I couldn’t miss today,” Mockett said. “Everything I hit was right there. I had to play well. The only way I won a hole was when I made a birdie. Barbara’s a good player, she just got off to a slow start.”

Mockett played the four par-fives in five-under-par.

Earlier in the day, Mockett beat Lori Stinson of Ft. Wayne, Ind., 1-up in the semifinals, and Blanchar, of Columbia, Mo., defeated Tracy Hanson of Rathdrum, Idaho, 3 and 1.