It almost pains me to write this because no fan of Hale Irwin am I. He’s got one of those personalities that only a mother could love. But it’s that very same mental and emotional make-up strikes fear in hearts of most every golfer on the Senior … er, ah … Champions Tour. Well, that, and his excellent golf game.

But Shanks, you all must be thinking, put down the crack pipe because nobody is similar to Tiger Woods. Irwin is close. Over virtually the same time span, Irwin won 44 Senior tournaments including 7 major championships while Tiger won 54 and 12. If Irwin wasn’t just a medium length hitter - at best - they’d all be playing for second place every time he tees it up.

Last week’s win in Hawaii was a prime example of how, even at 61 years old, Irwin can still dominate. After an injury-filled 2006, he is now physically fit again and played on Sunday as though it was a practice round. He jumped out of the box with 3 birdies in the first 4 holes and turned the contenders into pretenders. The post-round interviews confirm that all the would-be chasers knew it was over early. Hmmm, sounds just like Tiger.

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