Associated Press
Sunday, July 16

DEARBORN, Mich. -- For three of four rounds this weekend, Hale Irwin looked like the same player who won last year's Senior Players Championship at the TPC of Michigan.

He's still not sure what happened in that other round.

Irwin shot a 66 on Sunday, equaling the best round of the tournament, but it wasn't enough to recover from his 73 on Saturday.

"I felt really good today, but yesterday was what did me in," said Irwin, who won by seven strokes last year. "I just didn't do anything at all on Saturday, and I don't know why."

Irwin said that he was optimistic after birdies on the first three holes, but had some of that sucked away by a bogey on 4.

"You always tell yourself that you have a chance, and I really had it going on the first three holes," he said. "But the bogey on 4 really deflated that a little."

Irwin got within one shot of the lead after a birdie on 16, but could only manage pars on the last two and lost by two shots.

One last thrill
Jack Nicklaus, who designed the TPC of Michigan course and who won the tournament in 1990, was never in contention after a first-round 75. But he gave the fans at 18 a reason to cheer when he drained a 15-foot birdie putt to finish the tournament at even par.

Off to the Old Course
Six players in the field will be heading across the Atlantic for next week's British Open at St. Andrews. Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Tom Watson, Bob Charles and Gary Player will start their week with the Former Champions Challenge four-hole exhibition on Wednesday, and they will be joined by Tom Kite for the tournament starting on Thursday. Kite (minus-15) and Watson (minus-4) were the only ones to finish under par for the week.

Tougher than expected
Even though there was a lot of talk early in the week about how easy the course was playing, no player managed four rounds in the 70s. Larry Nelson was the closest with a 70-68-69-67.

Aspirin watch
Vincente Fernandez, who was 23 shots off the lead after three rounds, withdrew before the fourth round with a severe headache. Mark Hayes withdrew after a first-round 84 because of a back injury.

Five-decade man
Raymond Floyd's victory adds him to the group of golfers to win PGA Tour-sanctioned events in five decades. He won his first PGA Tour event at the 1963 St. Petersburg Open.