| AP Sports Headlines |
Player of the Year: Woods or Irwin?
By RON SIRAK / AP Golf Writer
HOUSTON (AP) -- Player of the year honors could be determined this week, but not entirely at the Tour Championship. Tiger Woods has the PGA Tour award wrapped up. But maybe Hale Irwin had the best year in golf.
It's too bad there is not a vote for the best overall season, no matter what tour.
Then maybe there would be a little more drama surrounding the Tour Championship rather than the feeling that 30 guys who have already had a good year are looking to pick up one more check.
The tension is gone from last year when Tom Lehman, Phil Mickelson and Mark Brooks were fighting it out for Player of the Year. Now it's simply this: Wrap up the award and send it to Woods.
Perhaps the loss of drama is a byproduct of Tigermania, especially in the dizzy days after Woods won the Masters by an astounding 12 strokes. Talk was of Grand Slam, double-digit number of victories and $2 million in winnings.
And some of what was lost was the remarkable year Irwin put together on the Senior PGA Tour. He did more of those things than Woods.
While the top 30 money winners on the PGA Tour gather this week at Champions Golf Club to play for the $720,000 first prize at the Tour Championship, Irwin is playing for a more modest sum in Los Angeles.
But he is also playing for history at the Ralphs Senior Classic. For the record, Irwin is the first player on any single tour to win $2 million in a season.
His nine victories this year ties the seniors record set by Peter Thomson in 1985 and is the most won by a male on the U.S. or European tour since Sam Snead won 11 times in 1950. Mickey Wright won 13 tournaments on the LPGA Tour in 1963.
The knee-jerk reaction might be to dismiss Irwin's accomplishments because they came on the Senior PGA Tour. To do so would be to underestimate the mental and physical strain of competing -- and winning.
"It's hard to stay on that high as many times as I have this year," Irwin said as he got ready to try for his record 10th victory this week. "Winning, and I don't care at what level, on any tour, anybody against whom you want to talk about, winning takes its toll."
To say that Irwin's nine victories were diminished because he won on the senior tour would be the same as demeaning the Florida Marlins because they did not play the Yankees or the Orioles in the World Series.
The bottom line is that they won.
Compare Woods and Irwin by the numbers:
--Woods has four PGA Tour victories this year to nine by Irwin on the Senior PGA Tour.
--Woods has won $1,969,233. Irwin has won $2,131,364.
--Woods' stroke average per round is 69.02. Irwin is at 68.93.
--Woods has played 41.5 percent of his rounds in the 60s. Irwin has played 53.6 percent of his rounds in the 60s.
Perhaps the most amazing thing Irwin did was maintain his level of play for an entire season. The longest stretch he went without a victory was six tournaments, and he had two seconds, a fourth and a fifth among those six.
Woods, on the other hand, peaked early, winning three times by early May. But he has not won since the Western Open on July 6 -- a streak of seven winless starts -- and hasn't contended in a major championship since the Masters.
Woods played 20 of his first 34 rounds of 1997 in the 60s but has been below 70 in only 13 of 43 rounds, beginning with the final round of the Colonial in May.
Despite tailing off slightly, Woods has already wrapped up Player of the Year as determined by the PGA of America's points system. With twice as many victories (four) this year as anyone plus his record victory in the Masters, Woods is likely to receive the same honor in voting by his peers on the PGA Tour.
Maintaining pace and composure over and entire 10-month season is perhaps something the 21-year-old Woods will learn with age.
"I think I've just applied myself better," Irwin, 52, said. "I've stayed focused. I've been more patient."
Woods has shown a decided lack of patience, especially on the hard courses, like at the U.S. Open, British Open, PGA Championship, Canadian Open and Ryder Cup.
Irwin said his mental approach was the key to his success this year. He sought to "just let it happen rather than trying to make it happen."
Irwin said one of the things he learned with age was "not to try to win a tournament too early on Saturday or Sunday."
That's the kind of wisdom that comes with age. And it's the kind of wisdom that should make Irwin player of the year.
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