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Irwin takes Senior Players’ lead with record first round

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DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) – It doesn’t just seem as if Hale Irwin always plays well at the Senior Players Championship. He does. Irwin set nine-hole and first-round records Thursday in taking a two-shot lead in the Senior Players Championship at the TPC of Michigan.

Irwin, who birdied six of the first seven holes, shot a 7-under 29 on the front nine and finished with an 8-under 64 to continue his trend of playing well at the fourth and final major on the Senior PGA Tour.

He won here in 1999 and has finished second twice and has tied for fourth or better five of the last six years. Irwin has shot in the 60s in 18 of 29 rounds and owns the tournament record with a 68.86 scoring average.

“This may sound stupid, but I think it’s kind of a tough course,” Irwin said. “I think because of that, I play it very carefully. I think it makes me more aware of being a little more focused. Maybe being a little more intent upon the right shot, rather than just sort of pulling a club and hitting it.”

Stewart Ginn was alone in second with a 66.

Mark McCumber, who took Jack Nicklaus’ place after he withdrew with muscle spasms on Wednesday, shot a 67 as did Tom Jenkins, who won last week’s Canadian Senior Open. Three others were four strokes behind Irwin.

McCumber was glad he played well after having to wait to see if a player would withdraw.

“I hated it,” McCumber said. “I felt like a rookie.”

Irwin, who is No. 1 on the senior money list this year and all-time, won three of the first six senior events he played in this year, but has not won since March. He was tied for second at the Senior PGA Championship in June.

“The last month or so, my game has been almost there, not quite there,” Irwin said. “It’s been sort of a frustrating time. I’ve been pushing a lot of buttons trying to get it over the hump and just not doing so.

“I tried today, rather than try to hit it farther, to try to hit it not as far,” Irwin said.

“Rather than try to hit it real close, I just tried to hit it up into the target area.”

What made Irwin’s round even more impressive was that he didn’t birdie the two par-5s on the back nine and bogeyed two of the last seven holes.

His first bogey was a victory of sorts on No. 12, a 166-yard par-3 with a tricky pin placement.

Irwin’s 6-iron fell short of the green and trickled into the water. After debating whether to hit the submerged ball or take a drop, Irwin took off his socks and shoes and put on his rain gear as the gallery cheered his decision.

With both feet in the water, he made the gamble work by getting the ball into the rough before chipping it close enough for a short putt.

“Had I not gotten that out of there, we might be saying, ‘Well, that was stupid,”‘ Irwin said.

Irwin’s irons proved to be an asset as he made several birdie putts from inside 5 feet.

“That was impressive,” said defending champion Allen Doyle, who played with Irwin and shot a 3-over 75. “He kept getting it so close sometimes that he almost couldn’t help but make birdies.”

Irwin’s 64 fell one short of the course record, which Jim Colbert set in 1995.

The previous nine-hole record at the Senior Players Championship was 30, set by five players, including Irwin three years ago. Eight players shared that first-round record with 65s.

Tom Wargo aced the 192-yard 4th, the eighth hole-in-one in tournament history, on his way to a 71.

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