GOLF Irwin wins by 1 stroke for fourth Senior title

He birdied the final hole to edge Jay Haas in the rained-delayed tourney.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- Hale Irwin had just two words when he walked off the 18th green at Valhalla Golf Club.
"I'm pooped," he said, climbing a hill to the clubhouse.
But it doubtless was a happy kind of tired for Irwin after winning his fourth Senior PGA Championship.
Irwin, who will turn 59 Thursday, birdied the final hole Monday for a one-stroke victory over Champions Tour newcomer Jay Haas in the tournament delayed five times by weather.
Irwin finished with an even-par 71 for an 8-under total. The three-time U.S. Open champion became the ninth player to hold at least a share of the lead after each round of the tournament and the first since Doug Tewell won the rain-shortened 2000 event.
First since 2000
The delays resulted in a Monday finish for the tournament for the first time since 2000. Players endured a five-hour delay Monday -- the result of a flooded creek -- before play began.
"We're kind of family now, we've been here so long," Irwin said. "It's been a long week, a very trying week for everybody.
"I think everybody held up remarkably well, considering the conditions under which we had to play.
"I think that the most difficult part was to try to stay in the 'now' and not get caught up in all the conjecturing, all the opinions. In fact, I tried to isolate myself this morning in the locker room, getting away from all the opinions. I went to my car, laid the seat back and tried to take a snooze."
Only one player has won the event more times than Irwin -- Sam Snead, who won it six times between 1964 and 1973. Irwin is the oldest player to win a Champions Tour major since 1976, when 61-year-old Pete Cooper won the Senior PGA.
Irwin has a record 40 Champions Tour wins, including seven majors. He also won the Senior PGA Championship in 1996-98 at PGA National in Florida. The win was his second this year, marking the 10th straight year he has won more than once, a tour record.
Irwin also joined Jack Nicklaus as the only players to win the same senior major four times. Nicklaus won The Tradition four times.