Wednesday, April 22, 1998 | 8:48 a.m.
Hale Irwin can't understand some of his Senior PGA Tour colleagues' statements about losing interest in the tour or lacking motivation to go out each and every week.
Then again, none of Irwin's contemporaries have put up the kind of numbers he did a year ago, when he dominated the Senior circuit with a record-matching nine wins and a tour-record $2,343,364 in earnings.
"I don't understand why (some players) would say that," Irwin said. "Certainly, some of it comes down to how well you're playing ... but I think I am motivated to play well -- I don't care if it's the regular tour or the Senior Tour -- (and) that's just a pride factor.
"I think, more than anything else, the pride and the intensity that I have to do well is what drives me."
Irwin is hopeful that he can parlay that drive and determination into a second Las Vegas Senior Classic title when he defends his championship beginning Thursday morning.
Irwin, who is in his third full season on the Senior PGA Tour, said that his life is good right now and he isn't considering cutting back on his playing schedule.
"Much of what we do in our career is predicated on other factors -- family and other opportunities," Irwin said. "How long do you want to continue playing, how long do you want to jump in an airplane and live out of a suitcase in a hotel? There may be a point where you say, 'enough is enough' or maybe you cut back your schedule.
"I don't see myself doing anything different over the next five years anyway. I enjoy what I'm doing, I'm making a great living doing what I'm doing and I'm achieving things that -- not just in wins -- but things are happening in my life that are fun.
"The money is important but that's not everything."
Irwin's success on the Senior PGA Tour has allowed him to buy back his golf course design firm that he sold several years ago. One of his newest projects is a private course he is building for the Del Webb Corporation in Henderson.
While Irwin is the defending champion in Las Vegas and coming off a seven-shot victory in the PGA Seniors' Championship, he insisted he is not over confident coming into this week's $1.4 million tournament.
"I try to take my reality pill every morning," Irwin said with a laugh. "Last week was last week and I played extremely well (but) I didn't go in last week with necessarily a mission. But I played very, very solidly.
"Now, how that translates to this week is very much the same. We've got two golf courses this year to deal with, rather than one, so it sort of extends your preparation. The good part to that is I've played TPC at Summerlin enough where that will come back. The other good part is I've had very good success, relatively speaking, at (The TPC at) The Canyons."
But each course presents a slightly different challenge and if the winds should pick up this weekend -- as they did for last year's final round -- Irwin said the challenges will be magnified.
"When you play in the desert, you have to expect the wind to blow -- this time of year particularly," he said.
"It's a different kind of approach (playing in the wind) and you can't go in with just one game (plan) and expect to play both courses well. I think you have to have that adaptation."
Irwin was able to adapt to the blustery conditions last year as he took a two-shot lead into the final round and held off Isao Aoki by one shot by staying out of trouble.
"Safety first, aggressiveness second," Irwin said about playing in the wind. "I think that's why you have to use your imagination and say, 'How best can I get from point A to point B, particularly if the wind is blowing, to keep myself in play?'
"That's pretty much what you need to do on both these courses. There's enough (trouble), particularly at The Canyons, if you get down there you might as well hit it in the ocean because you just can't play from some of those lies."
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