A confident Graham Marsh feels like he's playing his best golf at just the right time.
Marsh saved par on the final hole Sunday with two putts from 45 feet to win the $1.3 million Nationwide Championship seniors tournament by a stroke over the tour's leading money-winner, Hale Irwin.Marsh shot a 70 and closed with a 54-hole score of 205, 11-under-par on the par-72, 6,777-yard Golf Club of Georgia Lakeside Course. He made $195,000 and increased his earnings to $586,726 with his first victory of the year.
It was his seventh Top 10 finish in 15 events this year, including a third-place finish a week earlier at the du Maurier Champions in Canada.
"I'm delighted with the way I'm playing," said Marsh. "You want to peak when you're coming up to play the major tournaments."
The Australian is doing just that, tuning up for this week's U.S. Senior Open at Olympia Fields, Ill., one of the tour's majors.
In three Senior Opens, Marsh, 53, has finishes of second, fourth and ninth.
"I've had a pretty good run in the Senior Open," he said. "Obviously, this week won't do my situation any harm. I've had two strong tournaments and feel confident about next week."
Irwin likes his chances, too.
"My putting wasn't up to standards this week, but I feel pretty good going into the U.S. Open," said Irwin, who won three U.S. Opens during his days on the regular PGA Tour.
Irwin began the day two shots behind Marsh, making it close with the late finish for a 69 and 206, then watching as the Australian kept his cool on No. 18.
"Graham made a good first putt (to within 2 feet)," said Irwin. "If he doesn't make that good putt, we may still be out there."
"Hale kept the pressure on all day," Marsh said.
"The biggest thing I have learned is that when you're close to the lead, you can't get frustrated," said Marsh, who has chalked up 60 victories during his international career, including one on the regular PGA Tour and four on the Senior PGA Tour.
The $114,400 second-place check boosted Irwin's earnings to $1,075,831 in only 11 events this year.
First-round leader Bob Murphy, who began the day two shots behind Marsh, shot his way out of contention on the par-3, 183-yard 13th hole, hitting two balls into the water and wound up with a quadruple-bogey 7.
David Graham was third after a 69-209; Bob Charles, with a 72, was fourth at 210.