Golf

No lamenting the past for European champ

Mark James finds success in U.S. on the Champions Tour.

By BOB HARIG
Published February 21, 2005

NAPLES - The riches of senior golf and the luxuries of life in America make Mark James appreciate what it might have been like if he had been able to forge a career on the PGA Tour. But the Englishman does not fret over the missed opportunity.

In fact, he admits he probably wasn't good enough.

That wasn't the case Sunday at the ACE Group Classic, where 6-under-par 66, including birdies at the final two holes, at the Club at Twin-

Eagles propelled the former European Ryder Cup captain to his second Champions Tour victory.

"It's very satisfying to win again," said James, who won $240,000 from the $1.6-million purse. "To win once might be considered lucky. To get lucky twice is stretching the imagination a bit. It's a nice feeling."

James, 51, who lives outside of London, withstood a flurry of back-nine activity to defeat Hale Irwin (68) and Tom Wargo (66) by two strokes. He drained a 20-foot birdie putt on the 18th green after watching Irwin miss a 30-footer from off the back of the green that would have tied him. James finished at 203, 13 under par.

Irwin, 59, the Champions Tour's all-time victory leader with 41, eagled the 17th hole to give himself a chance. Tom Wargo, 62, also made things interesting with an eagle-birdie finish.

"I have to be pretty pleased with things," said Irwin, who fought a cold much of the tournament. "I hit a lot of good shots and putted well. I feel fortunate to be here considering how I felt this week. There was a lot of good quality golf for me."

Mike McCullough, who led by two after the second round, seemingly fell out of contention with bogeys at the 12th and 13th holes, then played the next four in 5 under. A bogey at the final hole dropped him to 71 and into a tie for fourth at 206 with Jerry Pate (68) and Mike Reid (68).

They will try again at this week's Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am, but won't have to worry about James. He is passing on Lutz for the French Alps, where he will join his family for a skiing vacation.

James, who played in the final threesome with McCullough and Irwin, won 18 times on the European PGA Tour but made just 14 cuts in 27 PGA Tour events at a time when access to the tour was limited for international players.

"I did try to get my card a couple of times but at the time I was not a good enough player anyway," James said. "Even though we started competing with America in the Ryder Cup in the 1980s, winning occasionally, I think as a whole, European golf ... we're really only seeing it coming through the last few years and up until now. We have just a ridiculous amount of talent. It looks the way America did 10 or 15 years ago.

"No, I wasn't good enough at the time and by the time I was, I think it was probably too late."

James finished in the top five at the British Open five times, played on seven Ryder Cup teams and captained the European squad that lost to Ben Crenshaw's United States team in 1999.

He was diagnosed with testicular cancer and had chemotherapy and surgery in 2000. He returned to golf a year later and joined the Champions Tour last year, posting his first win at the Ford Senior Players Championship and finishing 18th on the money list with $952,289.

"The (cancer) knocked me sideways for a couple of years," James said. "When I came back, I really didn't get into contention at all until I came over here. It was a gradual thing, getting into the top 20, getting into the top 10. Then I was sort of ready to win."

[Last modified February 21, 2005, 01:32:19]