DEARBORN, Mich. - It took Peter Jacobsen more than two decades to get back at Hale Irwin.

After Jacobsen birdied two of the last three holes to take the lead at 15 under, Irwin just missed birdie tries on the final two holes to come up a stroke short Sunday in the Senior Players Championship.

"I played a lot with him on the (PGA) Tour," Jacobsen said. "In fact, he beat me in the playoff at the 1981 Buick Open. Kind of nice. Payback is sweet."

Jacobsen closed with a 6-under 66 on the TPC of Michigan, winning his second Champions Tour major in less than a year.

He drew from a recent experience on the PGA Tour to help him when an approach bounced off the 16th green. He made a birdie putt out of a collection area, where he had a flashback to last month's U.S. Open.

"When I hit my ball in that bowl, I turned to my caddie, Mike (O'Connell), and said, `We saw 72 holes of this at Pinehurst.' I certainly didn't expect to knock it in, but I hoped to get it close," he said.

After Jacobsen's remarkable putt, 14 feet up a steep incline, he two-putted from 80 feet for birdie at the 17th to surge past Irwin.

The 51-year-old Jacobsen, three groups ahead of Irwin, could only wait and watch as the three-time U.S. Open champion tried to catch him.

Irwin came up inches short on a 13-foot birdie try on No. 17. Then, after a great approach on the final hole, the 60-year-old star narrowly missed a 12-footer.

"For me to hang with and eventually beat Hale Irwin is a proud moment," he said. "Hale and I have been playing together a long time.

"While I've got great respect for him as a player, there's nobody you'd rather beat than a great player. Hale has dominated the Champions Tour like no one else will."

Irwin, who also lipped out a 4-footer for par on the 12th, finished with a 70 after shooting three straight 68s. He fell just short of his eighth senior major, a victory that would've tied Jack Nicklaus' record.

Irwin bemoaned missing five key putts after making the turn, but especially the near-misses on the last two holes.

"Those putts were no-brainers," he said. "Unfortunately, I guess I don't have a brain.

"It came down to putting poorly on the back nine. I had a few loose shots, but it was poor putting again, and that's getting frustrating."

Five-time British Open champion Tom Watson (68) and Tom McKnight (71) tied for third at 12 under.

Dana Quigley (73) was among six players at 10 under in perhaps the final event in his ironman streak. Quigley, playing his 264th consecutive event and 278th straight in events he has been eligible for, will end the eight-year run if his hip doesn't improve because he doesn't want to sit through a long flight to the Senior British Open.

Jacobsen, who won the 2003 Greater Hartford Open for the last of his seven PGA Tour titles, won the U.S. Senior Open early last August at Bellerive for his only other victory on the Champions Tour.

Playing in just his 13th Champions Tour event in two years, he dropped to 9 under with a bogey on No. 5 before closing strong with six birdies in a 12-hole stretch to take the lead.

The fan favorite earned $375,000 for his fourth top-six finish in four appearances in Champions Tour majors. Jacobsen, Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer are the only players who won their first two senior events in majors.

Jacobsen has played 10 PGA Tour events this year.

"I think that strengthens the Champions Tour, to have guys playing both tours," he said.

The Senior Players was the first of three straight Champions Tour majors. The Senior British Open is July 21-24 at Royal Aberdeen, followed by the U.S. Senior Open at NCR Country Club in Kettering, Ohio.

AP-ES-07-11-05 0348EDT