Round 4: Hyundai Tournament of Champions
January 9 2012
11:07 pm
Tidbits from the final round
KAPALUA, Hawaii – A few notes from Monday’s final round of the Hyundai Tournament of Champions:
Tournament winner Steve Stricker played the final five holes of the Plantation Course at 15 under par this week. He finished 23 under for the tournament …
Stricker is the second consecutive American to win this event (Jonathan Byrd won last year). Prior to that, the tournament had produced nine consecutive International winners …
Martin Laird finished as a runner-up at a PGA TOUR event for the fourth time in his career. He has two TOUR wins …
K.J. Choi and Keegan Bradley posted the lowest rounds of the day with matching 8-under 65s …
Third-round leaders/co-leaders have now gone on to win 23 of 29 times in this event …
Keegan Bradley, Ben Crane, Scott Piercy, D.A. Points and Michael Bradley had bogey-free rounds on Monday. The two Bradleys also had bogey-free rounds in Friday’s first round …
Johnson Wagner had the longest drive of the day, 414 yards at the par-4 seventh hole. In all, there were 41 drives of 400 or more yards this week …
Webb Simpson had the longest putt of the day, 39 feet, 5 inches for eagle at the par-5 fifth …
D.A. Points hit every green in regulation on Sunday.
10:16 pm
With this victory: Steve Stricker
Steve Stricker kicked off the 2012 season at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions by notching his 12th career victory. With this victory, Stricker:
• Collects 500 FedExCup points to take the lead after one week of play
• Extends his fully-exempt status through the 2017 season
• Becomes the second-consecutive American winner of the event (Jonathan Byrd/2011). Prior to 2011, the Hyundai produced nine consecutive international winners.
• Becomes the seventh winner to post all four rounds in the 60s since the event moved to the Plantation Course in 1999, joining David Duval (1999), Jim Furyk (2001), Ernie Els (2003), Geoff Ogilvy (2009 & 2010) and Jonathan Byrd (2011).
• Matches Dustin Johnson for the second-longest active win streak on TOUR, with victories in his last four seasons: Phil Mickelson (8 seasons; 2004-11), Dustin Johnson (4 seasons; 2008-11), Stricker (4 seasons (2009-12).
• Moves one step closer to a fourth consecutive multiple-win season (he’s the only TOUR player with multiple wins in each of the last three years).
• Earns his ninth victory since turning 40.
• Extends his TOUR-leading cuts-made streak to 43 consecutive events.
• Records the 87th top-10 finish and 165th top-25 finish of his career.
This victory is Stricker’s 12th in 398 career starts on the PGA TOUR. Here’s a list of all of Stricker’s TOUR victories:
1996 Kemper Open, Motorola Western Open
2001 World Golf Championships — Accenture Match Play Championship
2007 The Barclays
2009 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, John Deere Classic, Deutsche Bank Championship
2010 Northern Trust Open, John Deere Classic
2011 the Memorial Tournament, John Deere Classic
2012 Hyundai Tournament of Champions
9:36 pm
Stricker’s key hole: 8th
KAPALUA, Hawaii – Steve Stricker said making birdie at the par-3 eighth hole in Monday’s final round was one of the big keys en route to winning the Hyundai Tournament of Champions.
The 203-yard hole had not been kind to Stricker earlier in the tournament.
In the first round, he suffered a double bogey when he found the hazard off the tee and had to take a penalty stroke. In the third round, he three-putted from 59 feet for bogey.
In 72 holes played this week, Stricker had over-par holes just four times. Two of those came at the 8th.
But on Monday, with his five-stroke lead reduced to one shot, Stricker rolled in a birdie putt from inside 24 feet on the 8th hole to pad his lead.
“I felt like things kind of settled down after that,” Stricker said.
Indeed. He also birdied the par-5 ninth and then went bogey free on the back nine of the Plantation Course for the third consecutive round as he cruised to a three-shot win over Martin Laird.
8:30 pm
Congratulate Stricker on victory
Steve Stricker coasted to a three-shot win Monday at the season-opening Hyundai Tournament of Champions. Congratulate Stricker on his victory here and we’ll pass it along.
8:29 pm
Final update: Stricker wins Hyundai
KAPALUA, Hawaii – With a final-round 4-under 69, Steve Stricker won his first event in the state of Hawaii, claiming the Hyundai Tournament of Champions on Monday by three strokes.
It’s was Stricker’s first win in six attempts at this event. He will enter next week’s Sony Open in Hawaii looking for his first win in Oahu in 13 starts.
With the win, Stricker collects 500 FedExCup points and assumes the early lead in that race.
The 44-year-old Stricker entered the final round with a five-shot lead but saw it reduced to one stroke on the front nine. But just like he did in Sunday’s third round, he built the lead back up on the closing holes at the Plantation Course.
Scotsman Martin Laird shot a 6-under 67 to finish in solo second at 20 under.
Webb Simpson and defending champion Jonathan Byrd each shot 68 to finish tied for third at 19 under.
The win is Stricker’s 12th of his career and ninth since he turned 40.
8:07 pm
Leaderboard update: Last hole
KAPALUA, Hawaii – Steve Stricker will walk to the 72nd hole of the Hyundai Tournament of Champions with a commanding three-shot lead.
His closest competitor, playing partner Jonathan Byrd, bogeyed the 17th while Stricker nearly rolled in a birdie putt before tapping it in for par.
That left Stricker at 22 under and Byrd tied with Webb Simpson and Martin Laird at 19 under going into the par-5 18th.
Stricker has birdied the 18th in each of the first three rounds.
7:30 pm
Leaderboard update: Three within two
KAPALUA, Hawaii – Steve Stricker is in command but his pursuers aren’t making it easy for him.
Martin Laird, Webb Simpson and Jonathan Byrd are all within two shots of Stricker as the leaders reach the final stretch of the season-opening Hyundai Tournament of Champions.
Stricker is at 21 under; Laird, Simpson and Byrd at at 19 under.
Stricker is currently playing the par-5 15th hole. The last four holes of the Plantation Course have been particularly productive for him this week; he’s 11 under on those holes through the first three days.
7:10 pm
Keegan’s Clan celebrates a good day
By Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM 
KAPALUA, Hawaii — Not all of the fans decked out in the red shirts on Monday with the Keegan’s Clan emblem (KB initials on top of a shamrock) live in Hawaii. In fact, most of them are from Jackson Hole, Wyo., where Keegan Bradley’s dad Mark is the head pro at the Jackson Hole Golf & Tennis Club.
But for four days, they were out in full force at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, supporting their favorite player. The 2011 Rookie of the Year rewarded them Monday with a final-round 8-under 65, his lowest round of the week.
After signing his scorecard, Bradley went over to Keegan’s Clan, shaking hands and posing for pictures while thanking them for the support.
"It’s funny," Bradley said. "You come all the way to Hawaii and you still have a good 15 people out there. It’s pretty cool that they came out to support me."
Scott Bancroft, one of those who lives in Wyoming, helped organize the group. He and Mike Bunyard, who lives in Hawaii, created the shirts — white for the first three days; red on the final day to match Bradley’s St. John’s colors.
They plan to be out in full force again next week at the Sony Open in Hawaii. But they were still celebrating the 65 their man shot on Monday.
"His back nine was awesome," Bunyard said.
Indeed. Bradley finally found his putting stroke after three days of seeing nothing go in the hole. He also chipped in from 73 yards for eagle at the par-4 16th.
"I’ve been playing so well all week but my putting has been ferociously bad," Bradley said. "But when you make shots from the fairway, that makes putting a lot easier."
Although his first trip to the Hyundai Tournament of Champions didn’t result in a win, Bradley is fired up about his swing right now. He hit 62 of 72 greens in regulation this week, an 86 percent pace.
"Ball-striking wise, it was one of the best four days combined I’ve had in my professional career," Bradley said. "It just kind of all finally clicked together today. I wish I could’ve kept playing, to be honest with you."
No worries. He’ll be back on the course again this week in Oahu. So will Keegan’s Clan.
7:00 pm
Leaderboard update: Lead extended
KAPALUA, Hawaii – Steve Stricker seems to have survived the challenges to his lead. Now he’s in the process of pulling away.
Having seen his five-shot lead at the start of the day reduced to one stroke on the front nine, Stricker is now three shots ahead of defending champion Jonathan Byrd with six holes left to play.
Stricker has birdied three of his last five holes and is now at 21 under. Playing partner Byrd has two birdies in his last four holes after bouncing back from a bogey at the eighth hole.
Martin Laird and Webb Simpson are tied at 17 under, the only others with realistic shots to catch Stricker.
6:45 pm
Watch: Bradley’s 73-yard eagle
Bradley holes out for eagle
Keegan Bradley holed out from 73 yards for eagle at the par-4 16th during Monday's final round.
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