Round 4: Sony Open in Hawaii
January 16 2012
12:11 am
With this victory: Johnson Wagner
Johnson Wagner backed his Hyundai Tournament of Champions top-10 finish with a victory at the Sony Open in Hawaii — the third victory of Wagner’s career. With this victory, Wagner:
• Earn 500 FedExCup points to move atop the standings
• Extends his fully-exempt status through the 2014 season.
• Posted his best scores (second- and third-round 4-under 66s) in 14 rounds at Waialae CC. His previous-best score was second-round 68 in missing the cut in 2009 and first-round 68 this week.
• Became the fourth consecutive Sony Open champion to shoot all four rounds in the 60s.
• Easily tops his best career finish in the Sony Open (1-2012, MC-2011, MC-2010, MC-2009, T34-2007).
• Becomes the ninth of the last 14 Sony Open winners to play the week prior at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions.
• Posts his first win in come-from-behind fashion (he trailed Jeff Maggert and Matt Every by two shots after 54 holes).
• Records the 322nd win on the PGA TOUR by a former Nationwide Tour player.
This victory is Wagner’s third in 141 career starts on the PGA TOUR. Here’s a list of Wagner’s TOUR wins:
2012 Sony Open in Hawaii
2011 Mayakoba Golf Classic
2008 Shell Houston Open
12:03 am
Tidbits from the final round
HONOLULU – News and notes from the final round of the Sony Open in Hawaii:
Johnson Wagner played the back nine without a bogey all week. He was 14 under on the back nine. Add the four birdies he made at the par-4 ninth, and Wagner was 18 under on the last 10 holes …
Wagner is the fourth consecutive Sony Open champion to post all four rounds in the 60s …
Charles Howell III shot a 1-under 69 on Sunday – he has never shot anything lower than even-par 70 in 18 rounds on the weekend at the Sony Open …
Steve Stricker’s 4-over 74 is just his sixth round above par in 50 overall rounds at the Sony Open …
Two players posted top-10 finishes in both Hawaii events – Johnson Wagner (T9 at Hyundai, Win at Sony) and Harrison Frazar (T5 at Hyundai, T2 at Sony) …
Bogey-free rounds on Sunday: John Rollins, Harrison Frazar, Sean O’Hair …
There were twice as many rounds over par on Sunday (37) than on Saturday (18) …
Longest drive of the day belonged to Kyle Stanley, who had a 369-yard drive at the 12th hole …
Longest putt of the day belonged to John Rollins, who made a 46-foot, 5-inch putt
Round 4: Sony Open in Hawaii
January 15 2012
11:18 pm
Quick quotes from the winner
HONOLULU – Here are a few post-round comments from Johnson Wagner, Sunday’s winner of the Sony Open in Hawaii:
> WHEN HE FELT LIKE HE HAD TAKEN CONTROL OF THE TOURNAMENT: “When I birdied 9 and 10, really when I birdied 9, I made a really nice up‑and‑down out of the bunker and pretty much a tap‑in. But I guess on Sundays, nothing is really a tap‑in and the nerves get out there. But I birdied 9. Knew I was tied for the lead and I just figured I had played the back nine so well, and I kind of figured it was at least mine and Charles Howell’s too lose because we were pretty neck‑and‑neck there on the front, and I felt like it was going to come down to us.”
> WHY HE WAS SO SUCCESSFUL ON THE BACK NINE THIS WEEK: “The tee shots set up a little better for me on the back nine. I don’t think in five Sony Opens, I can honestly say, I don’t think I’ve ever hit the first fairway. So I just can’t find the fairways on the front nine like I can on the back. And I drove it really well all week on the back nine and left myself a lot of birdie putts, and really I didn’t have too many opportunities to even make birdie.”
> WHY HE THOUGHT HE WOULD WIN EARLY THIS YEAR: “I worked hard. I’m not saying I worked harder than anybody because guys work incredibly hard out here. But I worked harder this off‑season, me personally than I’ve ever even dreamed of. I was working out three days a week at home, made three trips to Florida to go see my coach and we just had incredible weather in Charlotte. I love golf, I love playing, I golf competing and trying to win tournaments. So I worked really hard this off‑season. “
11:00 pm
Notes from inside the ropes
By Fred Albers, PGATOUR.COM Correspondent
HONOLULU — Charles Howell III did not complain and did not tell anyone, but his putter arrived in Hawaii with a bent shaft. Odyssey officials could replace the "White Ice" model but nothing is more of a feel club than a putter, particularly one that has been used for several years.
Still, Howell III finished tied for second behind Johnson Wagner at the Sony Open in Hawaii and would only say, "I did not putt well this week," never using the new putter as an excuse. …
The wind blew from a different direction for Sunday’s final round and the course played differently.
With a wind from the south/southeast, the first hole played downwind and the ninth hole was more crosswind. It showed in the numbers players posted.
On Saturday, there were four birdies on the first hole; on Sunday there were 10.
No hole changed more dramatically than the 9th. On Friday the par 5 gave up a whopping 26 eagles. With a different wind on Sunday, Keegan Bradley made the one lone eagle on the 506-yard hole. …
Michael Thompson said, "I putted well today, it was fun." That is the understatement of the tournament. He had 26 putts while finishing T6.
But the real story of his round was the obscene length of putts he made. Thompson made 142 feet, 1-inch worth of putts in the final round.
Only the length of the final putt holed on every green counts, and a number in the 90s is a very good day. Thompson grinned and said, "I made a couple 35-footers." …
Players struggled out of the bunkers this week. The white sand looked beautiful but it was very fluffy. It’s easy to spin a golf ball out of compacted sand but when the sand is loose, it is hard to get the ball to grip the putting surface.
Sean O’Hair was 3 for 3 out of bunkers on Sunday. "The sand was fluffy and you had to get a little lucky to get it close,” he said. …
There are dozens of shots every week on which a tournament can turn but it you want to point to one critical putt, it took place on the 15th hole on Sunday.
Johnson Wagner had just missed the green but used putter from the fringe and made a 17-foot birdie, with the ball just tumbling into the cup with the last bit of momentum.
Forty-five minutes later, Johnson was champion of the Sony Open in Hawaii.
Fred Albers is a course reporter for SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio and was inside the ropes this week at the Sony Open in Hawaii. For more information on SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio, click here.
10:26 pm
Watch: Wagner wins Sony Open
Wagner wins Sony Open
Johnson Wanger wrapped up a two-shot win on Sunday with a par at the 18th hole at Waialae Country Club.
10:09 pm
Send congrats to Wagner on his victory
Johnson Wagner won for the third time on the PGA TOUR Sunday, taking the Sony Open in Hawaii by two shots. Want to send your congratulations? Type in the box below and we’ll send it along to Wagner.
9:51 pm
Wagner wins Sony Open in Hawaii
HONOLULU — With the leaders having faded and others unable to go really low in Sunday’s final round of the Sony Open in Hawaii, Johnson Wagner did what he’s done all week — rely on his productivity on the back nine.
That was enough to win the third PGA TOUR event of his career, as Wagner pulled away for a two-stroke lead to win the TOUR’s first full-field event of the year.
Wagner picked up 500 FedExCup points and is now the FedExCup leader after the first two weeks of the season.
Wagner finished at 13 under, with Carl Pettersson, Sean O’Hair, Charles Howell III and Harrison Frazar tied for second at 11 under.
Third-round co-leaders Matt Every and Jeff Maggert each struggled and were not in the mix for most of the day. Every shot a 2-over 72 to finish at 10 under while Maggert shot a 74.
No player in the field this week has played the back nine better than Johnson. He played it in a collective 14 under and did not suffer a bogey all week on the backside.
On Sunday, he actually heated up a little earlier.
After a bogey at the par-4 sixth, Wagner bounced back with a terrific tee shot at the par-3 eighth. He rolled in the 8-1/2 foot birdie putt. He then birdied the par-5 ninth for the fourth consecutive day to get back into contention.
At that point, however, there were a host of players in the mix. When Harrison Frazar and Keegan Bradley walked off the ninth green, they looked at the leaderboard.
“We think there was 11 people within one shot,” Frazar said. “My caddie and I both laughed. We said, ‘Game on.’ “
“But I guess it didn’t take long for Johnson to make a couple of birdies.”
9:40 pm
Thompson surprised by top 10
By Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM
HONOLULU — Michael Thompson came to the Sony Open in Hawaii with few expectations.
His practice time prior to leaving for Hawaii had been curtailed — first because of an illness, then because of unusually cold weather in his hometown of Birmingham.
Even when he got here, he didn’t feel comfortable with the practice range at Waialae.
"I really just wanted to play and get the rust off my game," he said.
He did more than that. After posting even-par 70 on the first day, the former University of Alabama star found his rhythm on the second day, shooting a 65 and then shot 68-67 on the weekend to give him a top-10 finish at 10 under for the third time since joining the PGA TOUR last year.
"Anytime you reach double digits under par out here on the PGA TOUR, something to be said for that," Thompson said. "Going to ride the wave, keep on going and see what happens."
Thompson made four putts outside 10 feet on Sunday, including a 42-footer for birdie at the 11th hole and a 34-footer at the 13th hole. For the day, he made 142 feet of putts, second most behind John Rollins’ 144 feet.
"I made two putts over 35 feet and that’s really rare to happen on these greens," he said. "And you know, it’s just special. It’s fun to watch that ball disappear."
Thompson ever so briefly held a share of the lead. He was 11 under with two holes to play but bogeyed the par-3 17th when his tee shot got caught in the wind and bounced into the bunker. He failed to birdie the par-5 18th after his 10-foot putt took the grain and pulled away from the hole at the last roll.
Still, it was a good start to the season for the second-year man.
"It was great being in the hunt," he said. "My goal this year is to put myself in contention as many times as I can. To do it on the first tournament is a little out of the ordinary for me."
9:15 pm
Leaderboard update: Wagner looks good
HONOLULU – As Johnson Wagner birdied the par-4 15th, Harrison Frazar had to settle for par at the par-5 18th. That two-shot swing should give Wagner enough of a comfort zone down the stretch at the Sony Open in Hawaii.
Wagner is at 13 under, and his closest competitor still on the course is playing partner Charles Howell III, who is at 10 under.
Of the players immediately behind Wagner on the leaderboard – Carl Pettersson, Sean O’Hair and Harrison Frazar – all three are already in the clubhouse at 11 under.
Matt Every, one of the co-leaders after 54 holes, is 9 under through 14 holes.
9:09 pm
Watch: Duffy’s 21-foot birdie putt
Waldorf birdies 10th hole
Duffy Waldorf birdies the par-4 10th hole with a 21-foot putt Sunday at Waialae.
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