DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM Castle grad Dean Wilson was a late addition to the field.

Wilson shoots under
par despite late notice

Dean Wilson found out about an hour before his tee time that he would be playing at the Sony Open in Hawaii after all.

Nevada-Las Vegas graduate Skip Kendall was the fourth player to withdraw from the first full-field event on the PGA Tour. Kendall's bad back benefited Las Vegas resident Wilson, clearing the way for the former Castle High player to be one of 144 golfers in the field.

Wilson was part of the original field in late December, but several late entries forced him off the exemption list. He tried to qualify for one of four at-large spots on Monday at Pearl Country Club, but when he fell one shot short, he had to stand around and wait to see if four golfers would withdraw.

"I was excited to get a chance to play," said Wilson, who had to go back to tour qualifying school when he failed to finish among the top 125 money winners last year. "I got off to a good start with two birdies on the first three holes."

Wilson experienced some trouble on the back side with a double bogey and bogey, but he corrected his mistakes well enough to finish with a 1-under 69. He was one of only 29 golfers to finish in the red.

DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM Michelle Wie will need a big second round to make the cut.

Last week, Brigham Young roommate and close friend Mike Weir came to Wilson's defense when learning he wasn't exempt for the only PGA Tour event on Oahu. But as Wilson put it, it has always been that way for the local golfers since Sony took over sponsorship in 1999.

"It's their tournament; they can do what they want," Wilson said. "But Mike was right. I'm the only golfer from Hawaii who is on tour. I had a good career on the Japanese tour. You would think that would be enough to get an exemption."

Wilson wasn't the only golfer with local ties to shoot well. Greg Meyer, who qualified at the Pearl Country Club on Monday, shot a 1-over 71. Pearl Country Club pro David Ishii, who won the Hawaiian Open in 1990 and made it in this year's event as a section qualifier, finished with a 73.

Amateur Michelle Wie had a 75 and will need a huge round today to make the cut. Section champion Kevin Carll rounded out the local field with a 76.

Els streak broken: Two-time defending champion Ernie Els' 71 broke a string of 16 consecutive rounds in the 60s at this tournament. Els had never posted a round outside the 60s in his four previous trips to the Waialae Country Club. His 16 straight sub-70 scores broke the tournament record of 15 set by U.S. Ryder Cup captain Tom Lehman. Els was 56 under par during that span.

Els wasn't alone in his struggles. The first-round scoring average of 71.813 was the second-toughest round here since par was changed from 72 to 70 in 1999. The most difficult round was the second in 1999 with a scoring average of 71.868.

There were 29 rounds under par, the fewest during the first round of a PGA Tour event here since only seven broke par at the United Airlines Hawaiian Open in 1996.

First hole plays tough: The most difficult hole in the opening round was again the par-4 488-yard first. It played directly into the Kona wind, leading to a scoring average of 4.597. That is the most difficult hole on the PGA Tour since the par-4 14th hole at Whistling Straits during the 2004 PGA Championship won by Vijay Singh.

That hole averaged 4.616 during the first round of the major championship. It is also the most difficult hole in a nonmajor since the 2004 FedEx St. Jude Classic. During the first round of that tournament, the par-3 185-yard third hole played to a scoring average of 3.903.