GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM Winner Vijay Singh, 41, led a group of 40-something golfers who fared well at the Sony Open in Hawaii this weekend.

40-somethings
made noise

Vijay Singh led a group of 40-somethings who continue to make their presence felt at the $4.8 million Sony Open in Hawaii.

A total of six players born before 1965 finished in the top 10 of this week's first full-field event on the PGA Tour. Singh led the way by finishing first and pocketing $864,000 for his efforts.

Tommy Armour III and Andrew Magee tied for seventh with a 72-hole total of 273. Armour shot a final-round 66 and Magee, the last man to make a hole-in-one on a par-4 hole, posted a 67. They earned $154,800 for their top-10 finish.

Bart Bryant, Tom Lehman and Craig Stadler were next in line with a tie for ninth. Bryant and Lehman fired 1-under 69s, and Stadler had a 3-under 67 to finish 6-under 274 for the week. Each took home $124,800.

And it could have been a lot more. Jeff Maggert finished one shot out of the top 10 and Paul Azinger missed by two shots. Azinger had a theory as to why the 40-somethings played so well here this week.

"I think experience is a factor on the course because of the greens and the way to play shots," Azinger said. "The reality that you're not going to hit fairways is something that all of us know. You're just not going to hit the fairway here. You can't.

"You hit good drives and they roll into the rough. That's just the way it is. Older players, they understand the greens a little better than somebody first-timing it."

Case in point: first-round leader Tom Byrum, who closed strong with a 67. The 44-year-old birdied five consecutive holes yesterday to finish at 277. The 51-year-old Stadler heads over to the Champions Tour on the Big Island next week. Joining him from this tournament are 55-year-old Tom Kite (286) and 50-year-old Peter Jacobsen (278).

Els lights it up: Ernie Els tied the course record of 62 set in 2002 by John Cook. The 8-under round is the best at Waialae Country Club since it became a par-70 course in 1999. Davis Love III still holds the mark in relation to par. He shot a 12-under 60 in 1994, when the course was a par-72.

Els just missed his own personal career low of 61. He carded that 9-under score in 1995 at the second round of the GTE Byron Nelson Classic. The 62 is the low round of the young tour season.

The South African has two wins and five top 5s in five starts at the Sony Open. He just missed becoming the first player to win the same event three consecutive years since Tiger Woods turned the trick at the Bay Hill Invitational. Woods won that tournament four straight years.

Cinking in: Stewart Cink showed why he's No. 10 in the world with a pair of top-10 finishes at the Mercedes Championships and Sony Open. The only other two golfers to manage that feat are Els and Singh.

Cink was tied for the lead at the end of the first round, but strayed a bit during the middle rounds. He closed with a 5-under 65 yesterday to finish in a tie for fifth with Brett Quigley. Cink also managed an eagle at the par-4 fifth by holing out from 177 yards.

Local boys struggle: Dean Wilson didn't make the most of his last-minute chance to play in the Sony Open, finishing third from the bottom with a final-round 77.

The Castle grad's four-day total of 288 was 19 shots removed from Singh. He still earned $9,024.

Fellow local boy Greg Meyer closed with a 74 to finish 8 over for the weekend. He placed 77th in the field at 289 and made $8,928.