SONY OPEN
Green was not starstruck
The first tournament of their careers as full-fledged PGA Tour members left Bubba Watson, Nathan Green and J.B. Holmes feeling a little over the top.
They exited the official scorer's trailer in a variety of mood swings yesterday, but as they flew out of Honolulu, a smile must have crossed their faces for managing a top-10 finish at the Sony Open in Hawaii.
Green had the most daunting task of the three. He learned Saturday night that his first final pairing was with defending champion Vijay Singh and 1996 United Airlines Hawaiian Open winner Jim Furyk, something that left him a little weak in the knees.
"It was pretty tough last night," Green said. "I was sort of jacked that I was going to get Vijay. That was going to be bad enough. Then I saw I was going to get Furyk. I've certainly never played with any heavy players, until I hit Australia this year, the first time I played with (Robert) Allenby when he won. That was pretty tough as well.
"I think I learned a bit from that coming into today. Just try to do my own thing. It felt great. They made it pretty easy for me. It managed to allow me to have a good round. It was awesome, yeah. I really loved it. Hopefully I'll get a few more opportunities like that."
The 30-year-old from Australia bested both with a final-round 64 to finish in fifth with an 11-under 269 for the tournament. Watson went one stroke better at 12-under 268, thanks in part to a 5-under 65. He was paired with first-round leader Rory Sabbatini, who went wild with an 8-under 62 to finish in a tie for second with Chad Campbell.
"It was kind of fun, both of us playing so well," said Watson, who was the first alternate at the start of the week. "If we both start out bogeying a few holes, we'd be down, there wouldn't be any talking. Our group got off to a good start. We're all talking and having fun, so it made it a lot easier. You kind of feed off each other."
Like Watson, who had to wait a couple of days to see if he would make it in the field, Holmes also had a testy few days before teeing it up on Thursday. The 23-year-old from Kentucky, who qualified for this first full-field event by finishing first at the Q-school, pulled a muscle in his back on Tuesday and wasn't even sure he was going to be able to play. He toughed it out, made the cut and shot a 68 yesterday to tie for 10th, despite three-putting for par at the 72nd hole.
"I'm a little frustrated right now for missing that 3-footer for birdie on the last hole and bogeying the 17th before that," Holmes said. "It cost me some money, so that left a bitter taste in my mouth. In a little while, I'm sure I'll feel better.
"I hit the ball real well this week. I just didn't make any putts. At the beginning of the week, if you had asked me, I'd have definitely taken a top 10 and gone home. You can't be satisfied because that will stop you from getting better. It was a good first tournament for me. I can pull some good things away from it."
Green felt the same way. Learning how to handle the pressure of the moment can go a long way in helping a golfer dealing with it when it comes by again.
"I was pretty nervous early," Green said. "I don't know exactly where it's going. I made a few really good swings early on. It sort of set the tone for the day. I did get lucky a few times. I hit the pin with a chip that was going miles past it, on my fifth I think it was.
"Vijay could have made it a lot more daunting than he did, I suppose. It's interesting to see what level you've really got to get your game to to be able to compete out here on a regular basis. He (Vijay) had no idea who I was. I don't even know who I am in Australia. I introduced myself on the first and we had a good chat. It's certainly different to tee it up with guys you're used to watching on TV for so long."
Green earned $204,000 for placing fifth. He once pocketed $500,000 Australian (about $378,000 U.S.) for making a hole-in-one at the Australian Masters four years ago, but this was by far his biggest payday in a four-day event.
Watson also cashed in enough to get comfortable. His fourth-place finish put him in a position to swing away for the next few months.
"It's a great feeling, finishing fourth," said Watson, who picked up $244,800. "That will be close to the number to keep my card. A couple of good more weeks and we're there for next year. We'll be back here.
"I felt good coming in, but I didn't get enough practice as I wanted to. Just hitting balls and getting into the flow of the game. After the first day and the adrenaline starts going back through you and you're excited because I'm a rookie out here and all that stuff. It came to me real quick."
Leaders' scorecards
Here's how the top four finishers did hole by hole: