Sports Notebook
Star-Bulletin staff
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SONY OPEN
Campbell has seen the good and bad times at Waialae
When Chad Campbell is good at the Sony Open in Hawaii, he is very, very good. Hence, two 65s, two 66s and even a 62 in 2006, when he finished second to eventual winner David Toms.
But when he's bad, he's very bad. Hence, seven rounds in the 70s that led to missing the cut in 2004 and finishing in a tie for 46th, 47th, 50th and 52nd in his other four appearances through the years. So, the key to winning this tournament? Getting rid of those bad rounds.
"I think you're right," Campbell said. "I think last year I played pretty good the first two days as well (66-65) and I don't remember how I ended up (75-73). I must not have been very good."
Still, Campbell says he always enjoys playing here at Waialae Country Club. The par-70 design is a throwback to when courses weren't required to be 7,500 yards as they are today. This one offers plenty of challenges, especially when the wind blows.
"Today the wind wasn't blowing too bad," Campbell said. "But when you do get a lot of wind, it's a lot of crosswinds out here, and it's tough to hit fairways out here. Once you get it in the fairway, you can attack the golf course. If I can avoid the high round, I think it'll be a good week."
One reason Campbell likes the course so much, it reminds him of The Colonial back in his home state of Texas.
"I definitely see resemblances of it," Campbell said. "You know, it's flat; I think Colonial might actually have more hills than here (laughter), which is scary. But they're both two of my favorite golf courses. I really love playing both of them."
Old man Goydos
At 43 years, 6 months and 21 days old, 2007 Sony Open champion
Paul Goydos became the oldest player to defend his title since
Howard Twitty in 1994. He won the tournament known as the United Airlines Hawaiian Open two days after his 44th birthday.
Goydos knows all about the Hawaiian Open. It was his first tournament as a full-fledged PGA Tour member in 1993. The Southern California resident opened the tournament with a ho-hum 70 yesterday and will have to find red numbers today if he's going to be around for the weekend. There are many days when 70 would be a solid score, but yesterday, that was only good enough for a tie for 79th.
After winning here last year, Goydos did little the rest of the PGA Tour season. He earned $936,000 with the win and $1.23 million overall.
Inside the numbers
Jimmy Walker (65),
Rory Sabbatini (66) and
Jay Williamson (67) played their way into contention by eagling their final hole. Walker did it with a 12-foot birdie at the par-5 ninth, while Sabbatini and Williamson turned the trick at the par-5 18th.
Sabbatini managed his 3 by hitting 3-wood off the tee and 3-iron to within 15 feet. Williamson's eagle was from only 3 feet after hitting a 3-iron into the green.
As you might expect, the two easiest holes were the two par-5s with No. 9 beating out No. 18 with a scoring average of 4.326. There were five eagles, 94 birdies, 39 pars, five bogeys and one double bogey by Carlos Franco.
The hardest hole was the par-4 first with a scoring average of 4.389. There were only five birdies, 87 pars, 45 bogeys, six double bogeys and one quadruple bogey by Tom Scherrer, who shook it off to shoot a 74.