Adam Scott had an eventful two-week stay in the island chain. Now, he jets off to the Middle East to defend his championship at Dubai before taking a month off to rehab his sore knee.

The Australian raised a few eyebrows last week with his beach rendezvous with actress Kate Hudson. He raised even more yesterday with his play at the Sony Open in Hawaii that resulted in a second-place tie with David Toms, only two shots removed from winner Zach Johnson.

Not since the first week in May last year had Scott managed to finish in the top 10. Now, it's off to Qatar on a plane ride from hell that's sure to give his sore knee a few problems.

“;It's long,”; Scott said, then smiled. “;I'm going Honolulu to San Francisco and then San Francisco to Dubai direct and then Dubai to Qatar. I think we are stuck on the ground in San Francisco for 9 hours. It's a killer.”;

Scott was due to leave Honolulu at 10:40 last night and arrive in Qatar at midnight tomorrow.

“;So, I'll be fresh for my Pro-Am partners on Wednesday,”; Scott said.

The long flight can't be good for his knee.

“;It's probably not ideal, yeah. But I've got my training guy I'm with, so maybe we can do some work on the plane.”;

The Aussie's game seems to be rounding into form after he battled through injuries last year. He finished in a tie for 18th at the winners-only Mercedes-Benz Championship last week before playing himself into contention yesterday with a stellar 6-under 64.

Now, it's off to a course in the Middle East that seems to fit his game equally well. If he can get over the fatigue of the trip, he should play just fine.

“;It's one of those courses where everything looks the right way to me,”; Scott said. “;It seems like I make putts there, as well. Been their twice and I've won twice. So looking forward to going back.”;

Johnson thinks of home

The weather has not been kind to Johnson's hometown in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. But after hometown boys Kurt Warner landed a spot in the Super Bowl with the Arizona Cardinals and Johnson won his fifth PGA Tour event, the 2007 Masters winner was hopeful it would raise some spirits back home.

“;Kurt and I went to the same school, he's four years older than me and he's a fantastic guy,”; Johnson said. “;I think Cedar Rapids is happy right now. That area has gone through a lot over the last year, and just having something that they can cling to that's positive is awesome.

“;Because it's not good now and it's not going to be good tomorrow, it's not going to be good for a long time. But they are good people and that's certainly what makes that community. I guess it's a good day for Iowa.”;

Inside the numbers

Johnson is the only golfer to post top-10 finishes at the Mercedes last week and the Sony Open this week, while Geoff Ogilvy's streak of seven consecutive rounds in the 60s to start the season came to an end yesterday with a 72. He won the Mercedes last week.

Two-time Sony Open champ Ernie Els fired his third consecutive round in the 60s here yesterday with a 67 after opening with a ho-hum 72 on Thursday. Charles Howell III was two shots away with six holes to go on Friday from missing the cut at even par for the tournament. He came back to finish in fourth and even was tied for the lead before bogeying the final hole. He hit his approach shot into the stands guarding the 18th.

Defending champion K.J. Choi carded a 4-under 66 yesterday to finish in a tie for 12th. The only golfer to successfully defend his title here is Els in 2004. Seven players managed to shoot all four rounds in the 60s this week. They were Johnson, Howell, Brian Gay, George McNeill, Jeff Klauk, Cliff Kresge and Briny Baird.

PGA Tour rookie Webb Simpson tied for ninth at 8-under 272. His first paycheck as a tour member was $145,800. Not bad.