DIVOTS

Allenby soldiers through sprain

A simple walk with his wife on Monday turned into a nasty ankle sprain for Sony Open in Hawaii co-leader Robert Allenby.

Had he not come all the way from Florida, the Aussie would have likely withdrawn and gone home. Instead, he toughed it out yesterday to share the lead with a 5-under 65, but in the process of protecting his ankle, he now has a sore lower back.

“;Did I?”; Allenby said, when told he had hit 16 of 18 greens in regulation. “;I've got a sore back now because it's all top half. Now, I've got a sore right side because obviously you've got to compensate for certain things.”;

And what's in his immediate future?

“;I'm going to the ice machine and the steam with the physio guy,”; Allenby said. “;I've been icing it every night. It's been very, very romantic for my wife and myself. I'm laying there in the bed with ice on my foot, elevated.”;

Merritt keeps his sense of humor

PGA Tour rookie Troy Merritt was walking up the third hole when Rickie Fowler noticed they had the wrong name on the standard bearer—it was John Merrick, who shares the first-round lead with Merritt.

Confusing? Yes, but instead of taking it badly, Merritt thought it was mildly amusing.

“;We were walking down the third hole,”; Merritt said, “;toward the fairway, and Rickie called up to me and said, 'Hey, Troy.' I said, 'What's that?' He said, 'Look at your name.' I looked at it and I saw Merrick on it, ... which I thought was funny. It didn't anger me at all.”;

Gillis comes off course, keeps eagle hopes alive

Tom Gillis decided he couldn't see well enough for his 27-foot, 8-inch putt for eagle at the ninth, so the opening round won't be completed until this morning at 8:30. He was the only one of 144 golfers not to complete his opening 18. He is currently 2 over for his round, with that eagle putt perhaps going a long way in determining whether he'll be around for the third round tomorrow.

Tough choice for McLachlin's dad

Faced with conflicting loyalties on the mainland this weekend, there was no question where Chris McLachlin's devotion was seated yesterday.

McLachlin, the longtime fixture on UH volleyball broadcasts, is serving as an assistant coach with the Stanford men's team. As the Cardinal prepared to take on the Warriors today and tomorrow, he was tracking son Parker McLachlin in the Sony Open yesterday.

“;That was a tough decision for him because Stanford's playing UH up in Palo Alto this weekend,”; Parker McLachlin said after shooting a 2-over-par 72.

“;It would have been weird to see dad on the Stanford bench coaching against Hawaii. I think this sort of removes him from that controversy.”;