On a day when Watson and Nicklaus won in Hawaii, of course Palmer would have to come through, too.

The game's biggest living and still-playing legends took care of business on Maui at the Champion Skins. And a guy with the same surname as the fella they named the hybrid drink after did the same here on Oahu.

But Ryan Palmer is as much kin to Arnold The King as he is to Arnold The Governator. Now, with his third tour win, even more fans will be convinced he's the grandson of that other Palmer.

“;I just let them go,”; said the new Sony Open in Hawaii champion. “;I don't want to ruin it for them.”;

It would've been a perfect Sunday for the Cowboys fan, except the Vikings spoiled his hotel-room tailgate party.

“;Revenge,”; Palmer said with a wide grin in his post-tourney interview.

Good thing he closed it out with that birdie on 18—his fortune with playoffs wasn't very good on this day.

Luck was on his side when he needed it most, which he readily admitted. If his chip for eagle on 18 doesn't hit the stick and stop 5 inches from the cup, it skips past to the same distance limper-up Robert Allenby had for his birdie, about 9 1/2 feet.

“;It's one of those deals, it bounced on the line and it went my way,”; Palmer said.

Although he hit it too thin, it was a Shakespearean shot—a great read.

Allenby didn't blame bad luck; he said he had more than his share of good fortune this week, notwithstanding the sprained ankle he incurred Monday. The $594,000 second-place check will make that joint feel all better real fast.

He could've blamed noise, too, but elected not to do so.

It's louder than happy hour at Murphy's out at the 14th and 15th holes at Waialae, near Kalanianaole Highway. The concert of generators (I understand) and bottles being thrown into a dumpster (someone please explain) was joined yesterday by an ambulance siren and a pack of motorcycles just as Palmer and Allenby were negotiating the par 4s.

Allenby missed a short putt for birdie on 14 that could've changed everything. This putt was attempted right after he twice acknowledged (with smiles) a crying baby a few feet away from the green. It was clearly a distraction at the time, but Allenby said it didn't bother him—none of the noise did, until 17, where he and Palmer barely missed birdies.

“;Sometimes you hear things that we don't hear. When you are focused on what you're doing, you don't hear it,”; he said, but noted some noises are hard to block out. “;I heard all the bottles smash just before I hit the putt on 17.”;

Note to Waialae staff: Wait until after the tournament to throw out the bottles. Note to patrons: Do not bring babies to golf tournaments.

Overall, it was quite the groovy week at the PGA Tour's first full-field event, where the shape of the cuts in the players' wedges became a hot topic. The jury remains out on how much this truly affects the game. I like it if it means the players who keep the ball on the fairway are rewarded, which is the intent.

A skinny guy who looks like John Daly (still smoking heaters, but apparently not consuming at Hooters) rummaged around and found some old wedges that are still legal. So did Hawaii's Dean Wilson, who tied for 43rd with wedges found in his garage (the svelte Daly missed the cut).

Wilson said he has hundreds of old clubs in his garage; he's even prepared if the PGA says he has to use wooden woods. As for the new Sony Open champ, maybe he can get some from his “;grandfather.”;

Reach Star-Bulletin sports columnist Dave Reardon at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), his “;Quick Reads”; blog at starbulletin.com, and twitter.com/davereardon.