Palmer picks up Sony
POSTED: Monday, January 18, 2010
In a game measured by thousands of yards, it was a 5-inch birdie putt that won it for Ryan Palmer.
The 2010 Sony Open in Hawaii champion arrived at Waialae Country Club yesterday a little down in the bunker after his beloved Dallas Cowboys were shellacked by the Minnesota Vikings in an NFC divisional playoff game.
Determined not to match their playoff fate, Palmer took it one shot at a time, never deviating from the game plan he devised after reading a story on Zach Johnson earlier in the week. In that newspaper article, the 2009 defending champion talked about forgetting past shots and focusing on the ones you can control.
Palmer did just that on his third shot at the par-5 18th. After watching playing partner Robert Allenby sky out of the Bermuda from behind the green to within 9 feet for birdie, he eyed his own chip from 51 feet in front of the green. Palmer's eagle attempt almost flew into the hole, hitting hard off the pin to settle 5 inches from the cup.
“;The pin got in the way,”; said Palmer, who led wire to wire.
SONY OPEN IN HAWAII WINNERS
2010: Ryan Palmer 2009: Zach Johnson
2008: K.J. Choi
2007: Paul Goydos
2006: David Toms
2005: Vijay Singh
2004: Ernie Els
2003: Ernie Els
2002: Jerry Kelly
2001: Brad Faxon
2000: Paul Azinger
1999: Jeff Sluman
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Palmer fell on the seat of his pants, thinking he could have won it right there. Instead, he gave Allenby a birdie roll that just slid by the hole, handing Palmer his third tour win with the shortest shot he had all week.
“;I came out today with the same motto, the same idea that I had all week, just kept loose,”; Palmer said. “;I'm amazed at how calm I was. And playing with Robert, we had a good time again. We talked a lot today, which kept me loose. It was a great battle. Robert deserved just as much as I did to win, but fortunately I am the one who came out on top.”;
The graduate of Texas A&M fired a final-round 66 for a four-day total of 15-under 265. Allenby posted a 3-under 67 to finish at 14-under 266. World No. 3 Steve Stricker spent more time in the sand than his two children did at the beach, but still worked his way into contention with a hot putter. He closed with a 65 to manage a 13-under 267.
But on this day, it all came down to the final hole.
After missing makable birdie putts at the 17th, Allenby and Palmer hit a pair of drives that carried too far into the right rough. Palmer was a little farther back, but had a better lie than Allenby's. Palmer's 5-iron settled about 17 yards below the hole, a tough chip, but nothing compared to Allenby's after his 5-iron shot out of the rough like a bottle rocket with no plans of ever coming down.
The Australian knew on the first bounce that he was in trouble as it shot forward, rolled through the green and to the back of the grandstand. Allenby's free drop buried deep into the nasty bermuda grass, forcing him to hit a high chip to within 9 feet of the cup.
“;At the end of the day, realistically I needed to make a birdie at the last, knowing he was right in front of the green there,”; said Allenby, who played the entire tournament on a badly sprained ankle. “;I had a nasty lie with the chip. It was just horrendous.”;
The chip went as high as the grandstand and came down about 9 feet away, an uphill putt Allenby could make.
“;I hit it exactly where I aimed and I missed,”; Allenby said. “;I hit a solid putt. I hit a foot and a bit past, but I was not expecting for it to turn as much as it did.”;
For Allenby, it was his seventh runner-up finish. He hasn't won on the PGA Tour in nearly nine years, but in his last three starts in South Africa, Australia and the United States he has a first, first and second.
“;I think for me, I'm happy with second,”; Allenby said. “;It's a great way to start the year. and I think this is just a start of a really, really big year for me. You know, Ryan played great. He hit a lot of good shots and hit a lot of good putts. You know, I'm positive and looking forward.”;
For Palmer, it could also be the start of something big. He now has basically a three-year exemption, will get to play in The Masters and the PGA Championship and has a chance of working his way into the U.S. Open as well. Pretty good stuff for a parks and recreation major from Aggieland.
“;What I got out of this is beyond words,”; Palmer said. “;It was a great field with some of the top world players here. To do it every day here, I mean, my bad round was a 2 under (on Saturday). I never once got upset, impatient. To me, what I did today is probably one of the best rounds of golf I've ever experienced.”;
Sony Open scores
At Waialae Country Club
Purse: $5.5 million
Final Round
FedExCup points in parentheses
| Ryan Palmer (500), $990,000 | 65-66-68-66 | — | 265 |
| Robert Allenby (300), $594,000 | 65-67-67-67 | — | 266 |
| Steve Stricker (190), $374,000 | 66-67-69-65 | — | 267 |
| Retief Goosen (135), $264,000 | 69-67-70-62 | — | 268 |
| Charles Howell III (100), $200,750 | 73-66-66-64 | — | 269 |
| Carl Pettersson (100), $200,750 | 66-70-67-66 | — | 269 |
| Davis Love III (100), $200,750 | 65-69-68-67 | — | 269 |
| Omar Uresti (78), $154,000 | 70-68-68-65 | — | 271 |
| John Rollins (78), $154,000 | 70-69-67-65 | — | 271 |
| Chad Campbell (78), $154,000 | 68-64-73-66 | — | 271 |
| Nathan Green (78), $154,000 | 71-67-65-68 | — | 271 |
| Justin Rose (60), $111,375 | 72-65-71-64 | — | 272 |
| Ernie Els (60), $111,375 | 69-70-67-66 | — | 272 |
| Briny Baird (60), $111,375 | 69-71-64-68 | — | 272 |
| Zach Johnson (60), $111,375 | 65-67-70-70 | — | 272 |
| Stephen Ames (54), $85,250 | 68-67-72-66 | — | 273 |
| Dustin Johnson (54), $85,250 | 70-69-67-67 | — | 273 |
| Chad Collins (54), $85,250 | 69-68-67-69 | — | 273 |
| Tom Lehman (54), $85,250 | 66-69-68-70 | — | 273 |
| Jason Dufner (49), $61,820 | 69-72-69-64 | — | 274 |
| Marc Leishman (49), $61,820 | 69-69-70-66 | — | 274 |
| Mark Wilson (49), $61,820 | 68-67-71-68 | — | 274 |
| Troy Merritt (49), $61,820 | 65-71-70-68 | — | 274 |
| Jeff Quinney (49), $61,820 | 66-67-72-69 | — | 274 |
| Brian Stuard (40), $35,436 | 66-73-70-66 | — | 275 |
| Tom Gillis (40), $35,436 | 71-68-70-66 | — | 275 |
| Spencer Levin (40), $35,436 | 69-71-68-67 | — | 275 |
| Angel Cabrera (40), $35,436 | 66-68-73-68 | — | 275 |
| Brian Gay (40), $35,436 | 68-69-70-68 | — | 275 |
| Blake Adams (40), $35,436 | 69-67-71-68 | — | 275 |
| Nick O'Hern (40), $35,436 | 71-69-67-68 | — | 275 |
| Tim Clark (40), $35,436 | 71-67-68-69 | — | 275 |
| John Merrick (40), $35,436 | 65-68-72-70 | — | 275 |
| Shane Bertsch (40), $35,436 | 66-68-71-70 | — | 275 |
| WC Liang (0), $35,436 | 68-68-69-70 | — | 275 |
| Graham DeLaet (40), $35,436 | 69-67-68-71 | — | 275 |
| Michael Allen (40), $35,436 | 67-68-68-72 | — | 275 |
| Troy Matteson (40), $35,436 | 67-67-68-73 | — | 275 |
| Kevin Johnson (31), $23,100 | 68-71-70-67 | — | 276 |
| K.J. Choi (31), $23,100 | 71-70-67-68 | — | 276 |
| Paul Goydos (31), $23,100 | 72-63-69-72 | — | 276 |
| Rory Sabbatini (31), $23,100 | 68-68-67-73 | — | 276 |
| Ryuji Imada (27), $19,250 | 68-72-70-67 | — | 277 |
| David Toms (27), $19,250 | 70-69-70-68 | — | 277 |
| Dean Wilson (27), $19,250 | 71-67-69-70 | — | 277 |
| Chris Tidland (23), $14,960 | 69-68-72-69 | — | 278 |
| Bubba Watson (23), $14,960 | 69-70-69-70 | — | 278 |
| Y.E. Yang (23), $14,960 | 70-69-69-70 | — | 278 |
| Richard S. Johnson (23), $14,960 | 71-70-67-70 | — | 278 |
| Joe Ogilvie (23), $14,960 | 69-71-67-71 | — | 278 |
| Pat Perez (23), $14,960 | 66-70-69-73 | — | 278 |
| Stewart Cink (16), $12,697 | 68-72-70-69 | — | 279 |
| Corey Pavin (16), $12,697 | 71-67-71-70 | — | 279 |
| Vijay Singh (16), $12,697 | 69-72-68-70 | — | 279 |
| Kevin Na (16), $12,697 | 73-68-68-70 | — | 279 |
| Mark Calcavecchia (16), $12,697 | 71-68-69-71 | — | 279 |
| Roger Tambellini (16), $12,697 | 66-69-72-72 | — | 279 |
| Boo Weekley (16), $12,697 | 71-68-68-72 | — | 279 |
| David Lutterus (11), $12,100 | 73-67-70-70 | — | 280 |
| Martin Flores (11), $12,100 | 66-74-69-71 | — | 280 |
| Jeff Klauk (11), $12,100 | 70-68-68-74 | — | 280 |
| Rich Barcelo (9), $11,825 | 70-71-69-71 | — | 281 |
| Ricky Barnes (9), $11,825 | 67-69-70-75 | — | 281 |
| Brian Davis (6), $11,495 | 70-69-70-73 | — | 282 |
| Woody Austin (6), $11,495 | 70-69-70-73 | — | 282 |
| Jason Day (6), $11,495 | 73-67-69-73 | — | 282 |
| Henrik Bjornstad (6), $11,495 | 71-68-68-75 | — | 282 |
| Jim Carter (3), $11,165 | 71-70-69-73 | — | 283 |
| Ryuichi Oda (0), $11,165 | 68-72-69-74 | — | 283 |
| Jeff Maggert (1), $10,945 | 73-66-71-75 | — | 285 |
| Bob Estes (1), $10,945 | 68-70-69-78 | — | 285 |
| Made Cut, DNF | |||
| Alex Prugh (1), $10,615 | 74-67-70 | — | 211 |
| Aaron Goldberg (0), $10,615 | 70-71-70 | — | 211 |
| Jonathan Byrd (1), $10,615 | 75-64-72 | — | 211 |
| Sean O'Hair (1), $10,615 | 68-69-74 | — | 211 |
| Jerod Turner (1), $10,340 | 71-69-72 | — | 212 |
| Fredrik Jacobson (1), $10,120 | 70-71-72 | — | 213 |
| Ben Curtis (1), $10,120 | 70-69-74 | — | 213 |
| Webb Simpson (1), $10,120 | 71-68-74 | — | 213 |
| Kevin Hayashi (0), $9,900 | 74-67-75 | — | 216 |
