Sony Open in Hawaii: First-round notebook
By Doug Milne, PGA TOUR Staff
HONOLULU -- In the afternoon wave on Thursday, Shigeki Maruyama fired an opening-round 5-under-par 65 to take a one-shot lead over four others. In a day defined by high winds and sporadic rain, Maruyama managed to post six birdies and give up just a lone bogey at the par-4 12th.
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• Maruyama is coming off a particularly tough 2008 season in which he withdrew from five of the 18 events in which he entered. His best finish of 2008 was a tie for 25th here in Honolulu at the Sony Open in Hawaii.
• This marks the 11th time Maruyama has competed in the Sony Open in Hawaii. Of the previous 10, he has missed just two cuts (1999, 2007). Of the eight cuts he did make, he has claimed three top-10 finishes at Waialae.
• While he has held a share of the 18-hole lead three times in his PGA TOUR career, each of which occurred in 2004 (U.S. Open, Arnold Palmer Invitational and Northern Trust Open), Maruyama had never held an outright 18-hole lead. By the way, none of the three in which he was co-leader after 18 holes yielded a victory.
• Last week's Mercedes-Benz Championship winner Geoff Ogilvy got off to a strong start in the morning wave with a 4-under 66. He trails Maruyama by a stroke. Since the first Sony Open in Hawaii in 1965, the only player to win at Waialae Country Club after winning the Mercedes-Benz Championship the week before was Ernie Els, who achieved the feat in 2003.
• Ogilvy fired a 4-under 66 to keep the momentum going from last week's win in Maui. The freshly-shaven Aussie noted that perhaps his stubble-free face brought good luck in Thursday's first round, so he would keep it that way for the rest of the week.
• Ogilvy is making his sixth start at Waialae, with a past of marginal success. He missed the cut in his first four starts, but managed a tie for eighth in his last start here in 2008.
• Competing in his fourth Sony Open in Hawaii, Boo Weekley withstood gusty winds in the morning wave to post a 4-under 66 for a share of the early lead. Weekley missed the cut in 2002 and 2008, but finished tied for 20th at Waialae in 2007.
• Playing in his first PGA TOUR event as a rookie, Wake Forest standout Webb Simpson fired an opening-round 4-under 66. Simpson trails Maruyama by a stroke. Simpson earned a spot on the PGA TOUR by virtue of a tie for eighth at the 2008 Qualifying Tournament at PGA West in Palm Springs in December.
• Two-time Sony Open in Hawaii champion Els, who is making a return to Waialae Country Club for the first time since 2005, opened with a 2-over 72. It was just the second time Els posted an above-par score in 21 competitive rounds now played at Waialae Country Club (71, Rd. 1, 2005). Els, who won the Sony Open in Hawaii in 2003 and 2004, has never finished worse than fifth in the five times he has competed here.
• Defending champion K.J. Choi fired a 2-under 68 in round one to keep alive a streak of having never posted an above-par opening round at the Sony Open in Hawaii. In 2007 and 2008's opening rounds, Choi fired 6-under 64s.
• Playing in his first PGA TOUR event since having to withdraw from the 2008 U.S. Open in the final round due to a left wrist injury (which resulted in surgery), Luke Donald fired an opening-round 3-under 67.
• Wind was the dominant factor in Round 1 as there were nearly doubled the number of scores above-par as there were at par-or-better .50 players managed to post rounds of even-par or better. There were no bogey-free rounds in Round 1.
• Round 1 scoring averages: Morning wave: 71.24. Afternoon wave: 71.15
• Darron Stiles withdrew following his round citing personal reasons. John Huston withdrew after Round 1 because of an arm injury.
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