The Live Report, Round 4: Sony Open in Hawaii

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Badz/PGA TOUR

Zach Johnson won for the fifth time in his career on Sunday, capturing the Sony Open in Hawaii by two strokes.

The Sony Open in Hawaii is the first full-field event of the 2009 PGA TOUR season. PGATOUR.COM is on the scene in Honolulu. We'll provide updates all day long, so check back often. (All timestamps listed for Eastern Time.)

FROM THE INTERVIEW ROOM (11:30 p.m.): Here are some snippets from Zach Johnson's press conference following his two-stroke win:

Q. I know you played basically well overall, but would you say maybe one area has been stronger than the others, maybe putting? It seems like you're making a lot of really key putts.

ZACH JOHNSON: Yeah, I putted well this week. I three-putted I think twice, but they were really long putts, and one was off the green. All in all, I'm seeing my line and hitting it down my line. I've got a good system with how to prepare and how to maintain I think really good fundamentals. These greens are a little grainy. My caddie, Damon, is great at reading grain, and I had the speed down. Yeah, the putter was certainly the key this week, which when you win, it usually is.

Q. What was the most critical point in that round today?

ZACH JOHNSON: Critical point, there was a couple of times, but I think the putt on 10. David made birdie on 8 and 9, and then hit a pretty good hot in there to about 6 or 7 feet, 8 feet maybe, and I hit about 15 feet. Actually hit a good shot and misjudged the wind 15, 16 feet, whatever it was. And that birdie putt certainly helped because I was able to hit a good shot on the next hole and make another birdie. Those two putts were big, on 10 and 11. After that, certainly the up-and-down on 17. We both misjudged the wind there. I hit the same club he did. I don't know what I was thinking.

Q. What are your thoughts on kind of sharing the glory this week with an 18-year-old?

ZACH JOHNSON: Oh, that's great. I got to know Tadd a little bit, I think one of his coaches is back in Sea Island. I met him even prior to that and got to meet him, and pretty awesome. What he did this week should be inspiring, not only to himself, but to other kids. Just knowing him, and I've seen him work -- you know, my caddie and I were talking about it yesterday. I'm on the range warming up yesterday and he got done before I teed off. I get done on 18 and I putt a little bit and I come in here do my media, hit a few balls; he's still putting. That's like five hours after the fact on a Saturday. I had been over there at the beach. He's worked hard. That kid is going to get -- whatever he gets, he deserves. It's pretty awesome. I also think the way and the manner in which he is going about his business is very good relative to some others we've seen. I think his parents deserve a pat on the back for that.

SCOTT'S HOT FINISH (11:04 p.m.): Adam Scott hadn't had a top-10 finish on the PGA TOUR since he tied for eighth at the Wachovia Championship. Until Sunday at the Sony Open in Hawaii, that is.

The Australian closed with a red-hot 64 to move into a tie with David Toms at 13 under, one stroke behind the champion, Zach Johnson. The round of 6 under tied South African Tim Clark for the low round of the day.

"It was a good week, solid week for me," Scott said. "Today was really good for me. It's been a long time since I've been in the hunt in anything. It was nice to get on the back nine and have a chance and get the competitive nerves going again."

Scott, who dislocated his right kneecap in December, was headed to Qatar on Sunday night where he will defend his title at the Commercialbank Qatar Masters presented by Dolphin Energy next week

He was taking the red-eye to San Francisco, where he had a nine-hour layover. The next flight would take him Dubai where he would board another to Qataer.

"It's a killer," Scott said. "We leave tonight at 10:40 and we get into Qatar at midnight on Tuesday. So I'll be fresh for my pro-am partners Wednesday." -- Helen Ross

Here's a look at Scott's card from the final round:

TOMS HEALTHY AND COMFORTABLE (10:45 p.m.): David Toms couldn't catch Zach Johnson, but after a season in which he was hurt, won a near career-low $800,000 and finished 136th in the FedExCup standings, the former PGA champ looks ready for a bounce back year.

He's back with his old caddie and his old clubs and his T2 this week was his best finish in more than a year.

"I needed to get off to a good start after the way last year was," Toms said. "I was hoping to obviously get a victory today, but Zach played awfully well. I was proud of the way I hung in there and put pressure on him, and through the whole back nine.

"I just had a chance today to win, and all the way to the end. If that doesn't give you confidence, nothing will. I can take a lot from this week, that's for sure." -- Brian Wacker

TOUGH DAY FOR TADD (10:03 p.m.): Teenager Tadd Fujikawa wowed the crowds all week at Waialae, but when it came to the final round and winning, the weight of it all proved too much for the 18-year-old.

Fujikawa struggled to a 3-over 73 on Sunday, dropping from sixth place into a tie for 32nd. Still, he came away smiling.

"There wasn't any more pressure, but it was definitely a different feeling," he told GOLF CHANNEL afterward. "I learned a lot and am looking forward to playing a lot more. This week shows I can do it."

Had Fujikawa, who has no status on the PGA TOUR or anywhere else for that matter, finished in the top 10, he would have earned a spot in the FBR Open in Phoenix in a couple of weeks. You can bet sponsors will be lining up with invites, however. This won't be the last we'll see of Fujikawa this year. -- Brian Wacker

JOHNSON HANGING ONTO LEAD (9:33 p.m.): Leader Zach Johnson is hanging onto a one-stroke lead as he plays the final few holes of the Sony Open in Hawaii.

For the week, Johnson is 7 under on the back nine with just two bogeys. Those bogeys, by the way, came back in the first two rounds. -- Brian Wacker

SCOTT'S STRUGGLES (9:05 p.m.): Adam Scott is in contention as we come down the stretch at the Sony Open in Hawaii, but some might wonder why the 28-year-old Aussie hasn't won more in his career. Well, here's a peek at some pretty telling statistics.

In today's round, his driving accuracy is 61.5 percent -- nearly 6 percent better than the field average. His greens in regulation: 88 percent, more than 20 percent better than the field. And even his putting average, 1.73, is slightly better than the field.

Now take a look at some numbers from 2008, particularly the last three statistics in the chart below. -- Brian Wacker

JOHNSON HANGING ON (8:40 p.m.): Zach Johnson, who last won at the 2008 Valero Texas Open with a 62-64 weekend, is looking to get this year off to a fast start. His only top 10s prior to the Masters in each of the last two years came at the World Golf Championships-CA Championship, where he was T9 on both occasions.

Whatever happens here, he'll be in good shape FedExCup-wise. After finishing the inaugural FedExCup season in the top-10, Johnson tumbled to 131st in the standings in 2008.

Part of that could be attributed to his putting -- in 2007 he ranked 15th in total putting, but in 2008 he fell to 65th. This week he is third in the field. -- Brian Wacker

SABBATINI GOES LOW (8:12 p.m.): Rory Sabbatini had his lowest score on the PGA TOUR in more than a year with a 65 today that moved him from 41st into the top 10 (for now).

Coincidentally, Sabbatini's lowest score of 2008 also came here when he opened with a 66. He also shot a 66 in the third round of the Valero Texas Open. -- Brian Wacker

Here's a look at Sabbatini's card from today.

LONG BALL HITTERS IN HUNT (7:47 p.m.): Adam Scott and Charles Howell III have moved into contention and are tied with Zach Johnson, who just 20 minutes ago had a three-shot lead.

Scott, who won the EDS Byron Nelson Championship last year, doesn't seem to be affected by the slight knee injury he suffered while surfing recently. He's also looking to rebound from a year in which he had just thee top 10s -- his fewest since 2003.

Howell, meanwhile, said he gained 20 pounds of muscle in the offseason. Not so sure about that looking at him, but he's clearly playing well and looking to add to his total of just two career wins. -- Brian Wacker

PERRY FALTERING IN FINAL ROUND (7:22 p.m.): Kenny Perry began the day in a tie for 26th, but has plummeted down the board after three bogeys and a doule-bogey in his first 11 holes.

The double-bogey came on the par-3 seventh, where, after hitting his tee shot left of the green, Perry proceeded to three-putt.

Perry is coming off a T6 at the Mercedes-Benz Championship and hasn't finished outside the top 25 in a tournament since last year's BMW Championship, where he tied for 44th. -- Brian Wacker

JOHNSON BACK UP TWO (7:05 p.m.): How do you recover from hitting your 3-wood tee shot in the water and making bogey? By bouncing back with a birdie on the very next hole. That's what Zach Johnson just did, draining a near 29-footer for birdie on the par-3 fourth hole.

Not bad, considering Johnson ranked 127th on TOUR in bounce back last year. -- Brian Wacker

CROWDED PACK (6:50 p.m.): If you are waiting for a breakaway pack to emerge in the final round of the Sony Open you may have to wait a few holes. The first five holes on the front nine don't present an awful lot of birdie opportunities.

Sure, Zach Johnson managed to take a momentary two-shot lead with his birdie at the first, but that is a bit of an anomaly. The players know that if you can manage to slip past the first six holes under par that they are well on their way to a good round.

Things should start to take shape over the stretch of holes from the par-3 seventh through the par-4 10th. The focus should be on the par-5 ninth that has yielded 34 eagles already this week. Two-shot swings are more than possible on any of these holes.

One thing is certain, with so many players in contention the eventuall winner will have to take advantage of the birdie opportunities that lurk in the middle of the round...but they will have to get there uninjured first. -- John Maginnes

LEADERS ON THE COURSE (6:38 p.m.): The leaders are on the course and Zach Johnson has extended his lead to two with a birdie on the opening hole -- his first there all week. It might be short-lived, however, as Johnson's tee shot with a 3-wood on No. 3 inexplicably found the water. -- Brian Wacker

CHAOS AROUND FUJIKAWA (6:20 p.m.): The pedestrian walkway behind the first tee was wall-to-wall people Sunday as Hawaiian phenom Tadd Fujikawa waited for his 12:52 p.m. tee time.. In fact, so many people were crammed into that 12-foot corridor that the players finishing at the 18th hole couldn't get through the throng.

Fujikawa.

Arron Oberholser, his wife Angie and caddy David Woosley were caught in the crunch so they slipped inside the ropes at No. 1. As Fujikawa's playing partner, Nathan Green, was introduced, they had to run down the left side of the ropes and duck behind the trailers near the practice range to get out of the way.

The applause for the Aussie was polite, but nothing like what followed for the 18-year-old, who is trying to become the youngest winner ever on the PGA TOUR.

"This would be like playing with Greg Norman in Australia," one reporter noted.

Fujikawa has dominated the sports reports in Honolulu all week, and he has even joined another famous native son, Barack Obama, on the front pages of the Oahu newspapers. The Star-Bulletin ran a photo of Fujikawa and his caddy at the center of A1 on Sunday, just under a promotion for a special section on the inauguration. He was above the masthead of the Advertiser.

They may stop the presses if he wins. -- Helen Ross

ROOKIE WATCH (5:52 p.m.): The top rookie on the leaderboard right now is Scott Piercy, who is tied for ninth after three birdies and an eagle through his first 13 holes.

The eagle came on No. 10, where, after blasting his drive into the right rough, he holed out from 92 yards away.

Piercy made it to the PGA TOUR after finishing ninth on the Nationwide Tour money list. He earned his first Nationwide Tour victory at the Preferred Health Systems Wichita Open, where he shot a tournament record 22-under 262. The following week, he birdied the final hole at the Xerox Open to finish T6. A week after that, he won the Northeast Pennsylvania Classic, coming from four shots back on the final day.

A long-time mini tour player, Piercy's biggest win (or payday, anyway) was actually at the 2007 Ultimate Game at the Wynn Las Vegas G&CC, where he won $2 million. The victory came on his fifth wedding anniversary. Piercy called it his biggest thrill in golf. -- Brian Wacker

ANOTHER STRONG SHOWING BY CHOI (5:36 p.m.): K.J. Choi, who won here last year, is having another strong showing. At 4 under through the first 10 holes today, Choi has jumped into a tie for 10th at the moment.

Choi.

Aside from his win last year, Choi has three finishes at the Sony Open in the top 15 since 2002. That year, he finished T7 thanks in part to a second-round 65. In 2006, he finished in a tie for 13th, and in 2007 he tied for fourth after opening with a 64. -- Brian Wacker

CROSSING PATHS AGAIN (5:20 p.m.): Matthew Borchert stopped to talk with a reporter outside the pro shop at Waialae Country Club just before noon Sunday morning.

In an ironic twist, Tadd Fujikawa, the teenage phenom who was Borchert's playing partner on Saturday, stood nearby. His arms were draped over the shoulders of his caddy and a friend, and the three were saying a prayer as TV cameras captured the moment.

Borchert played in relative anonymity on Sunday, teeing off in the second group of the day, as he finished his first tournament as a PGA TOUR member. On the other hand, Fujikawa, who shot 62 Saturday to move within two strokes of the lead, was still an hour before his potential date with destiny.

For Borchert, it was a baptism by fire. He was thrust into the spotlight when he played with Fujikawa before the biggest crowds of the day. Unlike Fujikawa, who was playing in his eighth PGA TOUR event, though, Borchert was making his debut.

"It gave me a great idea of what can happen, and what hopefully, will happen," Borchert said.

The TOUR rookie was impressed with the 18-year-old's performance on Saturday.

"I have been on the receiving end of it and the playing end of it and I can tell you the playing end is a lot more fun," Borchert said, smiling. "He played incredibly well. Every shot was on the flag and every putt was going in."

Borchert earned his TOUR card in December in his eighth try at q-school -- shooting a final-round 65 to tie for seventh. The last four weeks have been a whirlwind.

"My head is still spinning," said Borchert, who turns 31 later this month. "I am usually starting out on the Hooters Tour near Orlando and here I am in Hawaii.

"I take a lot of positives from this week. I did the best I could. I was a great experience and I enjoyed myself." -- Helen Ross

WHAT WILL IT TAKE? (5:10 p.m.): With conditions every bit as good if not better than yesterday, it will probably take a pretty low number for Tadd Fujikawa, two off the lead, to become the youngest winner in PGA TOUR history. Here's a quick look at the lowest final rounds by a tournament winner each of the past three years.

CLARK CLIMBS BOARD (4:52 p.m.): South African Tim Clark has shot up the leaderboard, moving from T50 to T17 on the strength of four birdies and no bogeys through 12 holes today.

Clark is coming off a 2008 in which he posted just three top 10s, one of those a runner-up at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. That was the fifth runner-up of Clark's career.

Now healthy after battling a bulging disk in his neck in 2007, Clark is looking to get back to what looked like a career on the verge of taking off. Three years ago, he posted three top-12 finishes in his first four events before finishing second to Phil Mickelson at the Masters. --Brian Wacker

SETTING UP THE FINAL ROUND (4:30 p.m.): Here is a look at how each hole played through the first three rounds of the Sony Open in Hawaii.

BRYANT MAKES A MOVE (4:05 p.m.): Of the the players on the course right now, Bart Bryant has the best round going. He's 4 under through 13 holes with a pair of birdies on the front and two more on the back.

Bryant was one of our sleeper picks earlier this week. He has two career top 15s here and so far today he's jumped 30 spots on the leaderboard to T32. That shouldn't be a huge surprise given his accuracy off the tee -- he's third in fairways hit this week -- and the fact that he's one of the TOUR's better putters. -- Brian Wacker

CHASING HISTORY (3:50 p.m.): Tadd Fujikawa is about an hour away from teeing off and trying to become the youngest winner in PGA TOUR history. Here is a look at some of the accomplishments in his still blossoming career. -- Ceri Mobley

Tadd Fujikawa Timeline

EVENT DATE AGE Born Jan. 8, 1991   Fujikawa was three months premature and weighed only 1 pound, 15 ounces at birth. Qualified for U.S. Open as amateur 2006 15 Fujikawa was the youngest player since 1941 to qualify for the U.S. Open when he won the Hawaii sectional qualifier (he shot 67-69), but he missed the cut at Winged Foot by nine strokes. Made PGA TOUR cut January 2007 16 Fujikawa was the youngest player in almost 50 years to make a TOUR cut when he shot 67-66 in the first two rounds of the Sony Open. He shot 66-72 on the weekend to tie for 20th. Won the Hawaii Pearl Open February 2007 16 Fujikawa was the first amateur since 1992 to win this local golf tournament. Turned pro July 12, 2007 16 Fujikawa's decision to turn professional was heavily influenced by his desire to take care of his family after they had supported him in his golf dream for so long. First TOUR start as a pro August 2007 16 Fujikawa debuted on TOUR as a professional at the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open, where he missed the cut. He went on to miss the cut in his next two starts as a pro. First hole in one as a pro September 2007 16 Fujikawa's ace came at the Nationwide Tour's Alberstons Boise Open, but he missed the cut by three strokes. Made first double eagle as a pro September 2007 16 Fujikawa's albatross came at the European Tour's Omega European Masters in Switzerland, but he did not make it to the weekend. First made cut and victory as a pro April 20, 2008 17 At age 17, Fujikawa was the youngest winner in the history of the Mid-Pacific Open, a tournament run by the Mid-Pacific Country Club in Hawaii and not affiliated with any tour. Made first TOUR cut as a pro January 2009 18 Fujikawa Monday qualified for the Sony Open and shot 71-69-62 in the first three rounds. He is tied for sixth, two shots back of the lead, entering the final round. First TOUR victory ?? ?? Can this young Hawaiian earn his first TOUR victory in front of a hometown crowd?

Groups We're Watching

Tee time Players   5:52 pm ET (12:52 pm in Hawaii) Tadd Fujikawa, Nathan Green Fujikawa's only two back of Zach Johnson heading into the final round. Another 62 will do the trick. Track 'em 6:01 pm ET (1:01 pm in Hawaii) Shigeki Maruyama, Brian Gay Maruyama has progressively putted worse with each round this week. He'll need to turn that trend around. Track 'em 6:10 pm ET (1:10 pm in Hawaii) David Toms, Zach Johnson Johnson has the lead because he's 5 under this week (with two eagles) on the par-5 ninth. Track 'em

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