Sony Open in Hawaii: Final-round notebook

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Jan. 18, 2009
By John Bush, PGA TOUR Staff

HONOLULU -- Zach Johnson posted a 5-under 65 on Sunday to capture the Sony Open in Hawaii by two strokes over Adam Scott (64) and David Toms (66). The victory is the fifth of Johnson's career (2004 BellSouth Classic, 2007 Masters Tournament, 2007 AT&T Classic, 2008 Valero Texas Open, 2009 Sony Open in Hawaii).

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Greenwood/PGA TOUR
Past champ Jerry Kelly has bettered par in 31 of his last 38 rounds at Waialae.
Inside the Numbers
Final Leaderboard
Player Score
1. Zach Johnson 265 -15
T2. Adam Scott 267 -13
T2. David Toms 267 -13
4. Charles Howell III 268 -12
T5. Kevin Na 269 -11
T5. Brian Gay 269 -11
T7. Steve Marino 271 -9
T7. George McNeill 271 -9
T9. Webb Simpson 272 -8
T9. Bill Haas 272 -8
T9. Boo Weekley 272 -8

• The victory for Johnson is worth 500 points and moves him into the top spot in the FedExCup standings with 589 points, 53 points ahead of Geoff Ogilvy (536).

• The victory for Johnson comes in his fourth appearance at the Sony Open in Hawaii (missed cut in 2004, tied for 28th in 2005, tied for 32nd in 2008, won in 2009).

• Dating back to 1999, Johnson's victory is the seventh by a major championship winner at the Sony Open in Hawaii (1999-Sluman, 2000-Azinger, 2003 & 2004-Ernie Els, 2005-Vijay Singh, 2006-Toms, 2009-Johnson).

• Eighteen-year-old and local favorite Tadd Fujikawa posted a 3-over 73 on Sunday to finish his ninth-career start on the PGA TOUR in a tie for 32nd place. He collected $29,237 for his efforts. Fujikawa's previous best finish on TOUR was a tie for 20th at the 2007 Sony Open in Hawaii while competing as an amateur.

• The runner-up finishes by Toms and Scott were the 10th and seventh of their careers, respectively.

• Scott, Tim Clark and Bart Bryant all posted the round of the day with 6-under 64s. The round of the week was turned in by Fujikawa with an 8-under 62 on Saturday.

• Johnson was the only player to post top-10 finishes in each of the first two tournaments in Hawaii, following up a tie for sixth last week in Maui with a win at the Sony Open in Hawaii.

Steve Marino finished inside the top 10 at the Sony Open in Hawaii for the second consecutive season (tied for fourth in 2008, tied for seventh in 2009).

• Past champions of the Sony Open in Hawaii and their respective finish this week: Corey Pavin (missed cut), John Huston (withdrew), Sluman (missed cut), Azinger (tied for 69th), Brad Faxon (missed cut), Jerry Kelly (tied for 23rd), Els (tied for 39th), Toms (tied for second), Paul Goydos (missed cut) and K.J. Choi (tied for 12th).

• Two-time Sony Open in Hawaii champion Els continued to improve each day this week at the Sony Open in Hawaii. After opening with a 2-over 72, he bounced back with rounds of 69-68-67 to finish tied for 39th. Els has posted par-or-better scores in 22 of 24 rounds at the Sony Open in Hawaii -- including 21 rounds in the 60s. His tie for 39th marks the first time he has finished outside of the top five in six starts at Waialae Country Club.

• Defending champion Choi carded a 4-under 66 on Sunday to finish tied for 12th. Els (2003-04) remains the only player to successfully capture titles at the Mercedes-Benz Championship and the Sony Open in the same year to open the PGA TOUR season.

• Seven players managed to post all four rounds in the 60s this week, including Johnson, Charles Howell III, Brian Gay, George McNeill, Jeff Klauk, Cliff Kresge and Briny Baird.

• Kelly finished tied for 23rd in his 12th career start at the Sony Open in Hawaii -- the eighth top-25 finish of his career at the event. Kelly has bettered par in 31 of his last 38 rounds at Waialae Country Club.

• Bogey-free rounds on Sunday were turned in by Clark (64), Bart Bryant (64), Scott Sterling (65), Stewart Cink (67) and Els (67).

• Scoring Averages: Thursday 71.326; Friday 70.724; Saturday 70.363; and Sunday 70.136.

• The par-4 first hole played the toughest this week, yielding a 4.351 average, while the par-5 ninth hole was the easiest at 4.197.

• Johnson earned his fifth PGA TOUR victory in his 141st career start at the age of 32 years, 10 months and 25 days. He also won for the second time in his last six starts on the PGA TOUR, dating back to win at the 2008 Valero Texas Open. And he earned his second top-10 finish of the season (tied for sixth at Mercedes-Benz Championship).

• Johnson now has PGA TOUR victories in Georgia, Texas and Hawaii. His first three career wins came in the state of Georgia, including the 2004 and 2007 AT&T Classic and the 2007 Masters Tournament.

• Johnson added on an additional year to his five-year exemption from winning the 2007 Masters and an additional year from winning the 2008 Valero Texas Open, making him exempt through the end of the 2014 season. He also secured a spot in the 2010 season-opening Mercedes-Benz Championship.

• Johnson became the eighth winner of the Sony Open in Hawaii in the last 11 years to have participated in the Mercedes-Benz Championship the week prior.

• He also recorded the 24th top-10 finish and the 55th top-25 finish of his career. And his win was the 238th by a former Nationwide Tour member on the PGA TOUR.

• Johnson collected a $972,000 first-place check, which brings his season total to $1,161,250 and moves him into first on the money list, just over $12,000 ahead of Ogilvy. He surpasses $1 million in earnings for the sixth consecutive season, surpasses $13 million in career earnings ($13,422,087) and moves to No. 58 on the career money list.

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