The Daily Wrap-up, Round 4: Sony Open in Hawaii

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Zach Johnson
Condon/Getty Images
Zach Johnson won for the fifth time in his career on Sunday, shooting a final-round 5-under 65 to win by two.
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Jan. 19, 2009

HONOLULU (AP) -- Zach Johnson had a lei around his neck and a glass of champagne in his hand Sunday night as he toasted the members of Waialae after a two-shot victory in the Sony Open.

"The worst part of Hawaii is leaving," he said to laughter and applause.

The best part of winning is he gets to come back.

Johnson closed with a 5-under 65 on Sunday to outlast David Toms in a well-played duel along the back nine, finishing with a two-putt birdie for a two-shot victory over Toms and Adam Scott.

"I get to go back to Maui again," he said, referring to the season-opener at Kapalua for PGA TOUR winners. "And Oahu. Starting your year in these two destinations is pretty awesome."

His fifth career victory -- and second in his last six starts -- can be traced to last week and his tie for sixth. He went 64-67 on the weekend at Kapalua, and made it 30-under par for his last six rounds with his thorough victory at Waialae.

Johnson began the final round with a one-shot lead and never lost it.

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OFF-SEASON PLANNING PAYS OFF FOR JOHNSON
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM Chief of Correspondents

HONOLULU -- He's headed back to a house in Sea Island, Ga., that he has only lived in for about seven days.

But Zach Johnson -- or more likely, his wife, Kim -- will have plenty of money for decorating after he picked up the fifth PGA TOUR victory of his career at the Sony Open in Hawaii on Sunday.

Johnson's two-stroke win over David Toms and Adam Scott made him $972,000 richer and gave him the lead in the all-important FedExCup standings. Geoff Ogilvy, who won last week's Mercedes-Benz Championship is 53 points behind.

"It was far from easy, especially knowing, well, one, who I was playing with (Toms), and two, the other guys on the board," Johnson said. "So I'm very pleased with this win."

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Sunday's Best
EASIEST HOLE TOUGHEST HOLE
The par-5 ninth hole played the easiest for the week with a scoring average of 4.197. The par-4 first hole played the toughest for the week with a scoring average of 4.351.
SHOT OF THE DAY ROUND OF THE DAY
Charles Howell III chipped in for birdie on the par-4 16th hole en route to finishing fourth. Watch his shot Zach Johnson shot a 5-under 65 to win by two, giving him his fifth career victory and second in his last six starts. Check out his scorecard
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"This game is confidence. This game is momentum. You know, I had it then and I fortunately got it back sooner than later." -- Zach Johnson on how he played at the end of last week and all of this week.

INSIDE THE ROPES WITH THE PGA TOUR NETWORK
PGA TOUR Network correspondent Fred Albers offers these observations from Sunday's action. Listen to PGA TOUR Live coverage on XM 146/SIRIUS 209 or right here at PGATOUR.com.

sirius_xm.jpg

Eighteen-year-old Tadd Fujikawa might have been a little nervous playing in the final round of the Sony Open, but then again so was his caddy. Shakil Ahmed realized something was missing as he stood on the seventh tee, that something being a 6-iron. Ahmed, a friend of Fujikawa, left the club in the sixth fairway by the bunker. He raced to retrieve the 6-iron and made it back to the seventh tee in time for Fujikawa to hit his tee shot into the par 3.

Shigeki Maruyama apparently loves par 3s. He birdied the par-3 fourth hole every round, posting four straight 2s. For the week, Maruyama was 7 under on par 3s and just 3-under on the par 5s. Maruyama finished 7-under par and tied for 12th.

You will see Webb Simpson playing at the FBR Open in Scottsdale. In his first tournament as a member of the PGA TOUR, the Wake Forest graduate finished 8-under par and tied for ninth. That gets him into the next full-field event, which is the FBR. Simpson says he is looking forward to playing the infamous par-3 16th hole.

What the top finishers said...
Player Finish Score Comment
Zach Johnson 1st 15 under "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 seven 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."
David Toms T2 13 under "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."
Adam Scott T2 13 under "Yesterday my knee was quite sore. Today it wasn't bad at all actually, but you know, it's frustrating to have to ice it every night and kind of get it ready for the next day's play. It would be nice just to be able to go out and play."
Read full interview transcripts
Zach Johnson David Toms Adam Scott Full archive
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FOURTH-ROUND NOTEBOOK: SONY OPEN IN HAWAII
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).

• 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).

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