Week 2 Approach Shots: Sony Open in Hawaii
By PGATOUR.COM Staff
FIRST FULL-FIELD EVENT: The Sony Open in Hawaii represents the first full-field event of PGA TOUR Regular Season, with 144 players set to descend upon the par-70 Waialae Country Club.
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Once again, a strong field has been assembled for the tournament, led by Ernie Els (ranked 10th in the Official World Golf Ranking), Kenny Perry (14th), Steve Stricker (15th), Stewart Cink (16th), Choi (17th) and Adam Scott (18th). Five hundred FedExCup points will be awarded to the winner.
Last year, K.J. Choi opened with a 6-under 64 to take a one-stroke lead over a trio of players. He moved his lead to two strokes after 36 holes and four strokes through three rounds, eventually enjoying a start-to-finish victory, his seventh PGA TOUR title and fifth in the last four years.
Choi returns to Waialae this week for the Sony Open in Hawaii. He will greet a strong field of veterans and newcomers, including Geoff Ogilvy, who opened his season by winning last week's Mercedes-Benz Championship. Choi tied for 15th.
PLAYER NOTES: Parker McLachlin, a Honolulu native and 2008 Legends Reno-Tahoe Open champion, will be making his fifth start at the Sony Open in Hawaii. McLachlin is coming off of his best finish at the tournament with a tie for 10th in 2008. McLachlin's father, Chris, was the high school basketball coach of U.S. President-elect Barack Obama at Punahou High School -- who will be inaugurated just two days after the Sony Open in Hawaii wraps up. Playing in his first Mercedes-Benz Championship, McLachlin tied for 24th last week. ...
Few players have dominated a tournament like Els has done at the Sony Open in Hawaii. The Big Easy is back at Waialae for the first time since 2005, a place where he accumulated five consecutive top-five finishes in as many starts, beginning in 2000. In addition to victories in 2003 and 2004, he was the runner-up in 2005, finished third in 2001 and was fifth in 2000. He is a collective 66-under in his five starts in Honolulu, with a 1-over 71 during the first round in 2005 his only over-par effort. ...
Stricker, a four-time TOUR winner, is seeking his first victory at the Sony Open in Hawaii despite much success at the event. Like Choi, Stricker has finished inside the top four in each of the past two seasons at Waialae (he tied for fourth in 2007 and 2008). Stricker has six top-15 finishes in his nine starts at Waialae, with the others a solo third-place finish in 1996, a tie for seventh in 1998 and ties for 14th in 1994 and 2000. In 34 rounds, Stricker has failed to produce a score of par or better just five times. ...
Boo Weekley, one of the emerging stars on the PGA TOUR, is one of five members of the winning U.S. Ryder Cup team who will be teeing it up this week at the Waialae Country Club. The others include Kenny Perry, Stewart Cink, Stricker and J.B. Holmes. ...
ON-COURSE OBSERVATIONS: PGA TOUR Network correspondent Fred Albers is on the scene at Kapalua for this week's satellite radio coverage (XM 146/Sirius 209). Reports Albers:
"This is the flattest course the PGA TOUR plays all year long. It is the easiest walking course on TOUR, and everything is right out in front of you. There are absolutely no tricks -- what you see is what you get. The TOUR won't play two more diverse courses than the Plantation Course and Waialae. They are completely opposite.
"It is supposed to be really windy on Thursday and Friday, and it is possible the cut will be over par. If the wind stays calm, the course is there for the taking.
"I always think that players who played last week have the advantage at Waialae. Last year, K.J. Choi shot rounds of 69-69 on the weekend at the Mercedes-Benz Championship before winning wire-to-wire the next week at Waialae.
"That being said, most of the players here this week are making their first start of the year, and sometimes it's a good thing to start a tournament with no expectations. If you start with no expectations, it's usually a good sign not to burden yourself.
"Ernie Els played really well last week and just struggled with his putting, particularly the short putts. He played well in the last round and has always played really well on this golf course He's the guy I am watching this week."
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