The Starter: Round 4, Sony Open in Hawaii

text size

Jan. 18, 2009
By PGATOUR.COM staff

The first group will soon tee off in today's final round of the Sony Open in Hawaii, the first full-field event of the 2009 season. Here's how it sets up:

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

EXPERT PREVIEW: PGA TOUR Network on-site correspondent Michael Collins previews Sunday's final round:
Perfect conditions from Round 3 are going to continue through the final round.

Expect the largest gallery potentially in Sony Open history to be following a high school senior as Tadd Fujikawa tries to become the youngest winner in PGA TOUR history. With normal trade winds, most people would expect scores to be low, but with nothing but sunshine and dry conditions, the greens will get firm and fast, so don't expect to see Tad's 62 repeated.

Aloha..

FUJIKAWA HAS A SHOT A PGA TOUR HISTORY ON SUNDAY
(AP) -- Large crowds are expected on Sunday when Tadd Fujikawa, who turned 18 last week and will graduate high school in May, will try to make history no one saw coming. He had never made the cut on the PGA TOUR since turning pro after his sophomore year in high school.

Sunday's forecast

Sunny
Temp: 77 high/65 low
Sunny and pleasant. Winds will come from the north at 11 mph.

Johnny McDermott was 19 years and 10 months when he captured the U.S. Open in 1911.

Is it really possible?

"I think he's got a bright future," said David Toms. "Obviously, a guy that can shoot 62 on this golf course on Saturday of a PGA TOUR event has got a lot of talent."

MISTAKES WILL BE MAGNIFIED IN THE FINAL ROUND
(AP) -- Johnson, who won the Valero Texas Open during the Fall Series, didn't feel like he had a big advantage with the 54-hole lead.

"Not out here," he said. "One errant shot can be a matter of a two- or three-shot swing. That's the beauty of this course. It doesn't surprise me that it's congested."

WAIALAE TESTS EVERY CLUB IN THE BAG
It shouldn't be much of a surprise that the Sony Open leaderboard is packed full of players who find the fairway first and worry about power later.

Toms

The final twosome of Zach Johnson and David Toms features two players who are comfortable with any shot required, whether it's a 3-iron to a tiered green or a 70-yard pitch.

Toms says the classic design at Waialae demands such skills.

"I like it, because you hit all different clubs off the tees into the greens," Toms said. "You have long and short holes. We only have really two par 5s to try to score on. They are both birdie opportunities the way it's playing today, and you need to do that it's just a good mixture.

"I hit three or four long irons to par 4s and I hit a couple wedges to par 4s and same with the par 3s. I hit a couple of long shots and short shots and it has a flow to it. It's the type of course I wish we played more."

The leaders: What they said about Fujikawa

"It wasn't many years ago where short wasn't that bad of a thing in golf. It seems like everybody is getting bigger and taller and stronger, and the game has kind of gone that way. I think he's got a bright future."

-- David Toms, when asked about the 5-foot-1 Fujikawa Transcript

"He's a talent, borderline phenom, considering where he's doing and how he's doing it. He went out first and earned his way. You know, he's going to be great for golf if he continues what he's doing."

-- Zach Johnson, who says that hometown tournaments are among the toughest Transcript

HOLE TO WATCH: THE 551-YARD 18TH
Because it is flat, the last of the two par-5s at Waialae isn't consistently reachable for the shorter hitters in the field, but a well-struck 3-wood will use the slope on the right side and feed down to the hole.

For most players, their third shot is a short pitch into a tight pin placement. Par is definitely a letdown on this hole, which is always the second-easiest hole on the course after the other par-five (the 506-yard ninth).

Here is a stat to show just how easy the par-5 ninth is playing: In Saturday's third round, the field scored lower on the ninth (4.165) than they did on the 477-yard par-4 13th (4.313).

The Film Room

	PGA TOUR Today Win McMurry recaps the third round and looks ahead to Sunday. Watch it
	The wild card Straight-hitting Brian Gay is only one back heading into Sunday. Watch it
	Eagles are possible at 18 David Toms chipped in from just off the green at No. 18 on Saturday. Watch it

Thus far at Waialae

Round	Leader	Low round (par 70)	Key links
	Shigeki Maruyama (-5)	65: Shigeki Maruyama	Daily Wrap-Up \| Live Report Helen Ross column \| Notebook
Round	Leaders	Low round (par 70)	Key links
	Nathan Green, Tom Pernice (-8)	63: Tom Pernice	Daily Wrap-Up \| Live Report Helen Ross column \| Notebook
Round	Leaders	Low round (par 70)	Key links
	Zach Johnson (-10)	62: Tadd Fujikawa	Daily Wrap-Up \| Live Report Helen Ross column \| Notebook