Aloha Replay

Zach Johnson holds off David Toms to win the Sony Open, but it was local hero Tadd Fujikawa who (once again) steals the show

striping it: Johnson birdied five of his final 11 holes Sunday, breaking out of a logjam to win his second event in the last four months.

By Dave Shedloski

Photo by Stan Badz/PGA Tour

January 26, 2009

Seldom is a winner on the PGA Tour bumped from the headlines in a tournament story, but it seems to happen regularly at the Sony Open in Hawaii. Zach Johnson captured the first full-field event of the season. Tadd Fujikawa was the undisputed champion of the newsmaker flight.

The Lilliputian-like teen from Moanalua High School in Honolulu had designs last week on conquering golf's attending Gullivers at Waialae CC. An eye-popping eight-under 62 in the third round—low for the tournament—set him up for a bid to supplant Johnny McDermott, two months shy of 20 when he won the 1911 U.S. Open, as the youngest winner on the PGA Tour. Momentum, however, waned for Fujikawa, while Johnson rolled to a two-stroke victory and his fifth tour title.

Though he claimed the podium finish, Johnson had to share the spotlight. He didn't mind. "What he [Fujikawa] did this week should be inspiring, not only to himself, but to other kids," the 2007 Masters champion said.

These shenanigans are becoming commonplace at the seaside course 10 miles from Waikiki Beach. Two years ago as an amateur, Fujikawa not only made the cut, but also went on to finish T-20, one year after becoming the youngest competitor in U.S. Open history at Winged Foot. In 2004 Michelle Wie, then 14, astounded aficionados with rounds of 72-68 and missed the cut by one stroke.

With five birdies in his last 11 holes, Johnson emerged from an overnight logjam that featured 30 within six shots. All eyes were on Fujikawa, however, until bogeys on two par 3s deflated his lofty aspirations. The second came following a prolonged delay at No. 7 while his caddie, Shakil Ahmed, retrieved Fujikawa's 6-iron that Ahmed had left in a fairway bunker at the sixth. And so it went. Fujikawa's 73 left him at five-under 275 and tied for 32nd. His first tour cut as a pro was worth $29,237, not bad given he had only made about $20,000 to date.

Johnson won $972,000 with his 15-under 265, a fine encore to a 15-under weekend performance at the Mercedes-Benz Championship. He held off two seasoned challengers in Adam Scott and David Toms, both shaking off injury-marred '08 campaigns. Toms carded a 66, and Scott, despite an achy right kneecap, fired a Sunday-low 64 that lifted the Aussie to his first top-10 finish since the Wachovia Championship last May.

"It's been a long time since I've been in the hunt in anything," Scott said before catching a plane to Qatar. "It was nice to get on the back nine and have a chance and get the competitive nerves going again."

Johnson, 32, has had the nerve to win twice, the Sony and the Valero Texas Open, since a team meeting last fall with his coaches in Sea Island, Ga., where he recently moved (see page 40). Four top-10s in six events have ensued since he had a chance to "revamp, retool and re-polish." Impressive, and yet his hometown, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, wasn't even going to give him exclusive billing. Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner, who attended the same high school, earlier in the day led his team to its first Super Bowl appearance.

"I think Cedar Rapids is happy right now," said Johnson, who couldn't be more pleased himself. "This game is confidence. This game is momentum. I'm just riding that wave, I guess. That's really corny, isn't it? But we'll go with it."

Local favorite Fujikawa had a win in sight after a third-round 62 but he was dogged by early bogeys and closed with a 73 to finish T-32 and earn $29,237. Photo: sam greenwood/getty images

Just like the shifting winds that turned Waialae into a blustery bivouac for two days, an ill wind continues to buffet the Hawaiian golf scene. Sony Corp., not immune to the economic downturn, has discovered that its once deep pockets are full of lint and seeks to trim $1 billion from its operating budget. Remarked one observer: "If you're Sony, do you spend $10 million on golfers or on Peyton Manning and The Chicken?"

Ask tournament director Ray Stosik, and he'll say he is "confident" Sony will remain title sponsor beyond 2010, citing a letter of intent the company signed last November to advance the renewal process, crucial as much for the tour as for the islands. The Sony Open, said Stosik, annually generates an estimated $25 million for the Oahu economy and $1 million for charity, the state's largest source.

"The players love coming here," PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said in defense of the Aloha Swing. "It's the best place in America to come practice right now. Just look at the weather map in the lower 48."

Oops, mulligan. Friday the forecast was so threatening—rain and wind gusts up to 55 mph—that all schools on Oahu were closed. The severe weather never materialized, but other oddities came to light.

Japan's Azuma Yano was two over par before hitting a shot, having arrived late for his tee time. Not the most prudent way to utilize a commissioner's exemption. At least he got to the tee, though. Chad Campbell intended to compete but realized in the middle of his flight to Hawaii that he had forgotten to enter and returned to Texas the following day.