Winners and Losers from the 2015 Hyundai Tournament of Champions
The more self-impressed golf writers in the world will likely draw some clever comparison between Patrick Reed and another golfer who dons red and black during the final round of golf tournaments.
Reed did look positively Tiger-esque (or is it Woods-ian?) down the stretch at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions as he hunted down Jimmy Walker in thrilling fashion.
The new father, of course, finds himself among the winners of the former season-opening tournament. Who else joins him as an early-season winner?
Click through to find out.
Winner: Patrick Freakin' Reed
1 of 9Reed's eagle hole-out from 83 yards at Kapalua's 16th hole thrust him into a tie for the lead with Walker.
The uber-confident Reed carded two birdies and an eagle in his final four holes and would have won the tournament outright were it not for a careless bogey at the 17th hole.
Instead, the brash Mr. Reed was tied with Walker at the end of regulation, thanks to his final-round 67. Reed then disposed of Walker on the first playoff hole for the fourth win of his young career.
Loser: Zach Johnson
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Defending champion Zach Johnson was well-positioned through two rounds of this year's competition, thanks to rounds of 68 and 67.
In the third round, however, Johnson had a relative blowup. While those around him on the leaderboard were firing 66s and 67s, the Iowan could only muster 73 on the vulnerable Hawaiian track.
Thus, he entered the final round well out of the lead and playing for second, doomed by a paltry showing on Sunday. He finished seventh.
Winner: Jimmy Walker's Prospects for the Early Part of 2015
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Jimmy Walker has started the the past two seasons in good form, particularly last season where Walker won the first event of the wraparound season, the Frys.com Open. After tying for 21st the first time he teed it up in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions last year, Walker went on to win the Sony Open in Hawaii to make him a two-time winner on tour.
The adoptive Texan then won the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am two starts later for his third win in the first four months of the 2013-14 season.
All this is to say: Walker has had his best PGA Tour season when he starts off strong. Prior to the Hyundai Tournament of Champions in this young PGA Tour season, Walker had just one top-10 finish (T4, Shriners Hospitals for Children Open).
So, Walker, who seemed to find every green in regulation at Kapalua this week, looks like his swing is now in order as we begin our slow plod toward Augusta...even though he was bested by Reed in the playoff.
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Loser: Kevin Stadler
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Kevin Stadler skipped the Hyundai Tournament of Champions Pro-Am due to injury, which wasn't a good sign. Then Smallrus, as he's called, fought through pain for two substandard rounds in Hawaii before calling it quits prior to his third round.
Stadler was in last place at the time of his withdrawal, and it's worth noting that he withdrew from the WGC-HSBC Champions two months ago with trouble in the same wrist.
Nobody wants to call it quits at a no-cut tournament, leaving a decent pile of cash on the table. It's an unfortunate result and an indication that Stadler may not be healthy for his Waste Management Phoenix Open title defense at the end of the month.
Winner: Prime-Time Viewers
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There's an argument to be made that the Hyundai Tournament of Champion's Monday finish did little to help attract viewers as it would have been best to have the tournament wrap up following the late NFL playoff game on Sunday. Instead, the tournament (thanks to a playoff finish) was wrapping up just as the college football playoff finale kicked off.
Regardless of whether a Sunday or Monday finish would have been optimum, the fact is, it's nice to see PGA Tour golf in prime time. And flipping back-and-forth between the beginning of the national championship game and the Patrick Reed-Jimmy Walker playoff was good quality viewing and a great way to kick off pro golf in 2015.
Losers: Golf Fans in Most of the Continental United States
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As a lovely mix of snow and ice assault much of the United States, the PGA Tour's best are forced to deal with the travesty of 78 degrees and sunny in Kapalua, Hawaii.
The horror.
And with every shot of the rolling-green expanses, blue skies, tranquil waters and spectacular volcanic outlines on the horizon, golf fans faced with frigid temperatures and buried under thick blankets of snow looked mournfully at their golf bags slumped in the corner.
The Hyundai Tournament of Champions serves as a grim reminder for many in the United States: You won't be golfing for months.
Winner: Sang-Moon Bae
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While he was unable to follow up his opening-round 66 with rounds of a similar quality, Sang-Moon Bae's ability to finish inside the top 10 amid significant distraction is an impressive testament to the golfer's focus.
Bae is in the midst of a difficult and nuanced situation, the resolution of which is entirely unclear right now. The South Korean is pursuing a legal solution to his country's insistence that he return home to serve the mandatory two-year enlistment period for able-bodied men between 18 and 35 in the Republic.
Again, a top-10 finish in a tournament full of PGA Tour winners is good work indeed and an indication of real mettle.
Losers: Those Who Couldn't Hit Greens
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Of course it's important to hit greens in regulation. However, the casual fan's perspective when thinking about Kapalua's undulating Plantation Course is that booming drivers rule the day and that the course's steeply sloping holes yield a bevy of 400-yard drives.
The reality, this year at least, was much different. Through three rounds, the leaders were averaging roughly 275 yards off the tee. In 2014, an average driving distance of 275 yards ranked 173rd on tour.
And after four rounds, both Reed and Walker—who battled in a playoff for the title—hit better than 80 percent of greens in regulation for the tournament, and neither golfer averaged more than 282 yards off the tee.
Winner: Monday Day
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"My goal is to get to the No. 1 spot, and I know I can only do that if I win and win consistently." Those were Jason Day's words prior to the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, per The Associated Press (via The New York Times).
Through the first three rounds of the tournament, the only reason Day (an adoptive Ohioan) made headlines was for a 100-push-up wager he and Oregon alum Ben Crane made on the College Football Playoff National Championship.
Day posted scores of 70, 69 and 71 to open the tournament. Decent scores, sure, but they were only good enough to place him in the middle of the pack heading into the final round of competition.
Monday, however, Day absolutely lit up the Plantation Course. He birdied 14 of his final 18 holes, including two stretches of four birdies in a row. The brilliant final-round 62 vaulted Day into the second position on the leaderboard.
The torrid final round is a reminded of just what the 27-year-old is capable of and a firm statement of intent to begin the year.
All stats via PGATour.com.
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