Winners and Losers from the 2015 Sony Open in Hawaii
Events on the course at the Sony Open in Hawaii took a back seat to what happened to one of the tournament's participants who missed the cut. Per the AAP (h/t BBC News), Robert Allenby, who fired rounds of 71-71 to miss the cut, was reportedly kidnapped from a wine bar, robbed and beaten.
The gruesome tourist horror story punctured the traditionally sunny, leisurely calm of the tour. And while what Allenby reportedly endured will long live in the minds of his fellow golfers, in terms of golf, it's also important to discuss the events inside the ropes this weekend in Hawaii.
On course, Jimmy Walker romped to his second consecutive victory at Waialae.
Who joins the Oklahoma native as a winner this week? Who are the losers?
Click through for the full breakdown.
Winner: Jimmy Walker
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Apparently, Jimmy Walker likes playing golf in Hawaii. Walker, who won the Sony Open last season, finished second in a playoff at last week's Hyundai Tournament of Champions.
Walker opened this year's Sony Open with rounds of 66, 66 and 62, and the final round was largely an undramatic coronation for last year's champion.
The now-four-time PGA Tour winner led by five strokes after his opening nine holes Sunday, and it was all but a foregone conclusion that unless he caught whatever malady afflicted Martin Kaymer in Abu Dhabi, the tournament was his.
He didn't. Walker carded a back-nine 30 to finish at 23 under for the tournament, nine strokes ahead of Scott Piercy.
Loser: Webb Simpson’s Long Putter
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Webb Simpson fled temptation and didn’t leave a forwarding address.
Simpson disposed of his U.S. Open-winning putter following the Dunlop Phoenix Open late last season, committed to adapting to a traditional-length putter ahead of the 2016 putter ban.
How did he do it? "Snapped it over my knee," Simpson said, per The Associated Press (h/t Fox News). "It's a thick, heavy shaft, so I gave it all I had over my knee. It was a clean, flush break."
In his first PGA Tour round of 2015, Simpson rode a hot putter to a 66, which included three birdies in his final five holes. Through three rounds Simpson was picking up .762 strokes on the field with the shorter putter in hand.
In other words, he’s doing just fine with the new flatstick.
Winner: Justin Thomas
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Rookie Justin Thomas had a heck of a week in Hawaii.
In his maiden start at the Sony Open, he put together quite a performance. Thomas, who won on the Web.com Tour last year and tied for fourth in the Sanderson Farms Championship, shot a near-course record 61 in his second round.
For the week, Thomas finished at 268, 12 under par, which was good enough to tie for sixth.
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Loser: Matt Every
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Unfortunately, Matt Every received a dubious honor: the first disqualification on the PGA Tour in 2015.
Every hit a shot with a bent 4-iron he mistakenly left in his bag after it was bent during the opening round. Because carrying around a bent/damaged/deformed club is some kind of cheating in the eyes of the USGA, he was already going to incur a penalty under Rule 4-3, but the fact he struck a shot with the damaged club earned him a DQ.
Every was near the bottom of the leaderboard when he used the damaged club and earned himself some free time on the weekend. Given how substantial the bend to the shaft was, it's impossible to believe he wouldn't have noticed the deformity when hitting a shot.
Either way, it's a loser situation all around.
Loser: The PGA Tour
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Would you like to have seen these guys in the field at the Sony Open this week: Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler, Sergio Garcia, Luke Donald, Martin Kaymer and Justin Rose?
Too bad. The Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship was more of a priority for the above golfers. The tournament boasts more Official World Golf Ranking points and has a stronger field than the Sony Open and more prize money.
International mega-events—particularly those fueled by Middle Eastern oil money—don't help the PGA Tour's strength of field any.
Winners: Jerry Kelly, Rory Sabbatini
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Winner of the 2002 Sony Open in Hawaii, Jerry Kelly found himself outside of the top 20 entering the final round of this year's competition. He carded a bogey-free final-round 66 that vaulted him 21 spots up the leaderboard to inside of the top five.
Really, it was Kelly's opening 73 that kept him from truly being a factor Sunday. He fired an inspired 62 in the second round and followed up with a 67 Saturday.
Kelly likes playing Waialea; he finished third in the tournament last year. The Sunday move puts a lot more cash in the veteran's pocket and earns him valuable FedEx Cup ranking points early in the season.
Also making a move Sunday: Rory Sabbatini. The prickly Mr. Sabbatini got around in 63 strokes during the final round to jump 45 places on the leaderboard, tying for fourth.
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