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Jan 15, 2016; Honolulu, HI, USA; SONY banner signage on display near the main gate during the second round of the Sony Open in Hawaii golf tournament at Waialae Country Club. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Before the action at the Sony Open in Hawaii gets underway, here’s a look back at the tournament’s past winners.
The PGA Tour continues its Hawaii swing this week as it heads to Honolulu for the Sony Open in Hawaii. The action gets underway on Thursday at Waialae Country Club.
The tournament has been around since 1965 and has seen several name changes since. However, since 1999 this historic tournament has operated under the name of the Sony Open in Hawaii.
Before all the action gets underway in the second PGA Tour tournament of the 2017 calendar, here’s a look back at the tournament’s most recent winners.
Jan 8, 2017; Maui, HI, USA; PGA golfer Fabian Gomez tees off on the first hole during the final round of the Tournament of Champions golf tournament at Kapalua Resort – The Plantation Course. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
2016 Sony Open in Hawaii – Gomez Completes Comeback In Playoff
As the usual at Waialae Country Club, the tournament was a very low scoring battle. In the end, Fabian Gomez completed the comeback for the dramatic sudden-death playoff win over Brandt Snedeker.
Gomez started the week out slow by posting just a one-under 69 in the first round. Meanwhile, Snedeker started the week off with a bang as he posted a seven-under 63 in the first round.
For Gomez, he wouldn’t score any worse than that, but for Snedeker, he wouldn’t get better than that. Over the next two rounds, Gomez started eating away at the lead Snedeker built in the first round. With a six-under 64 in the second round and a five-under 65 in the third round, Gomez was able to gain a stroke in each round.
However, since he only had gained two strokes, Gomez had some serious work to do in the final round. He didn’t disappoint as he carded an eight-under 62 while Snedeker posted just a four-under 66. Gomez’s incredible 10 birdie final round was good enough to take Snedeker into a playoff.
The first playoff hole, the 18th hole, was rather uneventful as both golfers scored pars on the par 5. With such a tie, the golfers headed back up to play the 18th hole again. This time Gomez ended it. He drove the green in two and left himself with a mid-length eagle putt. He ended up missing the putt however his tap-in birdie meant the comeback was complete and he was the 2015 Sony Open in Hawaii Champion.
Jan 8, 2017; Maui, HI, USA; PGA golfer Jimmy Walker tees off on the first hole during the final round of the Tournament of Champions golf tournament at Kapalua Resort – The Plantation Course. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
2015 Sony Open in Hawaii – Jimmy Walker Defends His Title
Coming back as the defending champion it appeared as though Jimmy Walker was picking up right where he left off the previous year. Walker hung around the top of the leaderboard all week before his eventual blowout win.
For the first round of the tournament, Walker kept himself in contention with a four-under 66. He drained six birdies to sit just four strokes behind the leader through 18 holes. He remained consistent in the second round by again posting a four-under 66.
However, another 66 also meant he was still four strokes behind the leading pace. With a deficit to make up, Walker turned on the jets and ripped through the next two rounds at a torrid pace. He started by torching the course in the third round with 10 birdies for an eight-under 62.
Then in the fourth round, he added seven more birdies for a seven-under 63. He won the tournament with a 23-under tournament score which was nine strokes ahead of second place Scott Piercy.
Jan 6, 2017; Maui, HI, USA; PGA golfer Jimmy Walker tees off on the first hole during the second round of the Tournament of Champions golf tournament at Kapalua Resort – The Plantation Course. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
2014 Sony Open in Hawaii – Walker Wins With Final Round Surge
Jimmy Walker’s win the year before his blowout win was quite the opposite. The top of the leaderboard was packed with talent who all were within just a few strokes of each other. Walker navigated through to capture a narrow one-stroke win.
As he did in 2015, Walker started the tournament with a four-under 66 in the first round. However, the leader was never out of sight as his first round left him only two strokes behind the leading pace.
After the next two rounds, Walker didn’t do much moving but continued to stay in contention. He posted a three-under 67 in both the second and third round. With just 18 holes to play, another three-under 67 wouldn’t get the job done.
Walker needed something better. Fortunately for him, he did just that. Walker torched the course with a seven-under 63 to make up the deficit. He posted a bogey-free round that included seven birdies, three of them coming on the final four holes.
His final round surge brought him up to the top spot for just a one stroke win over second place Chris Kirk.
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