Sony has taken title, given boost to tournament

By Bill Kwon
Special to the Advertiser

The Sony Open in Hawai'i winners, from top: Jerry Kelly (2002), Brad Faxon (2001), Paul Azinger (2000) and Jeff Sluman (1999). Advertiser library photos

In its first sponsorship foray in American golf, Sony has more than lived up to its image as an icon in the electronic and entertainment business. It made it a point of presenting a world-class tournament in the Sony Open in Hawai'i, which starts the PGA Tour season with its first full-field event Thursday.

Sony dramatically boosted the total prize money to the point that 2002 winner Jerry Kelly won $720,000, compared to the $324,000 that John Huston earned with his victory in the final United Airlines Hawaiian Open in 1998.

In an agreement to extend its title sponsorship four more years, Sony has further increased the prize money with a $20 million commitment that calls for the 2006 Sony Open champion getting $990,000 out of the $5.5 million purse.

"We are honored to have the opportunity to sponsor the Sony Open in Hawai'i through 2006," said Nobuyuki Idei, Sony Corporation CEO.

"The Sony Open is not only a premier sports event, but it is also an extraordinary marketing vehicle that allows us to keep improving one of the world's most valuable brand names."

"Having a title sponsor that has the same image as Hawai'i is important," said Mark Rolfing, an involved member of the Hawai'i Tourism Authority when Sony and the PGA Tour began contract negotiations back in 1998.

"We're No. 1 in travel destination, and I view Sony in the same way in its field. The image they bring is very positive for Hawai'i."

It's the same with Mercedes, title sponsor of the Mercedes Championships held last week at Kapalua, Maui, according to Rolfing.

Hawai'i is very fortunate in having two world renown companies as sponsors for the first two tournaments starting the PGA Tour season, Rolfing added.

The PGA pros in the Sony Open started playing for bigger bucks in 1999, but they also faced a tougher Waialae layout as par was reduced from 72 to 70 with two par-5 holes — the first and 13th — turned into more difficult par fours.

No one now can ever come close to Huston's 28-under-par 260 in 1998 that closed the era of the Hawaiian Open. His 28-under, which was tied by Mark Calcavecchia in the 2001 Phoenix Open, is still a tour record for a winning 72-hole score.

Jeff Sluman birdied the final two holes to become the first Sony Open champion in 1999 with a 72-hole score of 271, which is 9-under-par for the revised par-70 layout. He won by two strokes over five players who tied for second, including Davis Love III.

Paul Azinger, a gallery favorite at Waialae with three previous runner-up finishes, finally broke through with an emotional victory in 2000 with a 19-under-par 261 that bettered Sluman's score by 10 strokes.

It was Azinger first tournament victory since the 1993 PGA Championship. "Zinger" was voted the PGA Tour's 2000 comeback player of the year for his successful return after battle with cancer.

Brad Faxon scored a wire-to-wire victory in the 2001 Sony Open, opening with a 64 and closing with a 65 that included an eagle at the par-5 finishing hole to set a tournament record of 20-under-par 260, a shot better than Azinger from the year before.

Faxon said playing the final round with Tom Lehman and Ernie Els, who finished second and third, respectively, got him excited. "They're world-class players. I knew I would have to play well," said Faxon, who recorded an eagle each round.

Jerry Kelly became the fourth different Sony Open winner in as many years with a 72-hole score of 266, winning by one stroke over John Cook, who was trying to become the first player to win both the Sony and Hawaiian Open.

Cook, who won at Waialae in 1992, posted an 8-under 62 in the second round to take a five-stroke lead over Kelly, who recorded his second straight 65 in the third round en route to his first PGA Tour victory in his 200th start.

"I'm really excited ... I have wanted this for a long time," said Kelly, who led a tour record parade of 18 first-time winners in 2002. He went on to win the Advil Western Open to finish sixth on the 2002 money list with nearly $2.95 million.

"Let's start it up again in Hawai'i," said Kelly, who made his first appearance in the winners-only Mercedes Championships at the Kapalua Plantation Course the past week.