Updated at 3:10 p.m., Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Sony Open not a pushover anymore
Advertiser Staff
With the Sony Open in Hawai'i set to get under way at the Waialae Country Club on Thursday, here's a bit of tournament lore to lug around with you, courtesy of the Professional Golfers' Association.i David Toms' five-stroke victory in 2006 was largest at the Sony Open since Paul Azinger won by seven over Stuart Appleby in 2000.
i Toms posted his career low on the PGA Tour in the third round with a 9-under-par 61 during Saturday's third round. Toms' previous low was 62 in the third round of the 2001 Verizon Byron Nelson Classic. The 61 set the current course record at Waialae CC (since the configuration was changed to a par-70 in 1999), breaking the 62 set by John Cook in 2002 and later tied by Steve Allan (2004), Frank Lickliter II (2004) and Ernie Els (2005). Davis Love III posted a 12-under-par 60 in 1994 when the par was 72.
i The driving accuracy percentage for the field in the 2006 Sony Open was a tour low 43.66 percent. Jim Furyk led the field in driving accuracy with of 67.86 percent. That figure tied Jeff Sluman at the U.S. Open at Winged Foot CC for the lowest driving accuracy percentage for the category leader in 2006.
i The first round of the 2006 Sony Open was the most difficult at the tournament since the course was changed to a par 70 in 1999.
i Along with his nine top-10s in 10 Hawai'i starts, Ernie Els has a Hawaiian Open scoring average of 67.70 (68.70 at the Mercedes-Benz Championship and 66.70 at the Sony Open in Hawai'i) and has posted a combined 39 of 40 rounds in Hawai'i at par or better (20 of 20 at Mercedes-Benz Championship and 19 of 20 at Sony Open in Hawai'i). Of those rounds, 17 of the 20 at Kapalua and 18 of 20 in Honolulu are sub-par rounds.
