Thomas finishes record week
Challenged only by the record book, Justin Thomas won the Sony Open yesterday in Honolulu, with the lowest 72-hole score in PGA Tour history.
Thomas capped off his wonderful week at Waialae that began with a 59 with his second straight victory. He 2-putted birdie from 60 feet on the par-5 18th and closed with a 5-under 65 to set the record at 253.
Tommy Armour III shot 254 at the 2003 Texas Open.
“It’s been an unbelievable week. Unforgettable,” Thomas said before going to sign his historic card. Make that two weeks. The 23-year-old from Kentucky won the SBS Tournament of Champions at Kapalua last week by 3 shots, then destroyed the full field at the Sony Open to win by 7 shots. Thomas is the first player since Tiger Woods in 2009 (Buick Open and Bridgestone Invitational) to win back-toback weeks by 3 shots or more.
“I felt like I was trying to win a tournament for second place,” Jordan Spieth said, summing up the helpless feeling of everyone.
That honor went to Justin Rose, who closed with a 64 to finish alone in second. Spieth shot a final-round 63 to finish alone in third.
The first full-field event of the year on the PGA Tour was a one-man show.
Thomas began the final round with a seven-shot lead and no one got closer than five shots all day. His only nervous moment was an 8-foot par putt on the sixth hole when he was five shots ahead. He made that, and the rest of the day was a Pacific breeze.
Rory taken by Storm
Graeme Storm beat Rory McIlroy on the third playoff hole to win the SA Open in Johannesburg, earning the Englishman a second European Tour title 80 days after losing his card by 100 euros (approximately $106).
After the 251st-ranked Storm tapped in for a par, McIlroy slid his par putt wide from 7 feet away on their fourth visit to the 18th hole at the Glendower Golf Club. . . .
Toto Gana of Chile atoned for a bogey on the final hole with a birdie on the second extra hole to win a threeman playoff in the Latin America Amateur Championship in Panama City, and earn a trip to the Masters.
Austin, Mulder win
Woody Austin completed a wire-to-wire victory in the Diamond Resorts Invitational at Orlando, Fla., and baseball’s Mark Mulder won the celebrity title.
Austin closed with a 6-under 66 on the Four Seasons Resort’s Tranquilo course, earning 31 points in the modified Stableford scoring system to finish the three-round event at 104 — 8 points ahead of second-place finisher Joe Durant. Austin opened with an 11-under 59.
A three-time winner last year on the PGA Tour Champions, Austin, 52, had seven birdies and one bogey in the final round, with a birdie worth 3 points, a par 1 and a bogey 0.
Former Celtics guard Ray Allen finished fourth in the celebrity field.