Day: January 9, 2023

Five things to know: Waialae Country ClubFive things to know: Waialae Country Club

January 9, 2023January 9, 2023| 9:15

The PGA TOUR shifts from Maui to Oahu this week, and while the state may be the same, the island change calls for a dramatically different style of golf. Gone are the sweeping elevation changes of Kapalua and in comes the flatter, European and Hamptons-inspired Waialae Country Club, home of the Sony Open in Hawaii. Waialae pre-dates Hawaiian statehood, was featured in a popular 1960s comedy flick, and has been part of the PGA TOUR schedule since 1965. That’s a lot of tournament film to study, but Waialae still packs a few new punches every January. 1. It pays tribute to legendary courses When golf course architect Seth Raynor and his then-associate Charles Banks crafted Waialae in the early part of the 20th century, they looked to some of the famous courses of the day for inspiration. Raynor designed the first hole, now a 488-yard par 4, with the “Road Hole” from the Old Course at St Andrews in mind. Like the 17th hole in Scotland, the first hole in Hawaii demands an approach shot into a shallow green with a deep bunker guarding in front. No. 7 at Waialae is a sibling of No. 6 at National Golf Links of America in Southampton, New York, one of the trademark courses of Charles B. Macdonald, Raynor’s mentor. Both par 3s play short – the back tees at National Golf Links stretch to 141 yards and the Sony Open hole reaches 162 yards – but both provide a layer of bunker troubles in front of a wide green. Raynor originally surrounded the entire green with sand as a further tribute to Macdonald, but today it’s only in the front. Waialae’s par-3 17th hole employs a “redan-style” green that was recently restored to Raynor’s original vision with a large bunker on the left and four smaller bunkers to the right of the green. Macdonald and Raynor were important figures in establishing the redan concept in the U.S., bringing it over from its origin at North Berwick Golf Club in Scotland. The par-3 fourth hole at Waialae, with its 55-yard green including a deep swale running across the middle, is said to take its shape from the Biarritz Golf Club in France. Unfortunately for Raynor, he never saw the full fruit of his labors, as he passed away in January 1926, one year before Waialae officially opened. 2. The front and back nines are flipped Hawaiian golf is primetime golf in the contiguous United States. And to make sure fans see the most picturesque views of Oahu as they watch the late-night action, the Sony Open swaps the front and back nine for tournament play. There are two notable reasons for the change. First of all, aesthetics: The back nine holes (front nine for members) best highlight the beauty of the Hawaiian sun setting in the west. Second, this affords the opportunity to use the par-5 dogleg left 18th hole (ninth hole for members) as a dramatic finishing hole. While the 18th only played 546 yards in 2021, a series of bunkers at the dogleg require a precise tee shot to set up a feasible second shot into the green. Last year, Hideki Matsuyama made up a five-shot deficit on the back nine and then won the Sony Open in Hawaii in a playoff with one of the best shots he never saw, a 3-wood into the sun on 18 to 3 feet for an eagle to beat Russell Henley. In 1983, Isao Aoki holed out for eagle from 128 yards to become the first Japanese player to win on the PGA TOUR. No matter what the contenders do on 18, it’s almost always entertaining. 3. It’s a mad, mad ‘W’ The most iconic feature of Waialae is the “W” formed by four coconut trees behind the 16th green. This formation is on purpose, and while it has only been around since 2010, its history goes back more than 50 years. In 1963 – two years before the debut of the Sony Open – Stanley Kramer’s “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” debuted in theaters, and it featured one of Hollywood’s all-time star-studded casts with Spencer Tracy, Milton Berle and Sid Caesar, among others. The film’s plot revolved around a group of individuals racing to uncover $350,000 hidden under a W-shaped tree in the fictional California city of Santa Rosita. Waialae member Ethan Abbott estimated he was around 9 or 10 years old when he originally saw the movie. His boyish enthusiasm about the film never left him, and as an adult in the 2000s, he started lobbying the course to create its own W. After some initial pushback, Waialae relocated four trees from the hundreds on the course, planting them behind the No. 7 green for members. The entire alteration cost $3,500 and came from a gift already earmarked for a project on the course. While the trees are tricked into thinking they are growing straight, they now form one of golf’s iconic images, with the “W” appearing on Waialae merchandise and earning the club a series of national landscape awards. Weddings have even become common at the “W,” a prime photo opp spot for golf enthusiasts. But did Abbott hide any cash under the trees? That remains unknown. 4. Justin Thomas has the course record In 2017, Justin Thomas arrived at Waialae directly from a victory at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. He backed that up with an opening-round 59 at Oahu, a new course record, surpassing Davis Love III’s 60 in 1994. Thomas started on the back and book-ended his round with eagles on No. 10 and No. 9. At age 23, Thomas became the youngest player to ever shoot a sub-60 round. Along with the 18-hole record, Thomas proceeded to set the 36-hole, 54-hole and tournament records at the Sony Open, finishing at 27-under 253 to beat Justin Rose by seven strokes. The Sony Open was Thomas’ third of five wins en route to his 2016-17 FedExCup title. 5. It’s a flat track The Sentry Tournament of Champions field climbs as high as 510 feet above sea level at the Plantation Course at Kapalua. At Waialae, players can leave their hiking boots back at the hotel. The Oahu course has an elevation change of roughly 10 feet. While Waialae includes features unique to Hawaii – coconut, monkey pod and kiawe trees, along with Pacific Ocean views – water hazards are minimal and 83 bunkers span the grounds. Breezes can play a factor, but after the mountains and unexpected winds of Kapalua, Waialae presents a more subdued atmosphere.

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‘Sadness’ for Collin Morikawa in runner-up at Sentry‘Sadness’ for Collin Morikawa in runner-up at Sentry

January 9, 2023January 9, 2023| 4:00

The first word was “sadness.” Minutes after signing his scorecard, Collin Morikawa was blunt in assessing his final round at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, in what he described as the most disappointing experience of his career. Morikawa began Sunday at the Plantation Course at Kapalua six strokes clear of the field at the PGA TOUR’s first event of 2023. He made three birdies in his first six holes Sunday, and he was bogey-free for the event’s first 67 holes. He looked unflappable. Until he was undone by three consecutive bogeys on Nos. 14-16, missing par putts of 10, 8 and 7 feet respectively. Morikawa carded a final-round, 1-under 72 to finish solo second at 25-under total, two short of Jon Rahm, who capitalized on Morikawa’s mishaps with a final-round, 10-under 63 that included a 5-under stretch on Nos. 12-15 Sunday. “It sucks,” Morikawa said. “You work so hard and you give yourself these opportunities, and just bad timing on bad shots, and kind of added up really quickly. Don’t know what I’m going to learn this week, but it doesn’t seem like it was that far off. It really wasn’t. “Yeah, it sucks.” Morikawa hasn’t won on TOUR since The Open in July 2021; this marks his third runner-up finish since then. He arrived at serene Kapalua inspired by recent work with new putting coach Stephen Sweeney, and the stats backed it up, as he averaged nearly two strokes gained on the greens across the first three rounds. Sunday was a different story, though, as Morikawa missed birdie putts of 3 and 7 feet on the fifth and ninth holes respectively. His lead was in the five- to seven-stroke range for most of the day, but he couldn’t quite push the margin to the point of insurmountable. The bogeys came, and Rahm took advantage. The first bogey was perhaps the most agonizing. After finding a front greenside bunker at the 284-yard, par-4 14th hole, Morikawa missed the green long on his second shot. He chipped to 10 feet and could not convert the par putt. That’s the point when he started to feel like he might be losing control of the situation, he said. “I’ve been in that bunker; it’s not like it’s an impossible bunker shot,” Morikawa said. “Normally 10 out of 10 times, you’re putting it to within 15 feet at worst. I caught it thin. “Everything felt fine. You make a bogey there on 14, you’re like, ‘OK, you’ve got 15, you’ve got 18, we’re still in it, we’re still right there. No problem. “Then 15, just pushed the 5-wood just enough and knew it was going to roll down. Practiced that chip a bunch too, and obviously not enough.” Despite the Sunday stumble, Morikawa remains upbeat about the spring ahead. He’ll stay in Hawaii for a quick vacation, then return to the TOUR for the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines later this month. He plans to play the WM Phoenix Open and The Genesis Invitational, as well. It wasn’t the preferred result this time, but each week in contention represents a valuable learning experience. Morikawa sees better days – and additions to his five TOUR titles – just around the corner. “I can finally say it’s not back to the drawing board after this week,” Morikawa said. “It’s really just figure out the small little things. My game hasn’t felt like that in a very long time; I saw little specs of it throughout the fall season and was never able to put four rounds together. We’re still getting there, but for me, I know there’s still a lot of work to do. Obviously it shows today, but I’m willing to put in the work. “I think at this point now, it’s just kind of going to hopefully just push me more and more to really figure out what it’s going to take for 72 holes.”

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Jon Rahm wins in stunning comeback at Sentry Tournament of ChampionsJon Rahm wins in stunning comeback at Sentry Tournament of Champions

January 9, 2023January 9, 2023| 2:19

KAPALUA, Hawaii — Jon Rahm began the bold new year on the PGA TOUR by coming from seven shots behind to win the Sentry Tournament of Champions on Sunday with plenty of help from Collin Morikawa. Rahm was six shots behind on the 13th hole at Kapalua when he ran off three straight birdies and a 12-foot eagle putt, and his final birdie gave him a 10-under 63. Morikawa had gone 67 holes without a bogey on the Plantation Course when it all fell apart with his wedges and his putter, the two areas that had carried him to a six-shot lead at the start of the day. From 25 yards short of the 14th green, he blasted out of a bunker and over the green. He muffed a wedge from a tight lie with the grain of grass into him on the par-5 15th. His wedge to the 16th didn’t go far enough and rolled some 60 feet back into the fairway. Morikawa looked to be in a state of shock as he walked down the 17th fairway, leading by as many as seven shots during the final round and suddenly finding himself two shots behind and running out of hope. He wound up tying a PGA TOUR record for losing the largest 54-hole lead at six shots. Seven other players have done that, most recently Dustin Johnson in the fall of 2017 at the HSBC Champions in Shanghai. Rahm finished at 27-under 265 to win by two shots over Morikawa, who birdied the 18th hole — his first birdie since No. 6 — to close with a 72. It was the second such collapse by Morikawa in a little more than a year. He closed out 2021 at the Hero World Challenge and had a five-shot lead with a chance to reach No. 1 in the world with a victory. He shot 76 and finished fifth. Masters champion Scottie Scheffler had a chance to return to No. 1 this week if he finished in a two-way tie for third or better. He had to settle for a 70 and tied for seventh. It was a small measure of redemption for Rahm, who last year finished at 33-under par at Kapalua which was a PGA TOUR record that lasted only a few seconds. Cameron Smith finished at 34 under to win by one. Rahm now is 60 under in his last two appearances at Kapalua. The victory was his ninth on the PGA TOUR and 17th worldwide, and assured he will be back on Maui to start 2024. Rahm now has won three times in his last six starts worldwide — he won in Spain and Dubai late last year — and he goes home with $4.2 million. Rahm won $2.7 million from the $15 million purse at Kapalua, the first of the elevated events on the PGA TOUR schedule. He also gets 25 percent of his Player Impact Program bonus money — he finished No. 5 in the PIP for $6 million. The Spaniard now has won in each of his seven full years on the PGA TOUR. Tom Hoge had a 64 and tied for third with Max Homa (66). Hoge headed for the airport to go to Los Angeles to watch his school, TCU, playing for the national championship against Georgia. Hoge then will go back to Hawaii for the Sony Open.

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