Waialae veterans not good enough

On another week, Tim Clark or Charles Howell III might have played well enough to leave Hawaii with the big check.

Just not this week.

Both PGA Tour veterans walked away from Waialae Country Club’s 18th green on Sunday having posted their best four-round totals in the Sony Open in Hawaii. But neither could catch rookie Russell Henley — who pulled away for a record-setting victory — and finished tantalizingly close to the leaderboard’s top line yet again.

Clark, who tied for runner-up honors in 2011, shot a 7-under-par 63 on Sunday and finished alone in second at 21-under 259 for the tournament, the lowest 72-hole total of his career. He birdied the final four holes, yet couldn’t gain any ground on Henley, who closed with five consecutive birdies to maintain a three-shot cushion through the trophy ceremony.

"I got on the 15th hole and said, ‘Let’s finish with four birdies and see what happens.’ And sure enough he birdied the last four, too," Clark said. "I’m happy for him. When a guy plays that well and beats you, you just have to be happy for him."

Howell began the day four shots behind the leaders and got to within a stroke of the lead when he eagled the par-5 ninth hole. He circled just one birdie on the back nine and his round of 4-under 66 put him in the tie for third and gave him his seventh top-five finish in 11 starts at Waialae.

"I would have had to get off to a fast start, and it’s tough at this place to get off to a fast start," Howell said. "I didn’t quite do that, but I’m still pleased overall.

"I’m just happy I had a nice week. Obviously, I would have loved to put a little more pressure on them today, but it was a nice week and all credit to Russell, he played fantastic."

With Waialae’s normally brisk winds laying low most of the weekend, Howell posted a total of 17-under 263, four shots better than his previous best in a Sony Open, a 267 in 2007 when he tied for second. He also tied for second last year, when he finished two strokes behind Johnson Wagner, and has shot 53 under in 20 weekend rounds at Sony over his career.

"Last year, we had a day or so where it was calm as well. It’s almost bizarre, though, to see it calm out here," Howell said.

"It’s bizarre because we’re so used to playing with the wind. But there’s a few holes that were actually more difficult, because some holes we’re relying on a bit of the wind to help. But it’s still tricky out there."

With a payday of $324,800 this week, Howell has made just under $2.2 million at the Sony Open.

Clark made $604,800 with his performance, his biggest check since winning The Players Championship in 2010, his lone PGA Tour victory.

He finished second at Sony behind Mark Wilson in 2011, but suffered an injury during that week that sidetracked the rest of his season.

He skipped the tournament last year and put together a four-day stretch in his return to Waialae that was one stroke better than the previous tournament record — shared by John Huston (1998) and Brad Faxon (2001) — but three too many this week.

"Under normal circumstances, that round would have won me the tournament," said a gracious Clark. "But I just got outplayed."