Kelly keeps it up at Sony

Jerry Kelly is officially a $25 million man on the PGA Tour.

He can thank Waialae Country Club for a good chunk of that.

The 47-year-old tour veteran of 17 years added another chapter to his storied career in Hawaii, making a Sunday charge up the leaderboard in closing with a 5-under 65 for sole possession of third place at the Sony Open in Hawaii.

Kelly couldn’t keep up with playing partner Jimmy Walker, who pulled away with three birdies over his final four holes to win the title.

Nonetheless, the 2002 Sony champion, who teed off on No. 13 tied with Walker, still managed to close with consecutive birdies to lock down his third top-three and seventh top-10 finish on Oahu since 1999.

"I love it here," Kelly said. "Starting with a bogey, I was happy the way I came back, showed some good mental fortitude in there. I tried to get myself to relax a little bit, work my way through the rest of my career and enjoy it, and that’s what I’m going to try to do."

He’s enjoyed playing here often, evidenced by his career-long success at one of the shorter courses on tour.

Not only did Kelly surpass the $25 million mark in career PGA Tour earnings on Sunday, but his $380,800 check for third pushed him over $2 million in earnings at the Sony Open alone.

His familiarity with the course showed this week, as he never shot worse than a 67 and only got better on the weekend, closing with a 66 and 65.

With a logjam in front of him on the leaderboard to start the day, Kelly didn’t do himself any favors, going long on his approach at No. 1 and settling for a bogey.

He rebounded with birdies on Nos. 5 and 6 after solid approach shots gave him birdie putts of less than 6 feet to catch Walker, who was also at 11 under.

Both golfers birdied Nos. 9 and 10 to get to 13 under, with the turning point coming on the par-4 14th.

Both hit their drives into the fairway bunker and had to play second shots into the green that came up short.

Kelly putted from just off the fringe, while Walker chipped to nearly the same exact spot Kelly had marked his ball.

Kelly was away by a foot and just pushed his 16-footer for par to the left. It gave Walker a chance to get the read on an identical putt, which he made to move a shot in front, setting up his 3-under finish over the final four holes.

"It was fun going back and forth," said Kelly, who jokingly told Walker to "slow down" as he went on his late run. "He putted fantastic down the stretch and hit some really good putts on 16 and 17."

Even trailing by three as they teed off on No. 18, Kelly didn’t feel out of it until Walker’s chip on 18 settled near the hole.

Kelly marked his ball on the green where he was putting for eagle and let out a deep sigh before eventually two-putting to close with a 32 on the back side.

"I’m much better putting right now," Kelly said. "I found something at the beginning of the week and it really took it through. I didn’t have my normal jerky reactions, so I don’t know going forward what is going to happen."

Kelly’s immediate future involves teeing it up in Palm Springs this week, but he says his long-term future will always include Hawaii, no matter what shape he’s in.

"As long as they’ll have me, I’ll be on crutches and a wheelchair and still be playing one-handed on the side," he said. "I appreciate the people of Hawaii so much, the way they’ve taken me in. I respect the place, and that helps me get along well here."