Kuchar headed to Humana

Matt Kuchar is one of eight golfers who will play the first three weeks of the PGA Tour season. Last year, he was one of only six.

The easy-going golfer tied for fifth at this week’s Sony Open in Hawaii after tying for ninth at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions on Maui.

Kuchar played 36 holes of golf on Monday, 18 on Tuesday and 90 at the Sony, including Wednesday’s pro-am.

"It was another good week," Kuchar said. "I was so excited after Friday’s round to be in contention and really bummed not to do any better Saturday. I felt like the course sets up well for me. I really enjoyed my time here in Hawaii."

While some of the bigger names stayed away from the 50th state in 2013, year in and year out Kuchar is a mainstay for these two season-opening events.

"It’s such a treat to qualify for Hyundai and for the Tournament of Champions," Kuchar said.

"It’s a small, elite field, great guys, and they take such good care of you. Getting to start your year off in Maui is just a real treat, and then coming here to one of my favorite courses of the year. It’s just a fantastic couple of weeks and a great way to start your year."

The other seven golfers playing in the first three events of 2013 are Tommy Gainey, Zach Johnson, Carl Petterson, Webb Simpson, Scott Stallings, Johnson Wagner and Mark Wilson.

Old guys do well

Champions Tour players Russ Cochran and Bart Bryant tied for 41st at this week’s Sony Open, pocketing $19,068 for their efforts. Fred Funk missed the cut by one on Friday.

Funk and Cochran are looking forward to teeing it up at the season-opening event on the senior circuit at Hualalai on the Big Island. Bryant will play at Humana this week on the PGA Tour, before rejoining his fellow seniors next month.

Bryant closed with a 67 on Sunday to shoot 7-under 273 for the week. Cochran wasn’t as fortunate in the final round, shooting a 1-over 71. There were only 23 rounds in the 70s on Sunday.

Inside the numbers

With the winds down and the rough not up, the scores were startlingly low, as Waialae Country Club yielded 46 eagles and 1,595 birdies for the week. The scoring average for 72 holes was 68.901.

The top eight finishers on Sunday at the Sony Open carded 15 rounds of 65 or better over the course of four relatively calm days. The hardest hole for the week was the par-4 second, with a scoring average of 4.171. For the week, that hole yielded only 50 birdies.

The easiest hole was the par-5 18th, with a scoring average of 4.318. There were 18 eagles and 269 birdies against seven bogeys and one double.

Key Hole 8: Par 4, 455 Yards
The only mistake Russell Henley made in Sunday’s final round was a bogey at the normally benign par-4 eighth. Its ranking for the week was ninth. He took a drop after his second shot landed on some TV cable, and it buried in deep rough. He hit his third to within 10 feet and two-putted, cutting his lead to two. Henley had gone 50 consecutive holes without a bogey to that point. No matter, he shot 29 on the back to secure the win.