Howell is Mr. Consistency at Waialae

Charles Howell III has cashed a lot of big paychecks at the Sony Open in Hawaii without ever hoisting the trophy.

Since his first start in 2002, nobody has played the Waialae Country Club course more consistently than Howell, who shot a pair of closing 66s over the weekend to card his eighth top-10 finish here. Howell was part of a contingent of 12 golfers who tied for eighth at 10-under 270, a group that included No. 2-ranked Adam Scott.

With the $119,000 Howell earned on Sunday, he has now pocketed $2.31 million in this event alone. Seven of his finishes were top five.

"I always enjoy playing here," Howell said. "The golf course suits me. It was a nice day today. I hung in there well. I would have liked to have got a couple more there coming down the stretch, but you know, the leaders were pretty far out there today. They were going to be awfully hard to catch."

Wilcox a non-factor down the stretch

Playing in only his third PGA Tour event, Will Wilcox’s first experience in the final group produced so-so results for the 27-year-old rookie. Trailing by one shot entering the closing 18, Wilcox shot a 1-over 71 for a four-day total of 10-under 270 to earn $119,000 for finishing tied for eighth. He was seven shots off the winning pace of Jimmy Walker.

"I didn’t hit it my best, but I still finished top 10," Wilcox said. "I mean, it’s huge for me personally, professionally, and everything is great. I’m as happy as I can be. I made a bunch of clutch par putts on the back nine. Shoot, pretty proud; 1 over isn’t that bad."

New golf ball helps Daly

Along with a new driver and 3 wood, John Daly switched to a new ball for the Sony Open.

Daly credited the change to Taylor Made’s Soft Lethal ball for his performance on the greens on Friday, when he needed just 22 putts. He took 26 on Saturday in his round of 6-under-par 64 and 25 in his even-par 70 in the final round.

"It just fits me so perfect," Daly said. "It almost reacts like a balata and I love a ball coming off the putter really, really soft."

In all, he directed the ball around the course for a four-round total of 7-under-par 273, his best finish in eight appearances at Waialae.

Tolan last qualifier standing

Derek Tolan was the last of the Monday qualifiers left in the field and closed with a 6-over 76 on Sunday. Tolan qualified for the field a week ago at Turtle Bay’s Palmer Course and finished the tournament at 2-over 282. Former Kukio Golf Club pro Eric Dugas did not make it to Sunday after shooting a 73 in the third round. With 79 players making the initial cut, the field was reduced to 71 for the final round.

Champions Tour tees off on Big Isle

For the 18th straight year, the Champions Tour opens its season on the Big Island when the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai tees off Friday. All 41 seniors who are eligible are expected to play.

Winners from the past two seasons and major champions from the past five are eligible. In addition, eight golfers with at least 15 career wins are invited. This year, exemptions went to Ben Crenshaw, Hale Irwin, Tom Kite, Nick Price, Mark McNulty, Larry Nelson, Steve Elkington and Curtis Strange.

John Cook will defend his title. Fred Couples, Brad Faxon, Fred Funk, Hale Irwin, Tom Kite, Bernhard Langer, Tom Lehman, Corey Pavin, Loren Roberts and Tom Watson are among those in the field.

There are Pro-Ams on Wednesday and Thursday, from approximately 7:30 a.m.

Tickets are $20 (one day) or $35 (weekly pass).

All three rounds will be broadcast on the Golf Channel from 2 to 5 p.m. each day.

CLICK HERE: ENLARGE CHART

CLICK HERE: ENLARGE CHART

SCOREBOARD
7,044-yard, par-70 Waialae Country Club; FedEx Cup points in parentheses

Final

Made cut; did not finish