Charles Howell III continued his mastery of Waialae Country Club on Sunday with a final-round 65 to shoot a 16-under 264 to tie for eighth at the Sony Open in Hawaii.
The Augusta, Ga., native has never won here, but nobody has played this course more consistently without ever getting a win. Paul Azinger started playing here in 1985 in the old United Airlines Hawaiian Open when Waialae was a par-72. Azinger finished second in 1986, third in 1987, tie for eighth in 1989, second in 1990, second in 1992, third in 1993, tie for fourth in 1995, tie for ninth in 1997 and then first in 2000 at the second Sony Open for a total of $1.4 million in prize money.
Howell earned $180,000 for his ninth top-10 finish to run his career total to $2.6 million. He has never missed the cut in 16 appearances dating back to 2002.
By comparison, Jimmy Walker, who has won here twice in 11 appearances has pocketed $2.44 million, and 2002 champion Jerry Kelly is at the top of the heap with $2.67 million in 20 Sony events. Both missed the cut this year. .
As for Howell, he was thoughtful about his performance here: “I like all those top 10s. I always enjoy playing here. But you know, you’d like to get a win. That’s what it’s all about.”
Sawada encouraged
Along with picking up his biggest paycheck, Jared Sawada left Waialae Country Club on Sunday boosted by a bit of encouragement from one of the game’s greats.
Sawada played alongside Vijay Singh, a 2006 World Golf Hall of Fame inductee, for his final round of the Sony Open in Hawaii and their conversations over 18 holes was part of his takeaway from the experience.
“We talked a bunch. It’s nice when a Hall of Famer gives you a compliment on your game, it feels wonderful,” Sawada said.
Sawada closed his first weekend in a PGA Tour event with a 3-over-par 73 to finish at 2-under 278 — one shot ahead of defending champion Fabian Gomez — and tied for 69th.
The Mililani and University of Hawaii graduate secured one of four spots available in the Monday qualifier, played his first two rounds at 6 under and cooled off some over the weekend.
He earned $12,000 for his four days of work around Waialae and also left the course with a sense of belonging.
“I learned even though I have some holes in my game, I’m good enough,” Sawada said.
Sawada made his first Sony appearance in 2014 in his last event as an amateur then “I kind of went downhill for a little while … and it took me a long time to get my mind back on track,” Sawada said.
One of his keys to working his way back was spreading his focus among other pursuits, whether at a part-time job outside of the game or teaching it.
“Being grounded really helps, balancing things,” he said. “Just with all golf was not good for me. Other people could have a chance to do only golf and that would be fine for them. For me, I think it’s very nice to have a different outlet.”
Sawada started on the 10th hole and was 2 over before a birdie at No. 18 for the third time this week. After three bogeys on the front side, he bounced back when he fired an 8-iron inside of 8-feet to set up a birdie on the par-3 seventh.
On his closing hole, Sawada fired a 7-iron to 15 feet on the par-5 ninth. His eagle putt stopped short and he tapped in for this 13th birdie of the tournament.
“Just a brand new experience for me and my caddie as well,” Sawada said. “It was a good experience for both of us learning as we go. It’s a process. We had a lot of good stuff happen this weekend even though I shot over par both days. I knew it was going to be tough.”
