The weather in the island chain for the PGA Tour’s first two events of 2014 was frighteningly good, exactly what the Hawaii Tourism Authority ordered from the rain gods of the Pacific.
Unlike 2013, when golf balls were seeking clearance from the tower as they flew off the Plantation Course greens, and flag sticks were bent sideways in a wintry West Texas-like wind, this January the world’s best golfers strolled the grounds as if it were June.
Most of the North American continent was draped in white the week of the Hyundai Tournament of Champions. Golf clubs stored in closets, garages and attics across the land were jealous of their counterparts languishing in the Maui breezes one weekend and sweating it out in the stillness of Oahu the next.
This is why those of us who get to stay here are willing to shell out a few shekels to keep the tour guys, well, touring the islands. Granted, 99.9 percent of you stayed away from the Waialae Country Club on Sunday for the Sony Open in Hawaii’s final round, but you benefited financially from those frozen souls way east trying to punch up the next flight to the Aloha state on their smart phones.
For those who did attend the fourth round of this frantic finish — well, for golf anyway — they were treated to some pinpoint shots and laser-like putts that gently reminded us that these guys are way better than us. Way. Anyone can write a sentence, but the tempo of their swings and ability to read terrain like trackers from the old American west, makes you feel like Hemingway when you’re in their midst.
Somebody off the ninth hole on Sunday yelled out "DYNOMITE!!!" after eventual Sony Open winner Jimmy Walker moved methodically to the 10th. You had to be at least 50 to get the connection. And at age 34, it’s unlikely this Jimmy knew much about that Jimmie Walker from the famed ’70s sitcom "Good Times."
The simple analogy of Jimmy Walker blowing up the field on the back nine with his own brand of dynamite to slip past Chris — there’s another old TV reference Boomer might drop in here, but let’s skip it — Kirk by a single shot, is there for the writing.
More noteworthy, however, is that Walker isn’t known much beyond the San Antonio burgh of Boerne, where he and his young family call home, but that course may be changing. For 187 PGA Tour events, Walker walked in relative anonymity, before finally getting his first win at tournament No. 188 at the Frys.com Open last October to start the tour’s new wraparound season.
In the first full event of 2014, there’s Walker hoisting another trophy and attending another winning press conference, all the while his youngest child asking, "Daddy, when can we go home?"
In this case, home is where the trophies are stacking up for Walker, who will take this week off, before rejoining the tour at Torrey Pines near San Diego. Yeah, that’s when Tiger Woods comes back. And you can bet he will congratulate the man three years his junior for his perseverance and belief in himself that one day he would win.
There were plenty of people at Waialae who witnessed victory No. 2 for Walker Texas Ranger — sorry, it was teed up too high to miss. They enjoyed themselves on this perfect afternoon as the Golf Channel beamed back to the rest of America the lush greens and blue hues of Oahu we often take for granted. After all, it’s the gathering place. And somebody better tell those Pro Bowl players coming to a theater near you, to bring plenty of shorts and sunscreen.
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Reach Paul Arnett at parnett@staradvertiser.com or 529-4786.
