- Soft landing, indeed! A week after blowing the final round lead at the Hyundai Tournament Of Champions, Jimmy Walker runs wild on Waialae and wins the Sony Open by 9 strokes. This is the second straight Sony Open title for Walker, but this may be the most satisfying of all his trophies. Not only did he prove that 2014 wasn't a fluke, but he also showed a lot of mental toughness to rebound from last week. Anyone who thought Jimmy Walker was going to go away was wrong - Walker has a lot to prove this season, and he's off to a great start.
- Scott Piercy's third PGA Tour win is somewhere right around the corner. He already has four top 25 finishes this season, and his second place finish at the Sony Open moves him to 9th in the FedEx Cup race. His 2014 season was cut short due to injury, but Piercy looks healthy now and is playing some of the best golf of his career.
- I am trying to figure out what is more of a shock - Matt Kuchar shooting a final round 71 when he has the opportunity to win the golf tournament, or Hideki Matsuyama never getting it going and missing the secondary cut on Saturday. Both results show that even the best players have bad rounds and bad tournaments.
- I can not believe Jerry Kelly has only won three times in his career. Kelly has been one of the most consistent players on the PGA Tour, and always seems to be close to the top of the leaderboard. The fact that his career may end with only three wins will be a complete shame, and the record book will not show just how good Kelly has been. Hopefully he can pick up another win or two before he heads over to the Champions Tour. If he is to do so, however, he better do it quick - he turned 48 in November.
- Stuart Appleby made the cut and finished T17, but that will not be the news surrounding his week. Appeby took to Twitter to complain about how the PGA Tour measures pins and yardage. Appleby claims that it is an issue with consistency, and that pacing off yardage is not the right way to go when there is other technology available. Appleby makes a great point, and if yardages are different week to week, then something should be done to address the issue.
- Kyle Suppa, 16, made the 36 hole cut on Friday. So, too, did Kenny Perry, 54. Perry's first PGA Tour win was the 1991 Memorial Classic, eight years before Suppa was born. Golf is a great sport, and one that doesn't discriminate based on age.
- This one is going to sting for a while. After entering the final round with a six shot lead, Martin Kaymer shot a final round 75 to lose the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship. He had his lead up to 8 at one point with birdies on three of his first four holes, but a double bogey on nine and a triple on thirteen caused all the oil to come rushing out. It is a shocking result for someone as talented as Kaymer, and one that might haunt him throughout the year.
- The man who was the recipient of Kaymer's bad fortune? That would be Gary Stal, the 357th ranked player in the world from France. Stal is only 22 years old and made 22 of his 25 cuts on the European Tour last year, so he has plenty of time to turn this improbable victory into something special. It has to be a huge confidence boost knowing that he was able to play so well in a tournament filled with big name players.
- Rory McIlroy ended up finishing second in the Abu Dhabi Championship. In his last six European Tour starts, he has finished 1st three times, and 2nd three times. It's great to be consistent, but it's even better to be consistently great.
Once again, best wishes go out to Robert Allenby. It's great to hear that the injuries were minor, and he's still considering playing next week. I hope Mr. Allenby takes as much time as needed, but it's good news that he's even considering it.
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