Mark Wilson wins 2011 Sony Open
HOG congratulations to Mark Wilson for a great 36 hole performance yesterday at the Sony Open. With the rain delayed first round, the Tour had to play 36 on Sunday to finish on time. Wilson fired two bogey free rounds, 65 and 67 (-5, -3) to win the tournament by two shots.
When Wilson pulled his tee shot into the left green side bunker on #17, a 194 yard par-3, I thought perhaps a playoff between him and Tim Clark was looming. But when he made the clutch putt of nearly 11 feet to save par I knew he had the golf balls to finish it off and win.
Notes
Interesting notes for the Sony Open include a hole in one by Shaun Micheel, though he missed the cut. So the guy misses the cut and makes no dough, but has to buy drinks for everyone. Ouch.
Camilo Villegas wasn’t disqualified this week, but didn’t make the cut either. So the Hawaiian swing for Villegas was not a profitable venture as he made zero dollars in prize money. I feel for his caddy.
John Daly looked fairly consistent and solid. He just couldn’t score low enough to make the cut, missing it by one shot.
Chris DiMarco played very well, which is nice to see. He easily made the cut and ended up T30.
Davis Love III didn’t have any issues adjusting to his new equipment after switching from Titleist to Bridgestone. He played very well with some great ball striking. DLIII fires four rounds in the 60’s and records a top ten finish.
Stuart Appleby had the lead for a while but couldn’t put together a strong finishing round. T13.
Surprises
Some surprising performances from players this week were both good and bad.
After such a great performance last week at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, Robert Garrigus missed the cut this week.
Others who surprisingly missed the cut include Jim Furyk and Adam Scott.
Made the cut but didn’t play the final two rounds? HUH?
The Tour’s ever confusing “made the cut but didn’t play the weekend” oddity really throws me for a loop. Despite technically making the cut and making prize money, players like Zach Johnson, Vijay Singh, Rocco Mediate and Heath Slocum did not play the final two rounds. A very strange setup.
2011 Sony Open Final Leaderboard
Click the “read more” link below if you can’t see the leader board.
(more…)
Stuart Appleby and Shigeki Maruyama are tied for the lead (-10) at the Sony Open after two rounds. The leaderboard is below. Click the read more link below the top-6 to view the entire leaderboard, including those who missed the cut.
Notables who made the cut
Two Utah locals made their first appearance here. Daniel Summerhays is playing the final 36 holes after making the cut by four shots. I’ve met Danny a few times.
I’m glad to see Chris DiMarco make the cut. He’s playing very well at -6 with two 67’s in a row. FYI, par on Waialae Country Club is 70.
Jesper Parnevik had nearly dropped off the golf map. With all of his back issues (I feel the pain too) he hasn’t been able to play well for quite some time, but made the cut by three shots. He’s elated to get to this point. The 36 hole final round will be a heavy test on someone who has a bad back. His final score will tell us if he downed enough ibuprofen.
Notables who missed the cut
John Daly missed the cut by one shot. JD had a good quote on Friday, which may lend a clue as to why his play has improved lately:
I remember when I used to go out on Friday night! Actually, I don’t remember, which is why I stopped goin out!
The other Utah local, Utah born Polynesian player Tony Finau missed the cut by three. The reason I mention “Utah born Polynesian” is because Golf Channel and PGA Tour media outlets are saying he’s “from Polynesia.” He’s not from Polynesia. He’s of Polynesian descent and is from Utah. I played in a local tournament with Tony and his brother. They lapped the field.
Jim Furyk missed the cut by two shots.
Shawn Micheel missed the cut, despite recording the Tour’s first Ace of the season. So he doesn’t make any money and he has to buy everyone a beer.
Other notables who missed the cut includ Adam Scott, Robert Garrigus, Justin Leonard and K.J. Choi.
| Pos |
Player Name |
To Par |
R1 |
R2 |
Total
Score |
- T1
|
- Shigeki Maruyama
|
- -10
|
- 65
|
- 65
|
- 130
|
- T1
|
- Stuart Appleby
|
- -10
|
- 64
|
- 66
|
- 130
|
- T3
|
- Steve Marino
|
- -8
|
- 65
|
- 67
|
- 132
|
- T3
|
- Mark Wilson
|
- -8
|
- 65
|
- 67
|
- 132
|
- T3
|
- Roland Thatcher
|
- -8
|
- 67
|
- 65
|
- 132
|
- T6
|
- Matt Bettencourt
|
- -7
|
- 68
|
- 65
|
- 133
|
- T6
|
- Nate Smith
|
- -7
|
- 65
|
- 68
|
- 133
|
- T6
|
- Jarrod Lyle
|
- -7
|
- 68
|
- 65
|
- 133
|
- T6
|
- Jimmy Walker
|
- -7
|
- 68
|
- 65
|
- 133
|
- T6
|
- Justin Rose
|
- -7
|
- 65
|
- 68
|
- 133
|
- T6
|
- Matt Kuchar
|
- -7
|
- 65
|
- 68
|
- 133
|
(more…)
Attention all sponsors of Tiger Woods. You may want to reconsider that $72 million (give or take a few) you are paying Tiger and consider paying it to me.
Advertising revenue from Tiger Woods’ front tooth dropped 45% in 2010
According to Ad Age, celebrity endorsers are ineffective and can at time have as much as a 30% negative effect.
“From Tiger Woods to Donald Trump, we found that with rare exception, celebrity endorsements were largely ineffective and failed to yield the benefits popular wisdom promises.”
“Today’s consumer is a totally different animal than the consumer of even five years ago, meaning that what was effective and influential five years ago is not necessarily so today, as today’s consumer is more likely to be influenced by someone in their social network than a weak celebrity connection. Today’s consumer is informed, time-compressed, and difficult to impress, and they are only influenced by ads that are relevant and provide information.”
There it is right there. Here’s where I drive my sales pitch for the $72 million home. Today’s consumer is more likely to be influenced by someone in their social network than a celebrity or superstar athlete. Well this blog is in your social network. I’m on twitter here and facebook here, and YouTube here. Sign me up.
The weather is cooperating enough for play to start at the PGA Tour’s Sony Open in Hawaii. As of now, 12:20ET, play should have started 10 minutes ago. More to come.
Update: YES the tournament IS underway! Steve Flesch has birdied his first hole, #10. They’re sending groups out the front and back at the same time today to save time.
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