Palmer outlasts Allenby to win Sony Open

HONOLULU - American Ryan Palmer tapped in for birdie on the final hole to shoot a four-under 66 Sunday and capture the 5.5 million dollar PGA Tour Sony Open.

By (AFP)

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Published: Mon 18 Jan 2010, 11:30 AM

Last updated: Mon 6 Apr 2015, 5:10 AM

The 33-year-old Palmer held off Australian Robert Allenby to win by one shot at the Waialae Country Club, finishing with a 15-under 265.

Palmer came up short of the green on the par-five final hole. Allenby chipped onto the green to just inside 10 feet of the cup. Palmer then bounced his next shot in front of the cup and hit the pin leaving the ball inches away.

“Lucky bounce,” Palmer said. “It was probably going to go by seven or eight feet. I still hit a good chip. You need things like that to win.”

Allenby missed his birdie putt, and Palmer tapped in for his third career victory.

This victory puts Palmer in The Masters tournament for the first time in five years.

Allenby fired three-under 67 Sunday in his bid to win for the third consecutive time on three different tours. Allenby won the Nedbank Challenge on the Sunshine Tour and the Australian PGA Championship on the Australasian PGA Tour at the end of last year.

“I had a couple of chances out there,” Allenby said. “It’s so easy to look back and say, ‘I could have made that, I could have made that.’ But at the end of the day, realistically, I needed to make a birdie at the last.”

Charles Howell, who learned in the offseason his wife is expecting their first child, ended a string of 17 tournaments without a top 10 finish with a 66-64 weekend to tie for fifth with Sweden’s Carl Petterson (66) and American Davis Love.

Defending champion Zach Johnson got off to a slow start and didn’t have enough holes to recover, despite posting three-straight biridies en route to a 70. Johnson was a group just three shots off the lead going into the fourth round.


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