Zach Johnson Wins Sony Open

After the devastation of watching my Ravens go down to the hated Steelers in this evening's AFC Championship game, I returned home to watch the Sony Open, which I had recorded.

As the final pairing of David Toms and Zach Johnson completed the 7th hole, the leaderboard was shaping up for a great finish. Adam Scott, Zach Johnson, and Charles Howell III all tied at -10 with David Toms just one shot back. The action picked up, and when the final pairing made the turn all four men were tied at 11-under-par (Howell was through 12 holes & Scott through 13).

Zach Johnson took control on the back nine, and while he never had a lead of more than one stroke until the 18th, there was definitely a feel that the tournament was his to lose.

CH3 made a late surge with birdies on 16 & 17, but a badly pulled 2nd shot into the grandstand at 18, followed by a mediocre recovery and three putts, left him in fourth place. Chuck played quite well, carding 66, but the gimmie he missed on 18 might leave a sour taste in his mouth - it cost him about $150,000.

Adam Scott didn't make a single bogey on Sunday and shot 30 on the back nine en route to a 64, but simply ran out of holes to catch Johnson. Striking the ball magnificently, Scott came up just short on a couple birdie putts down the stretch which landed him in a tie for 2nd with David Toms.

David Toms' round reminded me of David Toms. Nothing flashy or spectacular, just really solid and all-around good. The 2001 PGA Champion couldn't make any magic happen down the stretch, but I'm sure he will be happy to get his season started off on the right foot. The $475K couldn't hurt too much either!

Zach Johnson birdied the final hole to win by two strokes, finishing off a 65 and four round score of 265 (-15). The '07 Masters champ took home $972,000 and takes over 1st place in the FedEx Cup standings. Congrats Zach!

Tadd Fujikawa couldn't carry over Saturday's magic and was never a factor down the stretch. However, he made his first PGA Tour cut as a professional and captured just under $30,000 for his efforts. Not too shabby for an 18-year-old with a long career ahead of him. I'm sure he'll take away plenty of great memories, as well as plenty of experience to build on for the future.

A couple final thoughts:

- While the European Tour events they air leave a lot to be desired in terms of commentary and production quality, The Golf Channel really does a very good job with their coverage of PGA Tour events. They provide some excellent technical data with the launch monitor stats, I really like when they provide the distances for the players different irons on par 3s, and the duo of Kelly Tilghman and Nick Faldo provide enjoyable commentary.

- Ask the guys at my club and I'm sure they'll say that I push the fashion envelope. I like to look good on the course and am not afraid to try a new look. However, the neon magenta pants that Brian Gay wore during Sunday's final round will definitely land him in the running for one of Smackdown Golf's vaunted year-end "Smacky" awards; as in someone should have smacked him when he tried to leave the hotel with those pants on!