Choi headed for wire-to-wire Sony Open win
HONOLULU – A fast start and a strong finish gave K.J. Choi the round he was looking for Saturday in the Sony Open.
Choi got up-and-down from the bunker on the par-5 18th to cap off a 4-under-par 66 and double the size of his margin, taking a four-shot lead into the final round as he tries to become the first outright wire-to-wire winner at Waialae in eight years.
The only threat on a balmy day by the Pacific came from a rookie who wasn’t even on course.
Tim Wilkinson, a left-hander from New Zealand playing in only his third PGA Tour event, birdied seven of his first 11 holes and finished with an 8-under 62 for the best round of the week. That left him four shots behind Choi.
Choi was at 15-under 195.
Kevin Na, who started the third round two shots behind, couldn’t keep up with Choi’s birdie-birdie start and only a pair of birdies on the final four holes left him in the mix. Na shot 69 and was at 10-under 210 with Stephen Marino (68).
Another shot back was a group that included Chad Campbell, who sized up the situation for everyone chasing Choi.
“He’s going to be tough,” Campbell said. “He hits a lot of fairways, and that’s what you have to do out here.”
Wilkinson at least has experience with a decent crowd at Waialae. He played the first two rounds with 17-year-old island favorite Tadd Fujikawa, who missed the cut. Fujikawa had the largest gallery the first two days, and while the fans ignored the newcomer from New Zealand, Wilkinson said it sure beat his last few years on the Nationwide Tour.
“It’s a lot of fun playing in front of people. You hit a good shot, you actually get applause,” Wilkinson said. “On the Nationwide Tour, you might hit a good shot and you get nothing.”
Even so, the gallery today figures to be one-sided.
Choi is popular in these parts, with several fans showing up Saturday with South Korean flags. He birdied his first two holes from inside 10 feet and nearly made an ace on the fourth as he quickly expanded his lead.
Everyone else was playing for position.
“I figured I’d lose some ground to K.J.,” Marino said. “I think I can (catch him), but I’ll need some help from him.”
Campbell is hitting the ball well enough to catch Choi, although he needs some help. He was making a late charge up the leaderboard Friday until bogeys on three of the last five holes sent him back in the pack. Campbell played well everywhere but the greens Saturday, hitting all 14 fairways and 18 greens. He converted only four of them for birdie and finished with a 66.