Sluman Catches Leaders to Win at Honolulu

Quietly and steadily, Jeff Sluman moved up on the leaders Sunday at the inaugural $2.6-million Sony Open in Honolulu and ended up with a two-stroke victory.

It wasn’t until the 71st hole--a 189-yard par three--that Sluman took charge with a birdie. And for good measure, he birdied the final hole of the PGA Tour’s first full-field tournament of year to finish with a nine-under-par 271.

“I made the turn in good shape,” said Sluman, who collected $468,000. “I felt if I made a mistake-free back nine and picked up a couple of birdies, I had a chance.

“I had a good idea of what was going to happen going up the 18th fairway. I had it, but you don’t know until it’s over.”

The victory gives Sluman, 41, victories in each of the last three years, an accomplishment he’s proud of.

“Winning certainly is important out here for you as an individual and among your peers,” he said. “Nobody out here is a loser, but, in this game, there is only one champion each week.”

Sluman started the final day in a six-way tie for fifth, three strokes behind third-round leader Tommy Tolles.

As it turned out, it wasn’t a good day for the leaders.

Tolles started the final round with a one-stroke lead, but a double bogey and bogey on the front nine of the 7,060-yard Waialae Country Club course put him out of contention early.

Davis Love III, who started in second place, briefly grabbed the lead with a birdie on the second hole, but bogeys on the fifth and 13th put him out of the race.

Tolles and Love finished in a group at 273. The 274 group included Tour rookie Jimmy Green, who had the day’s most interesting round, going from two under to one over to finish with a four-under 66.

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Six strokes back when the final round began, Kelly Robbins successfully defended her title in the HealthSouth Inaugural by breaking the course record at Grand Cypress Resort in Orlando, Fla., with an eight-under 64 to win by one stroke over Karrie Webb and Tina Barrett.

Starting with the par-three eighth hole, Robbins made seven birdies over the next nine holes to take the lead on a day in which a brief but hard rain came down just as she finished her round and just as those chasing her were hitting the home stretch.

Robbins finished at 11-under 205, the lowest score in the five-year history of the tournament.

A year ago, Robbins came from four strokes back to win the HealthSouth.

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Ernie Els shot a final-round four-under 68 to win the South African PGA Championship at Johannesburg, South Africa, and end a 10-month winless stretch.

Afterward, the South African stood at the back of the 18th green with the Alfred Dunhill PGA trophy in one hand and a cell phone in the other, in conversation with President Nelson Mandela.

“I just listened,” Els said. “What do you say to a great man like that?”

Els, who also won the title in 1992 and 1995, finished at 273, four shots ahead of runner-up Richard Kaplan in the $655,000 tournament.

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Final Rounds

Top finishers through Sunday (Complete scores, Page 12):

$2.6-MILLION PGA SONY OPEN--Par 70

(at Honolulu)

Jeff Sluman, $468,000 69-70-66-66--271

Chris Perry, $156,000 69-69-69-66--273

Len Mattiace, $156,000 70-66-69-68--273

Jeff Maggert, $156,000 69-70-66-68--273

Tommy Tolles, $156,000 63-72-67-71--273

Davis Love III, $156,000 71-69-63-70--273

Up Next: Bob Hope Chrysler Classic at Indian Wells

$550,000 LPGA HEALTHSOUTH INAUGURAL--Par 72

(at Orlando, Fla.)

Kelly Robbins, $82,500 70-71-64--205 -11

Karrie Webb, $44,282 68-68-70--206 -10

Tina Barrett, $44,282 67-68-71--206 -10

Cindy Figg-Currier, $29,060 72-67-68--207 -9

Up Next: Naples LPGA Memorial at Naples, Fla.