Situated on the beautiful island of Oahu, the 2015 Sony Open hosted at Waialae Country Club brought about four superb rounds of golf. From January 15 to 18, several players had victories of their own with memorable shots and incredible putts. Jimmy Walker’s consistent game guaranteed him a defending champion title and $1.08 million dollars.

In the opening round on January 15th, Zach Johnson made the best of his tricky lie in a bunker at the 8th hole. At 36 yards away from the hole, he swung his wedge confidently, aligning the ball perfectly with the cup. The ball lost its momentum a grueling inch away from the cup, robbing him of an eagle. On the 17th hole, Tom Gillis and Kyle Suppa drained in beautiful putts from over 20 yards away. This was especially a huge confidence booster in Suppa, a talented 16-year-old golfer from Honolulu who scored as low as 71.

During the second round on January 16th, one miraculous shot in particular grabbed everyone’s attention. Venezuela’s Jhonattan Vegas was tucked away in an awkward corner 140 yards away in thick rough. After he completed his swing, the crowd went silent when the ball landed perfectly on the green and found its way into the 16th hole for an eagle.

“That was an awesome shot in the midst of a tough position,” Jen Kozlowski ‘18 remarks as she watched the replay.  On the next day in the third round, Max Homa replicated a similar shot for an impressive eagle, sinking in his ball from 130 yards away. This coincidentally occurred on the 16th hole, as did Vegas’ shot.

After three testing days of golf, the final round on the fourth day brought about a lot of competition, during which players either had to maintain or improve their standing on the leaderboard to achieve victory. Before entering the final round, Jimmy Walker maintained first place with a two stroke lead. Scott Piercy, Harris English, and Matt Kuchar were contenders that remained close behind Walker. As one could imagine, there was exuberant amounts of pressure put upon Walker to perform well. However, he kept his mental focus intact and completely dominated the last day of the Sony Open.

On the 8th hole, Jimmy Walker’s 126-yard approach landed within 3 feet of the cup and putted for a birdie. This ultimately gave him a 4 stroke lead ahead of Kuchar, which was vital for sustaining his spot at first place. Following this, Walker one-putted his last 10 holes, amazing the crowd with his sheer grit and determination. He concluded his performance at the 2015 Sony Open with a successful 22 foot putt, claiming his fourth PGA title and consecutive win on the Sony Open.  He scored 63 on the final day, winning by nine strokes over Piercy.

This year’s Sony Open marked Waialae Country Club’s 50th anniversary as a host on the PGA Tour.  The level of talent increases each year, especially in youth, which is a testimony to the timeless tradition of golf.