Twitter Spats, Putting Stats And Epic Comebacks: 5 Talking Points From The Sony Open

Who said early-season golf was dull? After the humdinger that was last week’s Sentry Tournament of Champions duel between Cam Smith and Jon Rahm, the Sony Open gave us a reminder that, in 2022, golf rivalries can extend far beyond the confines of the course.

And that’s not to take anything away from the skills on display at Hawaii’s Waialae Country Club, which welcomed the first full PGA Tour field of the year. It also saw a five-shot lead wiped out with just nine holes to play, as well as one of the greatest fairway-wood shots in the game’s history. Yes, it was that good!

It’s safe to say the Aloha State has delivered, and here, we round up the biggest talking points from the 2022 Sony Open…

1. Putting trumps all yet again

What better place to start than the tournament winner. Even in the appropriate time zone, viewers would’ve been forgiven for tuning out as the final group of Russell Henley and Hideki Matsuyama reached the turn. Henley stood on the 10th tee five ahead having looked imperious throughout a front-nine 29, but this is a very different Matsuyama to the one of 12 months ago, to the one that hadn’t won in nearly four years ahead of last year’s Masters.

And it was the Japanese star’s proficiency with the flat stick that led him to the unlikely victory. The reigning Masters champ turned in the best putting performance of his career to gain a whopping 7.27 strokes over the four days, topping the Strokes Gained: Putting rankings in a full-field PGA Tour event for the first time. Drive for show…

2. The ugly side of golf

While players battled for the Sony Open title, two of the game’s more controversial and vocal combatants came to blows on Twitter. What started off as a fairly inconspicuous comment from American broadcaster Chantel McCabe quickly turned into one of the most random Twitter feuds you’re likely to see.

Watching Friday’s golf, McCabe tweeted: “Kevin Na walking in putts does not get old”. Then, unprompted, Grayson Murray responded in bizarre fashion, quote-tweeting the original post with a caption that read: “Kevin Na taking 3 minutes to putt them does get old”. It got worse and other pros even chimed in.

Check out the exchange below:

Murray, 28, has shown in the past he isn’t afraid to ruffle some feathers, having faced criticism for previous remarks made on social media. He’s not teed it up since the 3M Open in July last year so perhaps he’s just suffering from extreme boredom.

3. Kisner gets salty about Ryder Cup snubs

Having seen his best chances of playing in the Ryder Cup likely come and go, matchplay maestro Kevin Kisner decided it was time to reveal his thoughts on the selection process, calling it “too political”. ‘The Kiz’ lost in the final of the 2018 WGC Match Play before going one better the following year. He also featured in the Presidents Cup in 2017, winning three points from four and going undefeated. Despite that, he has been overlooked for every Ryder Cup team he’s had a chance of being picked for.

“They don’t like me, I guess,” Kisner said on GOLF’s Subpar podcast, before adding: “I don’t give a s**t”. Sure ya don’t, Kev.

4. Furyk rolls back the years

Now plying his trade mainly on the Champions Tour, most would’ve been surprised to see the name of Jim Furyk atop the leaderboard on Thursday. The 51-year-old last featured on the main tour back in April 2021 at the RBC Heritage but rolled back the years in Hawaii to set the early pace. Despite losing more than a stroke off the tee against the field, the 2003 US Open champion produced his best putting round since 2009, gaining 4.85 strokes on the greens to post an eight-under 62. He also made an ace at the penultimate hole… as you do!

5. Shot of the year wrapped up?

Just as it started, it seems fitting to end with the Sony Open champion. And more specifically, the outrageous shot that essentially ended the tournament. Sizing up his 277-yard second into Waialae Country Club’s closing par-5, Matsuyama produced a 3-wood from the gods that nestled all of three feet from the hole. It was truly one of the greatest fairway-wood shots you’re ever likely to see, so if you haven’t yet had the chance, do yourself a favour and check it out below:

If that doesn't win shot of the year, then we're in for a treat in 2022. As an aside, Matsuyama became the first player to win a PGA Tour play-off with an eagle since JJ Henry at the 2015 Barracuda Championship.

Notable mentions…

You can never have too much Hideki, so here’s some more. With his final-round 63, Matsuyama extended his run of consecutive rounds in the 60s to 13, the current longest streak on the PGA Tour. He is just six short of the all-time record, which is held by Viktor Hovland and Patrick Cantlay.