ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates – Phil Mickelson’s new driver didn’t bring him much success in the first round of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, as he failed to make a single birdie in a 1-over 73 to sit six shots behind the leaders.

Mickelson made 17 straight pars in his first round of the year before a bogey on his last hole, and said “I can’t recall the last time I had a round without a birdie.”

Matthew Baldwin of England was tied for the lead with Romain Wattel of France and Rafa Cabrera-Bello after a 67.

Seven players, including European Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley, were one shot behind.

Mickelson said before the event that he was “so excited about this year” because of a new driver from Callaway Golf that he said could turn one of his weaknesses into a strength.

LA QUINTA, Calif. – The perfect weather, mountain views and low scores remain. Little else at the Humana Challenge resembles the event’s glory days.

The old Bob Hope Classic was Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack, T-bone steaks and late-night cocktails. The Humana Challenge – actually, the Humana Challenge in partnership with the Clinton Foundation – is corporate executives, carrot sticks and early morning power walks.

“Let’s not forget that Bob Hope lived to be 100. He walked every day of his life,” tournament executive director and CEO Bob Marra said Wednesday.

“We take the health and well-being mission of the tournament very seriously. We have a Fortune 500 company, Humana, that is dedicated to this. That’s what they do. The Clinton Foundation, the same thing, a worldwide organization that helps people with a big focus on health and well-being. … We want to make this clearly the healthiest sports event in the world. You have to walk the walk when you say that.”

The tournament has done away with the celebrity portion of the pro-am field, though actor Craig T. Nelson, singer Michael Bolton, Arizona Cardinals kicker Jay Feely and Golf Channel’s Holly Sonders are playing as “special guests.”

“We feel like it’s more important to have high-profile people – still celebrities in their own right – who are aligned with the tournament philosophy than to have a field of celebrities,” Marra said. “There aren’t many absolute, no-question A-list celebrities who play golf and play to a level where they don’t harm the tournament. A super-hot celebrity who is smacking the ball all over the place and causing a ruckus hurts.”

The pro-am players paid from $25,000 to $29,000 to play alongside the professionals for the first three days of the tournament, and six of them will advance to the final round. By eliminating the roughly 20 slots given to celebrities, the event cut expenses and generated more than $500,000.

“There was only so much you could do with celebrities,” Marra said. “It was a neat part of the past, but I like it better now.”

The regular field also is thin on star power, with Kapalua winner Zach Johnson the top-ranked player at No. 6. No. 14 Brandt Snedeker, No. 20 Webb Simpson and No. 22 Keegan Bradley are the only other top-30 players. Phil Mickelson, the headliner last year, is skipping the event to play in Abu Dhabi.

“This is one of my favourite events,” Snedeker said. “Obviously, the weather is perfect. The golf courses, I feel like, set up really well for me.”

Snedeker tied for 11th two weeks ago in the Tournament of Champions in his first start since injuring his left knee jumping off a Segway scooter in China in early November.

“Self-inflicted, stupidity injury,” Snedeker said. “Luckily, it was not very serious. It boiled down a deep bone bruise and a sprain in my ACL and is a hundred per cent healed.”

Snedeker will begin play Thursday at La Quinta Country Club in a group with Rickie Fowler. Johnson is paired with Bradley. They also will open at La Quinta before shifting to PGA West for rounds at the Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer private courses.

Last year, Brian Gay won his fourth tour title, closing with a 9-under 63 and beating Charles Howell III on the second hole of a playoff. David Lingmerth was eliminated on the first extra hole.

The 43-year-old Gay is fighting neck pain.

“It started as a crick two days before I went to Maui and it’s lingered and lingered,” Gay said. “It’s been better some days, worse some others. I’ve had treatment. … Felt the best of any day yesterday afternoon swinging the club and pain-free and I woke up this morning and it was kind of a new spot and worse.”

Bradley has a cold.

“I got a little sick yesterday,” Bradley said. “I’m feeling much better today.”

They came to the right event.

“We like it call it a week of well-being with a side of golf,” Humana’s Tom Noland said.

HONOLULU – Brandt Snedeker is a walking billboard for his summer plans.

Proudly displayed on the front of his golf shirt is “Wyndham,” which happens to be the title sponsor for the PGA Tour event in Greensboro, N.C., not so conveniently positioned between the PGA Championship and the start of the FedEx Cup playoffs.

On the sleeve of his shirt is “RBC,” the title sponsor of the Canadian Open, where Snedeker is the defending champion. Golf’s third-oldest national championship also is in a tough spot on the schedule, held the week between the British Open and the Bridgestone Invitational. The latter is a World Golf Championship. And by the way, have you noticed the brand on Snedeker’s cap and golf bag? That’s right – Bridgestone.

When does he take a week off? Apparently, he doesn’t.

“I’m playing the rest of the year, if that’s what you mean,” he said when asked about all the logos. “It will be a long stretch. It will be nine in a row at the end of the year.”

With the Ryder Cup in Europe this year, the PGA Tour agreed to alter its schedule. The four FedEx Cup playoff events will be played over four straight weeks. That allows for one week off before players travel to Scotland for a week’s worth of dinners and three days of golf at the end.

Snedeker has the worst of it, though Zach Johnson is not far behind.

Johnson has no corporate connections with Canada or Greensboro, but his big stretch starts a week before the British Open. The John Deere Classic is like a fifth major to the normal guy from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Johnson can’t and won’t miss that one. He’d love to play Greensboro, where he tied for fifth last year. But even if he doesn’t play Canada or Greensboro, that’s eight big events in 10 weeks.

“I hope I can get in a position where I can take one off,” Johnson said. “It worked for me last year. I had no choice, but it was fine.”

Johnson’s brother got married the week of The Barclays, so he got a late start on the playoffs. No matter. Johnson won the BMW Championship and was among the five players who had a direct shot at the $10 million bonus.

But he made it clear that he would skip one playoff event if he could.

Some guys might not be in a position to take time off. Qualifying for the nine automatic Ryder Cup spots ends at the PGA Championship, and the three captain’s picks are a few after that, which is known as “audition time.” Others could find themselves in a spot of trying to get to East Lake for the FedEx Cup finale.

“I think guys will skip for sure,” Snedeker said. “Everyone is going to take a hard look at the schedule. It will be interesting to see what guys do. I’m taking a little more time off in the middle of the year. We did it last year and it worked well. Just take a couple of three-week breaks.”

That’s why no one should be alarmed to see Matt Kuchar taking a month off early in the year, or Adam Scott headed for a six-week hiatus from tournament golf. Tiger Woods has been playing one of the shortest schedules of any top star. He’s good enough he can do that.

Graeme McDowell has never been in contention at the Bridgestone Invitational. He has finished out of the top 20 all but one time. He’s giving serious thought to taking that week off – depending on his Ryder Cup status – to be fresh for the PGA’s Tour grueling finishing kick.

“They key for me next year is to have something in the tank,” he said. “That’s my goal, to be ready for that stretch.”

The Ryder Cup is the reason for cramming so many big tournaments into such a small space.

The last time the Ryder Cup was in Europe, the PGA Tour held three straight playoff events, took a week off, and then played the Tour Championship and Ryder Cup in successive weeks. The schedule didn’t hurt the Americans as much as McDowell did that week in Wales.

The PGA of America is worried that the Americans are out of gas when they get to the Ryder Cup? It should be thankful for the FedEx Cup. It’s no coincidence that the matches started getting close again after the FedEx Cup began in 2007. Four big events after the majors have kept these guys sharp more than it has worn them out.

Now, it appears that something will have to give.

If players aren’t skipping a playoff event of a World Golf Championship, they’ll cut back at some other point in the schedule.

“There’s no point in getting to July and feeling you don’t want to play golf, because the biggest golf is yet to be played in the two months after that,” Scott said. “You’ve got to be champing at the bit after the PGA. Those are four big weeks, and they’re really important. That’s why I don’t come jumping out of the gate.”

The last time Scott played four weeks in a row?

“November,” he said with a grin. He won the Australian PGA, the Australian Masters and the World Cup team title, and was runner-up at the Australian Open.

No one will be playing more than Snedeker, and he doesn’t sound too worried about it. Nor should he, if recent history means anything.

Remember, it was only two years ago when Snedeker played eight straight weeks from the British Open through the BMW Championship. The tour had an off week, and then he won the Tour Championship (and FedEx Cup) and the Ryder Cup.

“It’s not the end of the world,” Snedeker said.

HONOLULU – As badly as Adam Scott needs to get away from golf, he was in no rush to leave paradise.

Not long after the Masters champion wrapped up his final round at the Sony Open just 10 minutes away from the shores of Waikiki Beach, he was headed to the Big Island with surf champion Kelly Slater and his crew to take in some surf, sun and maybe even a little golf.

No doubt, Scott is on a wave he wishes could last the rest of his career.

But it’s time to take a break, and he can feel it. Whether he goes home to Australia or to the Bahamas, the switch will be turned off. He won’t return to competition for six weeks at the Honda Classic.

“There’s heaps of work to do, but there’s got to be a break somewhere,” Scott said. “I could keep playing. I feel like I’m playing well. But you can’t continue to perform at the level you want if you play all the time. I’m forcing myself to take a break, and I can see it’s coming. My brain didn’t completely switch on these two weeks.”

The rest of his game appeared to be in order.

A pair of par 5s on two islands kept him from serious contention. At the Hyundai Tournament of Champions at Kapalua, it was a long iron he smothered into a hazard on the 15th hole in the third round that turned a sure birdie into a bogey. At the Sony Open, he had 155 yards for his second shot to the par-5 ninth in the third round and made par. Both killed his momentum.

He still had a pair of top 10s in Hawaii.

The six-week break is the longest he has had away from competition since the start of last year. That worked out just fine. Scott had the moment of a lifetime when he won the Masters for his first major, even more meaningful because it was the first green jacket for an Australian. He won a FedEx Cup playoff event. Finally going home for a celebration, he gave the Aussies more reason to cheer when he won twice, was runner-up and won the World Cup team title with Jason Day.

Try finding an encore for that.

“It might be some of the best golf I’ve ever played over the in 12 months,” Scott said. “To walk away and trust it will be there when I come back … I think I’ve done enough work over the last year or two to leave it for a few weeks.”

The break will last only a few weeks and will include plenty of golf, except that he won’t care. Scott’s friends love to play golf when he’s around, and that’s what he’ll do.

Scott said he will switch back on about three or four weeks before the Honda Classic.

He doesn’t play a lot of tournament golf, which is not to suggest he’s idle. The hard work takes place in the Bahamas. Scott is all about the big picture now. Yes, that means the majors. More than that, it’s all about the process.

One of the most amazing chapters in his career is how he bounced back from a collapse at Royal Lytham & St. Annes _ a four-shot lead with four holes to play in the 2012 British Open, only to make four straight bogeys and lose to Ernie Els. Scott might have been the only one who saw that day as a breakthrough. He played the best golf for 68 holes. He knew, finally, he had the game to win a major.

And then he did.

What’s interesting is to hear him say his confidence was just as high toward the end of 2012 (the year he blew a major) as it was at the end of 2013 (the year he became a major champion).

“Lytham was that turning point where the confidence grew from the experience and performance in a major, and I think it’s been pretty much the same ever since,” he said. “It all accumulates a bit. But that was a real spike in confidence in 2012.”

It was watching a replay of the Masters that reminded him of the real source of satisfaction.

Scott first watched highlights about 10 days after the Masters. He mostly saw the 20-foot putt he made on the 18th green, and the 10-footer on the second playoff hole that made him a major champion.

“What I experienced looking back is that elation of achievement is so short-lived,” he said. “But it’s longer if you enjoy the whole process. That moment of sheer joy is very short. It didn’t carry on for days and days. It’s numbed by formalities and all those other things. You’ve got to enjoy getting there as much as what happened. It was only a few hours, and then Hilton Head started, and there’s another tournament. The Masters is in the past and you’re looking forward.

“It’s incredible that a lifelong dream can be achieved, and it’s so short.”

The encore doesn’t start at the Honda Classic or the other two events he plays in the Florida swing, but when he gets back to the Bahamas and switches back on.

“You know when you’re ready to get back into it because you’re willing to put in the hours, and it’s not effort,” he said.

As for the performance? Can he do anything to top the last 12 months, especially that one glorious Sunday in April?

Probably not. And that’s OK with him.

“It will be the biggest of my career,” Scott said. “I don’t know how anything could surpass that as a big moment. But it will be a lot of fun to try. Maybe winning the Slam, all four in a career. Hopefully, it’s not all downhill.”

Right now, it’s as open as the Pacific horizon.

HONOLULU – Jimmy Walker, an astronomy fanatic and now a two-time winner on the PGA Tour, gazed through a glass window across the room to a television that showed his most recent photo of Orion’s Sword.

Walker toiled on the PGA Tour for seven years and 187 tournaments without winning. Now it appears the stars have aligned for him.

That certainly was the case Sunday in the Sony Open.

In a wild final round, where four players were in the mix with an hour to go, Walker followed a clutch par save with three straight birdies to pull away from the pack. He closed with a 7-under 63 for a one-shot victory over Chris Kirk.

That’s two wins in six starts for Walker.

And while it’s still only the middle of January, he’s No. 1 in the Ryder Cup standings.

“It took me a long time to do it,” Walker said. “I felt very calm and controlled. That’s what you’ve got to feel and do when it’s time to win. It’s easy to say, hard to do. But today was awesome. Really cool golf.”

This wasn’t easy.

Walker’s big run began with a 12-foot par on the 14th hole. One shot behind Harris English, Walker rolled in a 15-foot birdie putt on the 15th hole, and took the outright lead when English _ behind him in the final group _ failed to save par from a bunker.

Walker made a 7-foot birdie putt on the 16th, and then hit 7-iron into 6 feet for birdie on the par-3 17th. A par on the last hole made him wait just a little bit longer.

Kirk had a 30-foot eagle chip from just short of the green on the par-5 18th that would have forced a playoff. It stayed right of the hole, and Kirk made the birdie putt for a 66 to finish alone in second place.

“I feel like I hit the ball well enough to win this week, but it doesn’t always work out that way,” Kirk said.

Jerry Kelly (65) was alone in third. English never recovered from his bogey. He missed birdie putts on the last three holes for a 67.

Walker won the Frys.com Open in October, the first tournament of the new wraparound season. As the first multiple winner for the 2013-14 season, he is leading the FedEx Cup and closing in on cracking the top 30 in the world.

Walker finished at 17-under 263 and earned $1.08 million. He already qualified for his first Masters by winning in October. Now he’s piling up the wins.

“I’ve always felt like I belonged, and you need affirmation every now and then,” he said. “The other win was like, ‘Yeah, OK, I can do it.’ I did it, and I was supposed to be able to do it. Everybody told me I was supposed to do it, and I finally did it. And then it’s, ‘Well, are you going to be the guy that won that you never hear from again?’ It’s nice to get it done and do it again today.”

With so many players in contention, the key was to keep bogeys off the card. Walker had made at least two bogeys in each of the three previous rounds, and it looked as if he was headed for one at the wrong time on the 14th hole when he chipped from an awkward stance near the bunker to about 12 feet. Kelly missed a 15-foot par putt from the same line, and Walker poured it in.

And then, he was off to the races.

Masters champion Adam Scott went out in 30 and was one shot out of the lead just as the final group was starting play. Scott hit too many poor drives to keep it going, and the way the final two groups played the back nine, it wouldn’t have mattered. Scott tied for eighth (seven shots behind), and after a tie for sixth last week at Kapalua, heads into a six-week hibernation before returning to golf in Florida.

The three players with the best shots at winning all won last fall in the early part of the wraparound season _ Kirk at the McGladrey Classic, English in Mexico.

New year, same season.

“Guys get into grooves and they’ve all been playing really well,” Walker said. “I think it’s cool. Everybody makes a big deal about being No. 1 on the FedEx and stuff, and it is cool and it is a big deal. … I know it’s January. It’s a long way to September, and every little bit helps.”

Kirk, who had a one-shot lead going into the final round, made birdie on the 17th hole to stay within two shots of the lead and at least entertain the idea of eagle. His approach out of the rough needed about two more hops on the firm turf at Waialae to get on the green.

English ran off two birdies around the turn, took the outright lead with an 8-foot birdie on the 14th, and that was as close as he got.

“Just started hitting it better, but started putting a little worse,” English said.

David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., finished in a tie for 38th, closing with a 69 for a 6-under total of 274.

HONOLULU –  Will Wilcox finally got around to making his debut as a PGA Tour rookie and was surprised as anyone to be in the final group at the Sony Open.

As for Chris Kirk and Harris English, it’s no surprise at all.

Kirk got up-and-down from a bunker on the par-5 18th by making a 10-foot birdie putt for a 5-under 65, giving him a one-shot lead going into the final round of a Sony Open that remains up for grabs among at least a dozen players.

Cloudy conditions and only a gentle, Pacific breeze kept everyone in the mix Saturday at Waialae, even John Daly.

And even Wilcox.

The 27-year-old from Alabama made birdie on his last two holes for a 64 and was one shot behind. Wilcox once qualified for the RBC Canadian Open in 2010, and for the U.S. Open in 2011 at Congressional. He finally made it to the big leagues by finishing 10th on the Web.com Tour money list, although he didn’t play in the Web.com Tour Finals or in the fall for what he only said were “unfortunate, personal things.”

And here he is.

“I didn’t know what was going to happen this week,” Wilcox said. “Making the cut was a dream come true. Playing good on Saturday was a dream come true. Getting to have a decent shot tomorrow is ridiculous. We’ll see.”

Kirk, who was at 12-under 198, won the McGladrey Classic in November, his final tournament of 2013 before taking time off for the birth of his second child. He returned at Kapalua and shook off some rust. And while he closed with a 73 at Kapalua, it was a good day of scrambling and gave him a small measure of momentum on Oahu.

English, who had a 67, won the final event of 2013 in the OHL Classic at Mayakoba. He goes for his third win in his last 16 starts on the PGA Tour.

“It was just kind of ‘Grind it til you find it.’ This course is tough,” English said. “It’s hard to hit the fairways, and you’ve just got to be a wizard around the greens, and that’s kind of how I approached today. I didn’t have my best golf, but I scraped it around at 3-under par and I’m still in this golf tournament.”

So is everyone else it would seem.

At one point there was a six-way tie for the lead. An hour later, 14 players were separated by a single shot.

Daly matched the low score of the third round with a 64 and was five shots behind. Masters champion Adam Scott wasn’t making up any ground, dropped two shots late in his round and finished with a two-putt birdie for a 71 and was two shots behind.

A dozen players were separated by three shots going into Sunday, a group that includes Kapalua winner Zach Johnson as he tries to become the first player since Ernie Els in 2003 to sweep the Hawaii swing.

The plan for all the contenders is to not worry about anyone else because there would be too many players to worry about.

“When it’s so close like that, everybody is going to be making some birdies here and there,” Kirk said. “So I probably won’t look at leaderboards as much as I normally would. A lot of courses I think lend themselves to you need to know what your position is going into any given hole, but out here, I don’t think that’s really the case. They’re just so volatile with guys making birdies and bogeys.

“I’ll just probably try to keep my head down and make as many birdies as I can.”

Former Sony Open champion Jerry Kelly (66) and Jimmy Walker (67) were at 10-under 200, while the group at 201 included Robert Allenby (65), Pat Perez (66), Retief Goosen (66) and Johnson, who had a 66. Brian Stuard, who had a one-shot lead going into the third round, had a 71 and also was still only three shots behind.

Perez was among those tied for the lead until he four-putted the 14th, the final three putts from 3 feet. PGA champion Jason Dufner three-putted from 3 feet on the 18th hole for a bogey and was four shots behind.

The long shot would have to be Wilcox, who learned to play from his mother, a golf pro at Pine Harbor in Alabama. Small for his age, he played at least 36 holes a day as a kid, a habit that only changed after he was old enough to drive.

On his bucket list is to play on the PGA Tour. He checked that off. His dream foursome includes Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Boo Weekley, and he already has played with Weekley. The idea of winning is too far away, even though only 18 holes remain.

“I saw I was beating James Hahn by two or three. He was like 51st and I was in 13th or something,” Wilcox said. “You’ve just got to play tight and make a couple of clutch putts, which I did today. I don’t know. We’ll see.”

Having a decent shot might seem like a dream for Allenby considering where his game has been.

He made only five cuts in 24 tournaments last year and had to use an exemption from career money (top 25) to get his card. Allenby has been making enough putts to at least give himself a chance, and for that, he credits the games he plays at home in Florida. What should have been taken as an insult as turned into a benefit.

“I’ve been playing the guys at Admiral’s Cove, all the 60-year-olds, and they make me putt out because they’re like waiting for me to miss,” he said. “I keep shooting 7-, 8-, 9-unders and stuff with them. They’ve put me in a good mental state for out here on tour.”

Brantford, Ont. native David Hearn is 7-shots back of the lead and tied for 40th at 5-under. Hearn recorded his best round of the event Saturday, firing a 67.

HONOLULU – Fans soaking up the sun along the shores of Oahu took home plenty of memories Friday in the Sony Open, the least of which was Brian Stuard atop the leaderboard with this fourth straight round of 65 at Waialae.

Stuard finished the second round with a hybrid into 2 feet for eagle, giving him a one-shot lead over Marc Leishman of Australia and Hideto Tanihara of Japan.

The best stuff came later.

James Hahn, best known for his “Gangnam Style” moves after making birdie at the raucous 16th hole at the Phoenix Open last year, tried (and failed) for a chest-bump with his caddie after the rarest shot in golf – an albatross – when he holed out from 191 yards with a 6-iron on the par-5 ninth hole.

“That was a little spontaneous, but I forgot that – I’ve got to be politically correct, right? – but white men can’t jump,” said Hahn, a South Korean-born, Cal grad and funnyman on tour. “So I got a little air, he didn’t. But it was fun. I don’t think he knew I was going to chest-bump him. But that’s just what I felt like at the time.”

The big attraction was having surf champion Kelly Slater in the gallery for the final hour, even though he was there to watch a caddie.

Fellow surfer Benji Weatherley is on the bag this week for Masters champion Adam Scott, and he had a blast in front of two dozen friends from the North Shore. But this golf is serious business, and Weatherley showed great confidence talking Scott out of a driver on the 18th hole.

“He’s really getting the hang of it,” Scott said.

Scott took over from there, getting a break on the last hole when his ball was in a partial divot. Scott was able to take a free drop away from the grandstand, and while his chip came out strong, it banged against the bottom of the flagstick and stopped an inch from the hole for a tap-in birdie and a 66.

Scott was only three shots behind. Weatherley was having a blast.

“It’s the most fun you could ever have,” he said. “I have no nerves because for one, he’s so good it’s embarrassing. Like every single shot is what you see on ‘Sports Center,’ especially that last one.”

He said this during an interview with the Golf Channel.

Meanwhile, another good tournament was shaping up in Hawaii.

Stuard was at 10-under 130. Those four straight rounds of 65 ordinarily might be good enough to win a tournament. Except that the first half of that streak happened on the weekend at Waialae last year. Even so, it was enough for him to be in the lead going into the weekend.

It was his seventh straight round in the 60s at Waialae dating to Stuard’s first trip here in 2010.

“I think it’s something to do with the greens,” Stuard said. “I feel comfortable on the greens. I feel like I read them pretty well and I’m able to make putts.”

Leishman also made an eagle on the ninth hole, but that was in the middle of his round. And it was part of a three-hole stretch he played in 4-under, and he made a 25-foot birdie putt on the 14th hole. It led to a 64 that put him in a good spot going into the weekend.

“They’re the sort of things that really turn an average round into a good one, or a good one into a great one,” Leishman said. “It was nice to shoot 6-under and get myself right in it.”

Tanihara had a 65 and will join Leishman and Stuard in the final group Saturday. The tee times were moved up for the third round because of rain in the forecast.

Harris English had his second straight round of 66 and was two shots behind, poised to go for his third win in his last 16 starts.

“I hit it all over the map,” English said. “Yesterday, I striped it down the middle and didn’t make any putts. Today, 4-under was the lowest I could have shot.”

He was scrambling so far that he didn’t realize until the end of his round that he had a glove on his left hand, and another one tucked under the back of his belt. This was not a new craze, like Tommy “Two Gloves” Gainey with gloves on both hands. English was letting it dry out and forgot about it.

Joining Scott in the group three shots behind were Jimmy Walker and Chris Kirk, while Hudson Swafford (64), Justin Leonard and past Sony Open champion Jerry Kelly were still in the mix at 6-under 134.

Kapalua winner Zach Johnson, trying to become the first player since Ernie Els in 2003 to sweep the Hawaii swing, had a 67 and was five shots behind.

Hahn also was 5-under after a 68.

Three Canadians are in the field this week. David Hearn sits at 2-under to share 42nd spot, while Mike Weir and Brad Fritsch tied were 5-over and failed to make the 36-hole cut.

HONOLULU – Sang-Moon Bae got off to a great start in pristine conditions along the shores of Oahu. Chris Kirk had an ideal finish.

They were together all Thursday morning, playing in the same group at the Sony Open and taking the top two spots on the leaderboard. Bae played bogey-free for a 7-under 63. Kirk shot 29 on the back nine at Waialae, including an eagle on the last hole, for a 64.

They were among the early starters in the first full-field event of the year on the PGA Tour, and they took advantage of a gorgeous day.

Brian Stuard and Ryan Palmer shot 65, and Retief Goosen and Harris English were at 66 along with Jimmy Walker, John Daly, Hideto Tanihara, Jason Kokrak and Daniel Summerhays.

David Hearn was the leading Canadian when opening-round play concluded Thursday. Hearn is tied for 25th at 2-under par 68. Brad Fritsch opened with a 69 and is tied for 48th. Despite an eagle on the 18th hole, Mike Weir struggled to a 73 and is tied for 118th.

HONOLULU –  For the first time since Colonial in 2011, Adam Scott will have a new caddie on the bag this week at the Sony Open.

No, Steve Williams is not ready to retire.

“He’s tired. He’s old,” Scott said of Williams, who turned 50 last week. “One week in a row is enough.”

Williams called it the start of his semi-retirement. He has talked about cutting back on his schedule in the next year or two, though it would seem peculiar to come all the way to Hawaii just for one week.

The caddie failed to mention that the New Zealand Super Saloon Championship is next week, followed by the New Zealand Saloon Championships.

“He’s chomping at the bit to have a go,” Scott said. “He’s earned it. I’ll let him drive one week, as long as he comes back.”

That won’t be until the Honda Classic. For the Sony Open, the Masters champion will have a friend on the bag.

___

AUSTIN NOT READY FOR CHAMPIONS TOUR: Woody Austin didn’t make it to the PGA Tour until he was 30, and only then after a decade of playing mini-tours, working as a bank teller and even stocking shelves in a drug store. At least he gets to go out on his terms.

After more than two years of not having full status, the 49-year-old Austin appeared out of nowhere in Mississippi last summer and won the Sanderson Farms Championship. That got him back to Kapalua, which meant the world to him.

“Especially when you’re about to turn 50 and have status,” he said.

Austin turns 50 in three weeks, though he has no plans to play on the Champions Tour except for any major he gets in. Kapalua was just a start. Austin is most looking forward to the courses he was kept from playing when he lost his card – Bay Hill, Hilton Head, Colonial, Memorial.

“I don’t plan on being one of those half guys,” he said of splitting time on two tours. “If I don’t get in the FedEx Cup (playoffs) and have six weeks off, then I’ll go play some on the Champions Tour. But I want to play out here.”

Austin lost his card in 2010 when he missed four cuts in his last seven events and finished at No. 129 on the money list. He got into only 18 tournaments the following year on conditional status, and only seven events in 2012 as a past champion.

His hallmark was ball-striking, and when that began to desert him, he was never very good with the putter (except for bashing it against his head, one of his more infamous moments) to atone for that. So what happened in Mississippi?

“That was the old me,” he said. “I knocked the flag over. That’s me. That’s what I do. This game now is only a putting contest. That’s all it is. Technology has brought everyone into a small bowl.”

Austin said he was most disappointed that in his two years needing some help, he received only one sponsor exemption. The Greenbrier Classic found room for him – he missed the cut two weeks before winning – and Austin said he will never miss the tournament again.

He is exempt through the end of the 2014-15 season.
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WORLD 100: Golf Digest has expanded its “Top 100” list to include courses worldwide, only that didn’t change anything at the top.

Pine Valley claimed the No. 1 ranking in the inaugural “World 100 Greatest Courses” list that appears in the February issues available in print next week. The magazine had the top three courses in America (Pine Valley, Cypress Point, Augusta National), with Royal County Down in Northern Ireland at No. 4.

Shinnecock Hills was at No. 5.

The ranking was determined by 846 people from the magazine’s U.S. Course Ranking panel, from panelists that work with Golf Digest’s 27 international editions and other selected golfers. Forty courses from the top 100 were in America. Golf Digest said America has 46 per cent of all the world’s golf courses.

Rounding out the top 10 were Royal Dornoch in Scotland, St. Andrews, Muirfield, Royal Melbourne and Oakmont.

Canadian courses making the list were: Hamilton Golf and Country Club (98); The National Golf Club (61); Cabot Links (42) and St. George’s Golf and Country Club (30).
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AN ISLAND ON AN ISLAND: Hawaii residents can get sensitive when they hear tourists mention the mainland as “back in the U.S.”

Callaway Golf is the latest culprit.

In a press release announcing that it signed two-time PGA Tour winner Harris English to its tour staff, Callaway included a comment from English that was said “shortly before leaving the U.S. for Hawaii.”

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DIVOTS: One fan of the Dallas Cowboys had reasons beyond football to feel badly for quarterback Tony Romo’s back surgery on Dec. 27. Jordan Spieth has to find a new partner for the AT&T Pebble Beach national Pro-Am. One possibility is country singer Jake Owen, who played last year with former U.S. Amateur champion Kelly Kraft. … Former PGA champion Rich Beem is the latest to have a weekly show on SiriusXM. Beem made his debut Monday and will host the show from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. each Monday … Chesson Hadley has signed with International Sports Management, making him the first American client with PGA Tour status to sign with Chubby Chandler’s group.

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INFLATION STAT OF THE WEEK: In his first 24 starts as a pro, Tiger Woods won six times (including the Masters) and earned $2,626,115. In his first 24 starts as a pro, Jordan Spieth won the John Deere Classic and has earned $4,634820.

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FINAL WORD: “We’re all there. We all feel the same pressure. We all want to win that first major.” – Brandt Snedeker on first-timers winning 15 of the last 20 majors.

KAPALUA, Hawaii – Zach Johnson is taking his place among the big boys in golf with two of the shortest clubs in his bag.

On a Plantation Course at Kapalua that should be paradise for the game’s longest hitters, Johnson chipped in for his opening birdie and then hit four exquisite wedge shots on the back nine Monday to rally from two shots behind, close with a 7-under 66 and win the Tournament of Champions.

“I just picked it apart,” Johnson said.

That was pivotal on the back nine, where five players had a chance to win. Johnson ran off four birdies in a five-hole stretch, all of them with a wedge in his hand, none of the shots particularly easy. He wound up with a one-shot win over Jordan Spieth, the perfect way to start a new year.

Especially after he ended the old one with a win.

Johnson didn’t need any heroics this time, not like last month in California in the World Challenge when he holed a shot from the drop zone _ with a wedge _ on the final hole and wound up beating Tiger Woods in a playoff. Kapalua was mainly about chipping and putting, and Johnson is among the best.

“Getting the ball in the fairway and giving my wedges a chance was crucial,” he said. “It’s about plotting my way, putting myself in a yardage spot that I know is going to give me an opportunity.”

Johnson, starting his 11th season on the PGA Tour, won for the 11th time in his career. Since his rookie season in 2004, only Woods, Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh have won more on the PGA Tour. It also was Johnson’s third win in his last six starts, dating to the BMW Championship outside Chicago in September that qualified him for this winners-only tournament in Kapalua.

Spieth had a one-shot lead going into the back nine and thought only of making three birdies. He started way too late, losing three good birdie chances in the soft, middle portion of the back nine and then finishing with two birdies that only gave him a runner-up finish. He closed with a 70.

“I was very pleased with the finish, being able to birdie the last two holes and at least have somewhat of a chance on 18,” said Spieth, who had a 100-foot eagle putt just off the front of the green to force a playoff. “But ultimately, 14, 15, 16 really kind of hit me hard in the middle of the back nine.”

He made par on all of them, twice missing putts from about 6 feet.

That’s where Johnson thrived.

He caught Spieth for the lead with a wedge from 83 yards to about 2 feet for birdie on No. 12. Johnson laid back with a 3-wood on the 14th hole and hit wedge to about 8 feet below the hole for birdie and the outright lead. Perhaps the most daunting shot came on the par-5 15th, up a steep slope to a green with a false front. The grain from the fairway and on the green was against him.

“If you just missed it a little bit, it’s come back at you,” he said. “I hit a great shot.”

He followed that with a wedge to 5 feet and a tough, downhill putt that broke sharply toward the ocean that he made for his final birdie.

Webb Simpson, tied with Spieth and defending champion Dustin Johnson to start the final round, never caught up and closed with a 70. Simpson tied for third with Kevin Streelman, who had a 67.

Jason Dufner was four strokes back in fifth after a 69.

Dustin Johnson made three bogeys before making his first birdie. He shot 73 and tied for sixth.

Spieth was playing in the final group for the first time and looked poised as ever. With birdies on both par 5s on the front nine, he had the outright lead and looked as though he might become the youngest player with two PGA Tour wins since Ralph Guldahl in 1932. The signature shot was from a bunker short of the 14th green. He blasted out to 6 feet above the hole for a chance to match birdies with Zach Johnson, in the group ahead.

Except that he missed it.

And then he had to scramble for par on the 15th when what he thought was a perfect shot rolled down the slope 45 yards away. “Yes!” Spieth said when the ball was in flight. But when he saw it land softly and tumble down the hill, he followed that with, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

It took two chips to reach the green, and only a 10-foot par putt kept him in the game.

Spieth missed an 8-foot birdie putt on the 16th, and the two birdies at the end at least gave him a good start to his new year. He earned $665,000.

Simpson, who received some encouraging news about the newborn of caddie Paul Tesori before starting his round, also found the wrong gear with consecutive bogeys early in the round and spent the rest of the day trying to catch up. He birdied three of his last five holes, but that wasn’t enough to keep pace with the leader.

Masters champion Adam Scott got within one shot of the lead with an eagle on the 15th hole, only for his wedge to hit the flag on the 16th. He had to settle for par, and he closed with a bogey to finish in the tie for sixth.