Stricker off to a flyer with win in Hawaii

Steve Stricker held off a resurgent Martin Laird to win the Tournament of Champions in Hawaii.

The American entered the final round five shots clear but Laird piled on the pressure with a six-under-par 67, which included five birdies in his closing seven holes.

But Stricker, who saw his lead cut to just two shots early on, rallied with five birdies from the eighth hole to reach an unassailable 23-under-par.

In the opening event of the 2012 PGA Tour season, American Webb Simpson put himself in contention once again, finishing tied-third with Jonathan Byrd on 19-under par. Afterwards, Stricker admitted the pressure started to get to him.

“I felt it kind of slipping away [at the start of the round] but I was patient,” said the 44-year-old. “Frustrated, but patient. “The birdie at eight calmed me down quite a bit and I played steady after that.”

Further birdies followed on the 12th, 16th and 18th as Stricker completed an aggregate of 17 under for the back nine over the four rounds at the Kapalua Resort’s Plantation Course.

“I was proud of the way I hit the ball, not so proud of the way I putted it but proud of the way I hit it,” Stricker added. “It’s always tough trying to win and it’s even more tough when you have a lead like I had. I played good though.”

South Korea’s KJ Choi and America’s Keegan Bradley, the only major champion at the tournament, recorded the joint lowest rounds of the day with eight-under-par 63s, to finish on 15 and 11 under par respectively.

Tournament of Champions final leaderboard (US unless stated)
-23: S Stricker -20: M Laird (Sco) -19: J Byrd, W Simpson -15: H Frazar, KJ Choi (Kor) Selected others: -13: R Sabbatini (SA) -11: K Bradley -8: B Watson