Wilson wins Sony Open by 2 shots

Associated Press

HONOLULU

Mark Wilson made it through a 36-hole marathon Sunday without a bogey and held on for a two-shot victory in the Sony Open that will take him to the Masters for the first time.

Wilson shot a 5-under 65 in the morning to take a one-shot lead into the afternoon round. He stretched his lead to four shots at the turn, then had to hang on when Tim Clark and Steve Marino made late runs.

Clark, who started the final round five shots behind, birdied three of his last four holes. He narrowly missed an eagle putt on the ninth hole and settled for a 64. Then came Marino with two late birdies and one incredible shot that at least gave him hope.

Two shots behind on the par-5 18th, with his feet in the bunker and his ball about chest-high on the side of a hill, Marino blasted a fairway metal from 234 yards away that landed on the front of the green and rolled 40 feet away. His eagle putt narrowly missed, giving him a 68.

Wilson made one last birdie he didn’t need, giving him a 67 for his third career victory.

“It was nice to go right to the tee and not have to think about it,” Wilson said of having only a few minutes before the third and fourth rounds.

Wilson, who finished at 16-under 264, played his final 40 holes without a bogey.

Jimmy Walker closed with a 68 to finish alone in fourth, while Matt Kuchar and Matt Bettencourt were another shot back. Stuart Appleby and Shigeki Maruyama, who started Sunday tied for the 36-hole lead, never got going. Maruyama had rounds of 70-69 to tie for seventh, his first top 10 on the PGA Tour in two years. Appleby didn’t make a birdie until the final hole of the last round and shot 72.

Fifty-six players were separated by only seven shots going into the final 36 holes.