While defending champion Jim Furyk and Mike Reid drew most of the attention in the final round in the Hawaiian Open, Paul Stankowski lurked in the background.
Then, after staying one or two strokes behind the front-runners, he birdied the final hole of regulation with a downhill 8-foot birdie to join the other two in the tournament's first three-way playoff."That was the big one because it got me in the playoff," Stankowski said Sunday after making a 1-footer on the fourth extra hole to capture the tournament, worth $216,000. Reid and Furyk each received $105,600.
As for Reid, who was eliminated on the first playoff hole, he said: "I'm disappointed, but I'm far from down about the week. It was a day to gut it out and a day to hang in there. I just didn't hit many greens."
Reid, former BYU golfer who resides in Provo, entered the final round with a one stroke lead, the first time he had led a tournament after three rounds since the 1989 PGA Championship. Reid has struggled since injuring his right wrist four years ago, but that appears to be behind him. According to TV announcers Sunday, he has been unable to find a set of clubs he likes, changing clubs three times in the last three weeks.
Until the 72nd hole, it was Furyk and Reid exchanging leads and Stankowski quietly making big shots of his own.
After failing to make the Hawaiian Open cut the past three years, Stankowski said he was determined to pick up strokes on the four par 5s at the 7,012-yard Waialae Country Club. Until this week, his aggregate for the long holes were only 3-under.
This time around, he played them in 15-under in regulation and cut two more strokes from par in the playoffs, with the last winning the tournament.
And, Stankowski said, he also made "a bunch of 5- to 6-foot putts" to save pars. He got a big one on the second playoff hole when he rolled in a 30-footer.
Being patient was also a focal point.
"I told myself to stick to your game plan and good things should happen," he said. "That's what I did."
On the winning hole, Stankowski drove his second shot on the par-5, 18th to just off the green, then two-putted for the victory.
Furyk, who needed three extra holes last year to beat Brad Faxon, then barely missed the 10-footer he needed to keep the match going.
Donnie Howard shot a closing 69 and Jay Don Blake had a 70 to share fourth place at 15-under 273, while PGA Tour's Player of the Year Tom Lehman couldn't recover from a slow start and finished with a 71 and a 274 total.
"I got off to a great start," said Furyk, who started the day in third place three strokes behind Reid. "I was 5-under through 13 and it could have been better."
On the 396-yard 15th, he four-putted from 50 feet.
"The second putt there was my only bad stroke," he said. "Overall, it's very disappointing. I don't think anyone played better than me."
Even Stankowski was shocked by Furyk's sudden collapse.
"Jim's the best putter on the tour and I wouldn't have expected it (four-putt)," Stankowski said of Furyk's disaster when he held a two-stroke lead and appeared on the verge of winning the Open for the second straight year.
"I saw Jim (on the double-bogey) and I knew I was still in the match."
With one of the better rounds of the day, Paul Goydos' 68 gave him a share of seventh with Lee Porter (72) at 275.
Stankowski (70), Furyk (68) and Reid (71) finished regulation at 271.
Paul Azinger (71) was grouped with three others at 277, and the 278 slot was filled by six players, including second-round leader Scott Simpson (73) and first-round co-leader Brian Claar (72).
The tournament was sponsored by United Airlines.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Hawaiian Open
x-Paul Stankowski 71-66-64-70 -271 -17 Jim Furyk 70-67-66-68 -271 -17 Mike Reid 62-72-66-71 -271 -17 Jay Don Blake 68-70-65-70 -273 -15 Donnie Hammond 70-68-66-69 -273 -15 Tom Lehman 65-69-69-71 -274 -14 Paul Goydos 70-66-71-68 -275 -13 Lee Porter 70-66-67-72 -275 -13 x-won in playoff