Sony Open, Rookie Russell Rips Up the Record Books.

Winning Rookie Russell Henley / Petersen/Getty Images

The Sony Open was won by rookie Russell Henley on his Tour debut, and doing so he ripped up the standing records for just about everything.

Russell  finished at -24 under par and a total score of 256, breaking by four shots the Sony Open in Hawaii scoring record, last set by Brad Faxon in 2001. Russell relegated Tim Clark into second place by three shots, Tim was himself on fire, he birdied seven of his last eleven holes and actually only made up one shot on Russell, the rookie from the University of Georgia.

Russell is now tied at the top the FedEx Cup standings in the company of Dustin Johnson on 500 points. The win was the second-lowest score for a 72-hole tournament in PGA TOUR history, two shots behind Tommy Armour III in 2003 at the Valero Texas Open. He also  set tournament records for the low 36-hole score after his 63-63 start, he shared the 54-hole record with Scott Langley and also set another tournament record with the lowest final round by a Champion.

Add to that he became the first PGA TOUR rookie to win his debut since Garrett Willis did at Tucson in 2001, and he will be going to the Masters in April, a local tournament for the boy from Macon, Georgia.

He said of his record breaking day that he had never been so nervous, you would not have imagined that watching him coming down the stretch on Sunday. He played the last nine holes superbly.

“I don’t really know what happened, honestly, this is the most nervous I’ve ever been. That’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done. It’s been my goal to make it to the Masters my whole life. I’m kind of speechless right now.”

With the results  of his Web.com Tour season last year and this win Russell Henley has already made it into the world rankings inside the top fifty.  That ranking will get him into the Accenture-Match Play Championship for the top 64 in the world, the qualifying date is only a month away, and he should also be in line for the other WGC at the Cadillac Championship, and the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, not forgetting the PGA Championship. All in all quite a PGA TOUR debut, I look forward to watching Russell this season, it will be interesting to see how far he can go, he obviously has the talent.

 

Lee Westwood’s silent Fury

Lee Westwood was attempting to hide his fury during closing ceremony in Dubai on Sunday

Lee Westwood admitted later that he threw away a golden chance of victory in a nightmare closing round at the Dubai Desert Classic. Although he would not speak to anyone on Sunday, he did let it all hang out on Twitter declaring his “16 hour sulk” was now over. He Tweeted;

“Well tossed that one away nicely! Carnage on the greens! Managed not to break or smash anything post round. Waved the putter at it 33 times. Not even good enough for the monthly medal with form like that. Have now given Billy approval to slap me ,within reason!, if I don’t run the ball at the hole with pace over the next three weeks!”

Lee was the third-round leader at the Emirates Club and was two shots ahead after he sank a 40-foot eagle putt from short of the green at the second hole. He then went on to bogeyed the fifth and his only birdie came when he missed a chance for another eagle from under 10 feet on the long 13th.

Westwood did go back to world number two ahead of Rory McIlroy, albeit by the slimmest of margins, but neither is playing this weeks tournament. We will have to wait and see what happens in next week’s Accenture Match Play Championshipin Arizona.