KAILUA-KONA — Jerry Kelly was a rookie in name only at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship last year at Hualalai.
Kelly has been coming to the Big Island course for almost 15 years to prepare for his annual outing at the Sony Open on Oahu, where he has played 21 years consecutively and is the all-time earnings leader, winning the event in 2002.
So when push came to shove down the stretch on the Big Island for his Mitsubishi Electric Championship debut, Kelly relied on the old adage that practice makes perfect. Facing a one-shot deficit heading into No. 18, the Wisconsin native knew exactly where he needed to go to give himself a shot against World Golf Hall of Fame member Colin Montgomerie.
Staring down the familiar green in front of the clubhouse, Kelly nailed an 18-foot birdie putt, while Montgomerie missed a 6-footer for par, allowing Kelly to claim the title in one of the most thrilling finishes in tournament history.
Kelly became just the second player to win both the Sony Open and the Mitsubishi Electric Championship, John Cook being the other. He also became the 10th “rookie” to take home the crown at Hualalai on their first try.
“You know, it was kind of cheating last year because I wasn’t a rookie on this golf course,” Kelly said. “I had probably more course knowledge than most of the guys playing in the tournament. I love it here.”
This week Kelly is hoping to be a sophomore sensation and become the first player to repeat at the PGA Tour Champions season-opening event since it moved to the Big Island in 1997.
The tournament tees off today and runs through Saturday. The event includes tournament champions from the 2017 and 2018 seasons, winners of PGA Tour Champions majors since 2014, eight additional invitees based on career PGA Tour wins and major championship titles, and World Golf Hall of Fame members who played a minimum of eight PGA Tour Champions events in 2018.
From start to finish
As Kelly found out last year, there’s nothing like starting the year with a win. Kelly took home the $305,000 purse from the Mitsubishi Electric Championship, which helped him land the No. 4 spot on the PGA Tour Champions money list, despite dealing with a torn meniscus for the last couple of months of the season.
Kelly had successful surgery in the offseason, although he admits he’s not 100 percent.
“I’ve still got issues to deal with, I’m still not strong enough and just started jogging like yesterday for the first time,” Kelly said. “And just short distances, just impact feels and things like that but I’m really happy.”
Kelly said his goal for the season is to get out in front and stay there, as it is for most of the field. But for the opening tournament, everyone starts from the same spot, regardless of what’s on their resume from years past.
“That’s basically all we’re trying to do — start the year No. 1, finish the year No. 1,” Kelly said. “My goals never change year to year and we’re at zero starting out every single year. You can either look at it like you’re in last place or like you’re in first place. And right now, I’m in first and, you know, I’d like to keep it all the way through.”
Getting low
It’s always a battle at Hualalai, where low scores are aplenty and big names are lurking all over the leaderboard. Of the 42 players in the field, 16 have won 32 major titles on the PGA Tour. As a group they have won 319 PGA Tour events and 272 more on PGA Tour Champions.
The most notable name is Bernhard Langer, who is the only three-time winner at the Big Island tourney (2017, ‘14, ‘09) and recently picked up his eighth PGA Tour Champions Player of the Year Honor.
The 61-year-old Langer, like Kelly, has a soft spot for the Big Island.
“It’s my favorite spot,” Langer said. “This is my 12th start here and it’s absolutely my favorite Tour stop of the year. We are starting off in the right place.”
A factor in making Hualalai a player-favorite are the low scores. In the last five years, the winning score has totaled at least 15-under, including a 22-under from Langer in 2014.
“(The course) is in really good shape — everything from fairways, greens, bunkers, even the weather is brilliant,” Langer said. “Sometimes it has a bit of that vog, but none of that anymore and not much wind yet. So far it’s perfect.”
Vijay Singh, a former world No. 1 golfer, has a house on the Hilo side, so he’s well-versed on the Big Island’s allure. But when he makes his way to Kona, it’s all business for Singh, who recently went a bit viral for his daunting workout routine.
“I’d like to start off winning here at Hualalai, that’s my goal,” Singh said. “I’m playing decent right now so I just have to maintain the intensity and see if I can win this one.”
When asked what it will take to get the win, he kept it simple.
“Very low scoring,” Singh said.