Azinger Grabs Sony Title

January 14, 2000 / 1:28 AM EST / CBS/AP

In one swoop, Paul Azinger proved he could win again after a bout with cancer, helped ease the pain friend Payne Stewart's death and erased 14 years of frustration in Hawaii.

Azinger won the Sony Open on Sunday with an exclamation point, pulling away from the field with a bogey-free 5-under 65 for a seven-stroke victory over Australian Stuart Appleby.

"I feel terrific," Azinger said. "I had some anxiety when I came here. I didn't know what to expect. But I was determined not to get ahead of myself."

In becoming a wire-to-wire winner in the PGA Tour's first full-field event of the year, Azinger opened with rounds of 63, 65 and 68 en route to a 19-under 261 total on the Waialae course.

Azinger, who turned 40 on Jan. 6, won for the first time since the 1993 PGA Championship. He was diagnosed with lymphoma in his right shoulder in December 1993 and missed most of the next season.

"I had no doubt I was never going to win again, I was playing so bad," he said, recalling his recovery period. "Winning was not an option. I just didn't see it coming back.

"It wasn't until the middle of 1999 I started to see some consistency. By the end of the year, I felt it was a matter of time. It's been six years since I won. Four of those years, I saw no hope."

The 12-time tour winner also ended a frustrating run in Hawaii. When the tournament was known as the Hawaiian Open, he was a three-time runner-up and had five other top-10 finishes.

"I really don't know what to say, especially what happened the last few months," Azinger said of the death of Stewart and business associates Robert Fraley and Van Ardan.

Appleby, who closed within three strokes of Azinger after nine holes, eagled the 72nd hole for a 67.

"Every time I took a run at him, he took a run at me," Appleby said. "Everytime I got close, he would sink a birdie.

"Looking back on the week, you can say he was a very deserved winner who played well all week and we all would agree we're happy for him."

John Huston (67) and Sweden's Jesper Parnevik (69) tied for third at 10-under 270. South Africa's Ernie Els was alone at 271, and Tom Lehman, Sean Murphy and Scott Dunlap followed at 272.

Els, 6-under at the start of the round, birdied the first two holes to move up, but had a quadruple-bogey on the 423-yard third hole. He recovered to shoot a 67, but it was too late.

Two international players who gained recognition during the Presidents Cup, Japan's Shigeki Maruyama and Paraguay's Carlos Franco, topped a five-player group at 275.

Jack Nicklaus' son, Gary, who celebrated his 31st birthday Saturday, finished at 10-over 290. Gary Nicklaus, who earned his tour card last year, had a 12 on the 510-yard ninth hole en route to a final-round 79.