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Honolulu - Mark Wilson kept his composure to fend off late charges by fellow American Steve Marino and South Africa's Tim Clark and win the weather-hit Sony Open by two shots at Waialae Country Club on Sunday.
A stroke in front of the chasing pack when the rain-delayed third round was completed earlier in the day, Wilson closed with a three-under-par 67 to claim his third PGA Tour title.
The 36-year-old coolly birdied the par-five last for a 16-under total of 264, forcing Marino (68) and Clark (64) to settle for a share of second place.
American Jimmy Walker birdied two of the last three holes for a 68 to finish fourth at 13 under.
Wilson raised his right arm skywards in triumph after his five-foot birdie putt dropped on the 18th green, ending a brutal day at Waialae where 36 holes were played to complete the tournament.
"It was actually good we just kind of kept going," a beaming Wilson said greenside. "I felt I was playing well. I shot 65 in the morning.
"It was nice to just go right to the (first) tee (for the fourth round) and you didn't have to think about it at all. I'm just thankful it's over now."
Two strokes off the pace going into the marathon last day, Wilson grabbed a one-shot lead by the time the rain-delayed third round was eventually completed.
A flawless five-under-par 65 put him one ahead of Marino at 13-under 197 before the players immediately set off for the final round in the same groupings.
Wilson doubled his lead when he sank a six-footer to birdie the par-three fourth and he did well to save par at the sixth where he got up and down from 150 yards after missing the fairway off the tee.
That Houdini-like escape put him three ahead when his playing partner Marino bogeyed the sixth after finding a greenside bunker with his approach and hitting a poor third shot.
Wilson then birdied the par-five ninth, where he calmly rolled in a seven-footer, to reach the turn at 15 under overall and four strokes in front of the chasing pack.
Clark, however, relentlessly closed in with a sizzling back nine of four-under 31 to trim Wilson's advantage to just one.
Wilson squandered a golden opportunity to regain a two-shot cushion when his birdie attempt from just five feet slid past the right edge of the cup at the par-four 14th.
After parring the next two holes, Wilson got up and down from a greenside bunker to avoid a bogey at the short 17th, sinking a tricky 10-footer before pumping his right fist in celebration.
He then chipped up to five feet at the last before knocking in the birdie putt to seal victory.
Leading final scores on Sunday in the 5.5 million-dollar US PGA Tour Sony Open (USA unless noted):
264 - Mark Wilson 65-67-65-67
266 - Tim Clark (RSA) 68-68-66-64, Steve Marino 65-67-66-68
267 - Jimmy Walker 68-65-66-68
268 - Matt Bettencourt 68-65-68-67, Matt Kuchar 65-68-66-69
269 - Shigeki Maruyama (JPN) 65-65-70-69, Roland Thatcher 67-65-68-69
270 - Jerry Kelly 68-67-69-66, Davis Love 68-66-67-69, Chris Riley 66-69-66-69, Steve Stricker 69-67-68-66
271 - Stuart Appleby (AUS) 64-66-69-72, Chad Campbell 67-67-68-69, Brian Gay 69-68-70-64, Anthony Kim 71-64-68-68, Tag Ridings 68-67-68-68, Justin Rose (GBR) 65-68-68-70, Rory Sabbatini (RSA) 69-66-67-69
...
272 - Jason Day (AUS) 69-67-66-70, John Senden (AUS) 71-65-67-69, Brendon de Jonge (ZIM) 68-67-66-71
273 - Fredrik Jacobson (SWE) 68-66-69-70, Marc Leishman (AUS) 65-69-73-66
274 - Arjun Atwal (IND) 67-68-69-70
275 - Aaron Baddeley (AUS) 73-64-70-68, Steven Bowditch (AUS) 67-70-69-69, Jarrod Lyle (AUS) 68-65-71-71
276 - Ernie Els (RSA) 70-65-67-74
277 - Liang Wen-chong (CHN) 66-70-70-71, Charlie Wi (KOR) 68-68-70-71
281 - Michael Sim (AUS) 68-67-72-74
282 - Matt McQuillan (CAN) 68-69-71-74, Jesper Parnevik (SWE) 70-66-73-73
A stroke in front of the chasing pack when the rain-delayed third round was completed earlier in the day, Wilson closed with a three-under-par 67 to claim his third PGA Tour title.
The 36-year-old coolly birdied the par-five last for a 16-under total of 264, forcing Marino (68) and Clark (64) to settle for a share of second place.
American Jimmy Walker birdied two of the last three holes for a 68 to finish fourth at 13 under.
Wilson raised his right arm skywards in triumph after his five-foot birdie putt dropped on the 18th green, ending a brutal day at Waialae where 36 holes were played to complete the tournament.
"It was actually good we just kind of kept going," a beaming Wilson said greenside. "I felt I was playing well. I shot 65 in the morning.
"It was nice to just go right to the (first) tee (for the fourth round) and you didn't have to think about it at all. I'm just thankful it's over now."
Two strokes off the pace going into the marathon last day, Wilson grabbed a one-shot lead by the time the rain-delayed third round was eventually completed.
A flawless five-under-par 65 put him one ahead of Marino at 13-under 197 before the players immediately set off for the final round in the same groupings.
Wilson doubled his lead when he sank a six-footer to birdie the par-three fourth and he did well to save par at the sixth where he got up and down from 150 yards after missing the fairway off the tee.
That Houdini-like escape put him three ahead when his playing partner Marino bogeyed the sixth after finding a greenside bunker with his approach and hitting a poor third shot.
Wilson then birdied the par-five ninth, where he calmly rolled in a seven-footer, to reach the turn at 15 under overall and four strokes in front of the chasing pack.
Clark, however, relentlessly closed in with a sizzling back nine of four-under 31 to trim Wilson's advantage to just one.
Wilson squandered a golden opportunity to regain a two-shot cushion when his birdie attempt from just five feet slid past the right edge of the cup at the par-four 14th.
After parring the next two holes, Wilson got up and down from a greenside bunker to avoid a bogey at the short 17th, sinking a tricky 10-footer before pumping his right fist in celebration.
He then chipped up to five feet at the last before knocking in the birdie putt to seal victory.
Leading final scores on Sunday in the 5.5 million-dollar US PGA Tour Sony Open (USA unless noted):
264 - Mark Wilson 65-67-65-67
266 - Tim Clark (RSA) 68-68-66-64, Steve Marino 65-67-66-68
267 - Jimmy Walker 68-65-66-68
268 - Matt Bettencourt 68-65-68-67, Matt Kuchar 65-68-66-69
269 - Shigeki Maruyama (JPN) 65-65-70-69, Roland Thatcher 67-65-68-69
270 - Jerry Kelly 68-67-69-66, Davis Love 68-66-67-69, Chris Riley 66-69-66-69, Steve Stricker 69-67-68-66
271 - Stuart Appleby (AUS) 64-66-69-72, Chad Campbell 67-67-68-69, Brian Gay 69-68-70-64, Anthony Kim 71-64-68-68, Tag Ridings 68-67-68-68, Justin Rose (GBR) 65-68-68-70, Rory Sabbatini (RSA) 69-66-67-69
...
272 - Jason Day (AUS) 69-67-66-70, John Senden (AUS) 71-65-67-69, Brendon de Jonge (ZIM) 68-67-66-71
273 - Fredrik Jacobson (SWE) 68-66-69-70, Marc Leishman (AUS) 65-69-73-66
274 - Arjun Atwal (IND) 67-68-69-70
275 - Aaron Baddeley (AUS) 73-64-70-68, Steven Bowditch (AUS) 67-70-69-69, Jarrod Lyle (AUS) 68-65-71-71
276 - Ernie Els (RSA) 70-65-67-74
277 - Liang Wen-chong (CHN) 66-70-70-71, Charlie Wi (KOR) 68-68-70-71
281 - Michael Sim (AUS) 68-67-72-74
282 - Matt McQuillan (CAN) 68-69-71-74, Jesper Parnevik (SWE) 70-66-73-73
