Inside the Numbers: ShotLink stats for Sony

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Here's a look at some key facts and figures from the PGA TOUR's ShotLink statistics:

DEFENDING CHAMP MARK WILSON

Putts made over 6 feet: Wilson made a field leading 21 putts from 6 feet or longer en route to winning last year's Sony Open in Hawaii (almost 13 more putts made over 6 feet than the field average of 8.13 per player).

Bogey-free on the weekend: Wilson was the only player in the field to go bogey-free on his final 36 holes of play. Wilson is only the second Sony Open in Hawaii champion to go bogey-free in his final 36 holes and win (1999, Jeff Sluman).

Key shot: After hitting his greenside bunker shot on the par 3 17th in the final round, Wilson was faced with a 10-1/2 feet putt for par to maintain his position on the leaderboard. PGA TOUR players make just over one in every four putts when putting from 10 to 15 feet (2011 TOUR avg: 28.5 percent). Wilson rolled in the putt. For the week, Wilson converted 7 of 14 putts when putting from 10 to 15 feet (50 percent success rate).

RECENT CHAMPIONS

Here's a look at how the last eight champions of the Sony Open in Hawaii have ranked in the field during his winning week:

Scrambling: 6 of the last 8 Sony Open champions have ranked inside the top 10 for scrambling en route to their respective victories.

Putting: 5 of the last 8 Sony Open champions have ranked inside the top 8 for putts gained en route to their respective victories.

Here's a look at the scoring breakdown for those recent champions:

Par-4 scoring is Key at Waialae CC: Five of the last eight champions have led the field for par-4 scoring en route to their victories. All eight 8 champions have ranked inside the top 3 for par-4 scoring during their wins.

WAIALAE COUNTRY CLUB

Waialae Country Club has yielded some of the toughest fairways to hit on the PGA TOUR in the last nine years on TOUR. The fairways have ranked inside the top 12 toughest on TOUR in each of the last nine years (toughest to hit in both 2006 and 2010).

The par 4 1st hole at Waialae Country Club has ranked among the toughest opening holes on the PGA TOUR in recent years. In 2009, it ranked as the second toughest opening hole with a scoring average of 0.351 above par.

On the flip side, the par-5 18th has been one of the easiest finishing holes on TOUR in the last five years on TOUR. In fact, last year, it ranked as the easiest finishing hole on TOUR with a scoring average of 0671 below par.. In three of the previous four years, it ranked inside the top five of easiest finishing holes.