I do not know what would happen by the head of Ryan Palmer when his chip from just 15 meters on the 18th green left something strong, but I guess no good. Seconds later, must have felt better than ever, or at least relieved.

His chip hit the flag, and instead of spending a few feet from the hole it was dead a few inches of the hole. Palmer holed his ball for birdie and a round four strokes under par, 66 in total, giving him a victory by a stroke lead at the Sony Open in Hawaii when Robert Allenby missed a ten-foot putt for birdie.

Palmer has been

It is Palmer's third victory on the PGA Tour, and his record may include a Disney with Tiger Woods in the field. Yet is was far more significant. The 33 year old Texan player was in the top of the table along the four-day tournament, and knew it to the end against Allenby and Steve Stricker, who has not lost any of his big game in late 2009 and was tied for the lead, but eventually finished third.

"What we got is beyond words," Palmer said. "It'sa great field. Doing it every day ... and my bad back was two under par. I never got angry or impatient. What I did today is my best round of golf. "

And possibly be right, because it took a few thumps.

The American is an exemption on the Tour until 2012. This year will go to the Masters for the first time in five years. You can add T he Players Championship and PGA Championship to his list, and at least one World Golf Championship.

For his part, Allenby was trying to win his third consecutive tournament in three different circuits, and had his chance. Yesterday he played no bogeys on the back nine and the situation never could, but needed only one more birdie. It was a putt to force a playoff.

"I had a couple of chances," said Allenby. "It is very easy to sit back and say, 'could have done this, that ...' But at the end of the day, really, you can only think that you needed a birdie over at least."

Palmer finished 15 strokes under par (265 total) and won $ 990,000.