adminThe golfers went into Sunday’s final round sitting on third place and 21st place respectively.
De Jonge eventually finished on nine-under par while Price was two strokes adrift.
Denis Watson, who won the Sportsman of the Year award here in 1975, played in the seniors in Hawaii and finished in 41st place.
The Sony Open attracted 290 golfers and De Jonge was within striking range of the leader after the first three rounds.
Johnson Wagner emerged as the eventual winner on 13-under-par.
De Jonge carded a 71 in the first round of the US$5,5 million tournament and an incredible 62 in the second round thrust him into contention.
An impressive 67 followed and he was well in third place.
De Jonge told golf writer, Chris Reimer, he was confident of maintaining his form this season.
“It was nice I actually switched putters after yesterday (Friday) and obviously for the better,” said de Jonge.
“I made a couple of nice putts early on and managed to keep it going.
“It takes a while. I switched back to a putter that I used all of last year. I don’t know why I switched, I just did, and it was a mistake obviously.
“You know, I had struggled in the off-season actually with the putter and just thought I’d change just to try and get a little spark.
“The beginning of every year I sit down and re-evaluate goals. I feel like I’ve given myself a lot of really good chances to win.
“I feel like I’m getting closer and closer. That’s obviously one of the biggest goals for me, and then obviously a couple other little goals, as well,” de Jonge said.
Online Reporter