HONOLULU (AP) — Patrick Fishburn found some early momentum and Denny McCarthy overcame a slow start Friday, with both ending up in the same place — a share of the lead in the Sony Open before what appears to be a weekend end wide open. in Waialae.
Fishburn made three straight birdies on the back nine to start his round and birdied the fifth hole, closing with a final birdie for a 5-under 65.
McCarthy missed a pair of relatively short putts by his standards early in his round. Once he made a 25-foot birdie on the fifth hole, he was on his way to a 66. McCarthy, considered one of the best putters on the PGA Tour, missed an 8-foot birdie attempt on the hole final.
They were at 10-under 130, one shot ahead of Kensei Hirata (63) and Eric Cole (67), who had a chance to tie for the lead until missing a 4-foot birdie putt on the 18th par 5 at Waialae.
Also on the sidelines was 36-year-old rookie Paul Peterson, who participated in five previous tours around the world before earning his PGA Tour card this year. He chose to end his round on the par-5 ninth hole, with two putts for a birdie and a 67 in near darkness.
The cut was 3-under 137. Among those absent from the first full event of the year were 15 players who were in Maui last week for The Sentry, a $20 million tournament featuring the 2024 winners and FedEx Top 50. Cup. This list included Billy Horschel, Chris Kirk and Austin Eckroat.
McCarthy wasn’t at all bothered by some of the shorter putts he missed because he was playing in the afternoon when there was already a lot of foot traffic, and because he atone for them making his share of longer putts.
“A kind of equality,” he said.
Fishburn is a 32-year-old from Utah who is in his second year on tour after taking advantage of a steep drop to ensure he has a full card for 2025, an important year as only the top 100 of the FedEx Cup keep their cards. He finished 104th as a rookie.
This is my second time at the Sony Open and my first time playing. He was among the Korn Ferry Tour graduates who traveled to Oahu for rookie orientation but found the field was full and most of them would not participate in the tournament.
“It was a big relief to be on the plane knowing that I was going to have a departure time. A completely different scenario,” he said. “So yeah, I’m happy to have tee time this year.
One thing was certain. That record score at 35 under by Hideki Matsuyama at Kapalua last week is safe. The Hawaii Swing offers two very different courses: Kapalua built on a mountain, Waialae along the sea. One is a long and wide resort course, the other is a private club with doglegs and play areas. narrow landing.
“This one is definitely tougher,” McCarthy said. “You’re not going to have a winner under 35 here.”
The top five players of the weekend have never won on the PGA Tour, a key element because at stake is an invitation to the Masters. But victory is still far away with 25 players four shots from the lead and 36 holes to play.
Among these two shots behind were personalities from the last Ryder Cup outside Rome: the Austrian Sepp Straka and the American captain Zach Johnson.
Johnson, who turns 49 next month, played a 9-iron from the third fairway for eagle and shot 31 on the front nine. He finished with a 66.
Matsuyama had a 69 and was 4 under. He remains in the mix to try to become the third player to win the Hawaii tournaments in the same year. This was recently done by Justin Thomas in 2017.
Johnson first joined the PGA Tour in 2004 at the Sony Open. He now has no status and needs an exemption from the Sony Open to play in the tournament he once won. He writes more letters, makes phone calls, asks for a spot on the field.
“I’m not going to play a very heavy schedule this year. I don’t feel like I want to or have to, obviously for priority reasons,” said Johnson, who has played only twice this fall because his son is playing high. he played football at school and he didn’t want to miss a single match.
The 6-under 134 group included Gary Woodland, who returned a year ago from brain surgery to remove a lesion that caused seizures and unfounded fears of dying. Woodland’s swing is coming together. He says he now sees the golf course more clearly and has a little patience in his game.
“I feel good, but I’m on the golf course and I’m in my zone and I’m not looking for it,” Woodland said. “I think for a long time – most of last year – I didn’t know what to expect with each shot, how I was going to feel. It’s like I haven’t felt like that in a long time .I’m going in the right direction. There are still things to improve, but it’s exciting and the signs are there.