LEADER BRIAN STUARD CHASING FIRST US PGA TOUR WIN ON HAWAII
FROM THE US PGA TOUR WEBSITE
HONOLULU -- Brian Stuard had his fourth straight round of 65 at the Sony Open. Too bad it was only Friday.Stuard completed his second round with a hybrid 3-iron into 2 feet for eagle on the par-5 ninth hole for a 5-under 65 and a 10-under halfway total of 130.
That gave him a one-shot lead over Australian Marc Leishman and Japan's Hideto Tanihara on another gorgeous day off the shores of Oahu, Hawaii.
Stuard, a 31-year-old from Michigan who is in his third year on the US PGA Tour, was at 10-under 130.
He had a 65-65 weekend at Waialae last year to tie for fifth, his best finish on the US Tour besides the opposite-field events. This was his seventh straight round in the 60s at Waialae, dating to his first trip in 2010.
"I think it's something to do with the greens," Stuard said. "I feel comfortable on the greens. I feel like I read them pretty well and I'm able to make putts."
That usually works anywhere, and in this case, it has put Stuard on a good spot regardless of how the other half of the field fared in the afternoon.
James Hahn already was off to a memorable start. He made an albatross 2 on the par-5 ninth hole, the first one at Waialae since Terry Mauney in 1978.
Masters champion Adam Scott (4-under 66) is 7 under through two rounds and PGA champion Jason Dufner (2-under 68) is 5 under entering the weekend.
The two were among the late starters who faced breezy conditions on a course that was firm and fast after a full day of sunshine down from Waikiki.
Leishman also made an eagle on the ninth hole, but that was in the middle of his round. And it was part of a three-hole stretch he played in 4-under, and he made a 25-foot birdie putt on the 14th hole. It led to a 64 that put him in a good spot going into the weekend.
"They're the sort of things that really turn an average round into a good one, or a good one into a great one," Leishman said. "It was nice to shoot 6-under and get myself right in it."
Jason Kokrak had a 67 and was at 7-under 133, while rookie Hudson Swafford played bogey-free for a 64 and was in the group at 134 that included past Sony Open champion Jerry Kelly and Boo Weekley.
Kapalua winner Zach Johnson had a 67 and was at 135, reasonable position as he tries to become the first player since Ernie Els in 2003 to win both Hawaii events in the same year. The runner-up last week, Jordan Spieth, wasn't so fortunate.
Spieth was on the verge of getting to 2-under at the turn until missing a 4-foot birdie putt. On the next tee, he pulled it left and never found it along the out-of-bounds posts next to the driving range. That led to double bogey, and he never recovered. He shot 71 for 141 and missed the cut by two strokes.
"The funny thing is, I putted better this week than last week," Spieth said.
He also was amused -- not at the time, but after his round -- about the 18th. The three areas he wanted to improve this year were his long irons, his chipping and short putts. His long iron into the 18th came up just short of the green. His chip left him farther away than he wanted (4 feet), and the putt was pulled.
The iron wasn't all that bad. It took one hop into the edge of the rough by the green which killed the bounce toward the green.
No matter. He planned a day in the sun on Friday and Saturday, and then was headed home to get ready for Torrey Pines in two weeks. That will bring back some memories.
A year ago, Spieth had to play a pre-qualifier in San Diego just to get into the Monday qualifier. He failed to get one of the spots, and then was given a sponsor's exemption.
Monday qualifiers are no longer part of his future.
RUSSELL KNOX MISSES CUT BY ONE
Russell Knox, who had earlier had a double bogey 7 at the ninth, missed the cut by one shot with scores of 68 and 72 for level par 140.
He birdied the 10th, 14th and 15th in a brave bid to atone for an outward 39 - bogeys also at second and sixth, but that bogey at 16th was the final "killer."
DALY HURSTS HIS ELBOW AGAIN
John Daly returned to the US PGA Tour after a six-month hiatus, but he might need some additional time off after reinjuring his surgically repaired right elbow hitting a bunker shot in the second round.
Daly, who had surgery on July 9 to repair a torn tendon, reinjured the elbow on the 12th hole, hitting his third shot out of a greenside bunker.
It was only his third hole of the day, and Daly stood 1 under for the round and 5 under for the tournament, but his good play would not continue.
The jolt to the elbow produced swelling where four pins were inserted. From that point on, Daly's day was on a wild, roller-coaster ride that produced two double bogeys, three bogeys, one eagle and two birdies.
“I just couldn't stop hitting duck hooks,” Daly said. “Thank God I putted good.”
Daly had only 22 putts plus a chip-in on the 18th hole for eagle.
Not having played on Tour since The Greenbrier Classic last year, Daly had hoped the elbow issues were behind him. It will take a night of icing the arm before the verdict is in whether he has seriously injured himself or dislodged one of the pins inserted into the elbow.
He made the cut on the limit mark of one-under 139 with scores of 66 and 73 but it remains to be seen if he will play in the last two rounds.
"He said, if you ever hit something like that, those screws are pretty good in there,” Daly recalled Dr. Wesley Cox telling him after the surgery. "It's going to take a lot to get that out.”
It was Daly's first cut made on the US PGA Tour since he finished 77th at the 2013 FedEx St. Jude Classic.
LEADERBOARD AT HALFWAY
par 140 (2x70)
130 Brian Stuard (USA) 65 65
131 Marc Leishman (Australia) 67 64, Hideto Tanihara (Japan) 66 65
132 Harris English (USA) 66 66
133 Jason Kokrak (USA) 66 67, Jimmy walker (USA) 66 67, Adam Scott (Australia) 67 66, Chris Kirk (USA) 64 69, Sang-Moon Bae (S Korea) 63 70, Chris Stroud (USA) 68 65.
He had a 65-65 weekend at Waialae last year to tie for fifth, his best finish on the US Tour besides the opposite-field events. This was his seventh straight round in the 60s at Waialae, dating to his first trip in 2010.
"I think it's something to do with the greens," Stuard said. "I feel comfortable on the greens. I feel like I read them pretty well and I'm able to make putts."
That usually works anywhere, and in this case, it has put Stuard on a good spot regardless of how the other half of the field fared in the afternoon.
James Hahn already was off to a memorable start. He made an albatross 2 on the par-5 ninth hole, the first one at Waialae since Terry Mauney in 1978.
Masters champion Adam Scott (4-under 66) is 7 under through two rounds and PGA champion Jason Dufner (2-under 68) is 5 under entering the weekend.
The two were among the late starters who faced breezy conditions on a course that was firm and fast after a full day of sunshine down from Waikiki.
Leishman also made an eagle on the ninth hole, but that was in the middle of his round. And it was part of a three-hole stretch he played in 4-under, and he made a 25-foot birdie putt on the 14th hole. It led to a 64 that put him in a good spot going into the weekend.
"They're the sort of things that really turn an average round into a good one, or a good one into a great one," Leishman said. "It was nice to shoot 6-under and get myself right in it."
Jason Kokrak had a 67 and was at 7-under 133, while rookie Hudson Swafford played bogey-free for a 64 and was in the group at 134 that included past Sony Open champion Jerry Kelly and Boo Weekley.
Kapalua winner Zach Johnson had a 67 and was at 135, reasonable position as he tries to become the first player since Ernie Els in 2003 to win both Hawaii events in the same year. The runner-up last week, Jordan Spieth, wasn't so fortunate.
Spieth was on the verge of getting to 2-under at the turn until missing a 4-foot birdie putt. On the next tee, he pulled it left and never found it along the out-of-bounds posts next to the driving range. That led to double bogey, and he never recovered. He shot 71 for 141 and missed the cut by two strokes.
"The funny thing is, I putted better this week than last week," Spieth said.
He also was amused -- not at the time, but after his round -- about the 18th. The three areas he wanted to improve this year were his long irons, his chipping and short putts. His long iron into the 18th came up just short of the green. His chip left him farther away than he wanted (4 feet), and the putt was pulled.
The iron wasn't all that bad. It took one hop into the edge of the rough by the green which killed the bounce toward the green.
No matter. He planned a day in the sun on Friday and Saturday, and then was headed home to get ready for Torrey Pines in two weeks. That will bring back some memories.
A year ago, Spieth had to play a pre-qualifier in San Diego just to get into the Monday qualifier. He failed to get one of the spots, and then was given a sponsor's exemption.
Monday qualifiers are no longer part of his future.
RUSSELL KNOX MISSES CUT BY ONE
Russell Knox, who had earlier had a double bogey 7 at the ninth, missed the cut by one shot with scores of 68 and 72 for level par 140.
He birdied the 10th, 14th and 15th in a brave bid to atone for an outward 39 - bogeys also at second and sixth, but that bogey at 16th was the final "killer."
DALY HURSTS HIS ELBOW AGAIN
John Daly returned to the US PGA Tour after a six-month hiatus, but he might need some additional time off after reinjuring his surgically repaired right elbow hitting a bunker shot in the second round.
Daly, who had surgery on July 9 to repair a torn tendon, reinjured the elbow on the 12th hole, hitting his third shot out of a greenside bunker.
It was only his third hole of the day, and Daly stood 1 under for the round and 5 under for the tournament, but his good play would not continue.
The jolt to the elbow produced swelling where four pins were inserted. From that point on, Daly's day was on a wild, roller-coaster ride that produced two double bogeys, three bogeys, one eagle and two birdies.
“I just couldn't stop hitting duck hooks,” Daly said. “Thank God I putted good.”
Daly had only 22 putts plus a chip-in on the 18th hole for eagle.
Not having played on Tour since The Greenbrier Classic last year, Daly had hoped the elbow issues were behind him. It will take a night of icing the arm before the verdict is in whether he has seriously injured himself or dislodged one of the pins inserted into the elbow.
He made the cut on the limit mark of one-under 139 with scores of 66 and 73 but it remains to be seen if he will play in the last two rounds.
"He said, if you ever hit something like that, those screws are pretty good in there,” Daly recalled Dr. Wesley Cox telling him after the surgery. "It's going to take a lot to get that out.”
It was Daly's first cut made on the US PGA Tour since he finished 77th at the 2013 FedEx St. Jude Classic.
LEADERBOARD AT HALFWAY
par 140 (2x70)
130 Brian Stuard (USA) 65 65
131 Marc Leishman (Australia) 67 64, Hideto Tanihara (Japan) 66 65
132 Harris English (USA) 66 66
133 Jason Kokrak (USA) 66 67, Jimmy walker (USA) 66 67, Adam Scott (Australia) 67 66, Chris Kirk (USA) 64 69, Sang-Moon Bae (S Korea) 63 70, Chris Stroud (USA) 68 65.
SELECTED SCORES
135 Zach Johnson (USA) 68 67, Retief Goosen (S Africa) 66 69, Jason Dufner (USA) 67 68 (T15)
136 Matt Kuchar (USA) 68 68 (T25)
138 John Daly (US) 66 73 (T66).
MISSED THE CUT (139 and better qualified)
140 Russell Knox (Scotland) 68 72.
141 Jordan Spieth (USA) 70 71
TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES
CLICK HERE
136 Matt Kuchar (USA) 68 68 (T25)
138 John Daly (US) 66 73 (T66).
MISSED THE CUT (139 and better qualified)
140 Russell Knox (Scotland) 68 72.
141 Jordan Spieth (USA) 70 71
TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES
CLICK HERE
Labels: US PGA TOUR
posted by Colin |
See story on its own page | Saturday, January 11, 2014
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home