01/16/26 10:21:00
Printable Page
01/16 22:20 CST Riley, defending champ Taylor part of 5-way tie for lead at
windy Sony Open
Riley, defending champ Taylor part of 5-way tie for lead at windy Sony Open
HONOLULU (AP) --- The wind arrived early and stayed late Friday in the second
round of the PGA Tour's season-opening Sony Open. Davis Riley thrived in the
difficult conditions in the morning, birdieing the par-5 18th for a 64 and a
share of the lead.
Riley matched defending champion Nick Taylor, Kevin Roy, S.H. Kim and Adrien
Dumont de Chassart at 9-under 131 at Waialae Country Club.
"I think these conditions are kind of bringing it out in me a little bit
because you have to be creative," Riley said. "It's not like you're trying to
make perfect golf swings every time. There is definitely some feel and
creativity."
Taylor faced the stiffest wind of the day in the afternoon a day after shooting
a 62 in calmer conditions for a share of the first-round lead with Roy. The
Canadian ran in a 25-foot birdie putt on the par-4 15th and a 17-footer on the
par-4 16th to take the outright lead, then bogeyed the par-3 17th to slip back.
"The wind was strong and with some gusts," Taylor said. "A lot of the holes
were relatively crosswind, so it was tough to get the yardages correctly.
Sometimes it would hurt, sometimes it would help. Almost had to time your shots
correctly and get a little bit of luck, too."
Last year, Taylor chipped in for eagle on 18 to get into a playoff, then beat
Nico Echavarria with a birdie.
Roy closed with a birdie on the par-5 ninth late in the afternoon.
"When you get wind like that doesn't really feel like it's in the same
direction," Roy said. "It's just blowing everywhere seems like. I tried to do a
really good job at just trying to plot myself around the course."
Dumont de Chassart shot 67, and Kim had a 68 --- both in the morning.
Morning starter Maverick McNealy (66) was a stroke back with afternoon players
Takumi Kanaya (66), John Parry (68) and Chris Gotterup (69).
"Obviously, tough day out here with the wind," Gotterup said.
Jordan Spieth was 3 under after a 69. He pointed to a bogey on 15.
"It was so hard this morning," Spieth said. "I hit a 7-iron into that 15th
hole. I had maybe 158 hole and I think it went 120 yards and I played it like
175. So, it was just very challenging at times. And on the greens it just
becomes really hard to make putts when it's that windy."
Vijay Singh made the cut with rounds of 68 and 70. The 62-year-old Hall of
Famer is using a one-time career money exemption to play in full-field events
this year. He's making his 25th start in the event he won in 2005.
The season started a week later than usual because The Sentry at Kapalua on
Maui was canceled due to water issues.
___
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
|
