Strong Winds Batter the Sony Open: Davis Riley and Others Lead
HONOLULU – The wind showed up early and remained steady during the second round of the Sony Open, marking the start of the PGA Tour season. Davis Riley demonstrated his skill in challenging conditions, achieving a birdie on the 18th hole, a par 5, for a 64 and sharing the lead. Riley tied Nick Taylor, the defending champion, along with Kevin Roy, S.H. Kim and Adrien Dumont de Chassart, all with a total of 9 under par, 131 at Waialae Country Club.Taylor, for his part, faced the strongest wind of the day in the afternoon, after having recorded a 62 in calmer conditions the day before, sharing the lead of the first round with Roy. The Canadian holed a 25-foot birdie putt on the 15th hole, a par 4, and another 17-foot putt on the 16th hole, also par 4, to take the lead, but then suffered a bogey on the 17th hole, a par 3.I think these conditions bring out the best in me, because you have to be creative. It’s not about making perfect golf swings all the time. There’s definitely some feel and creativity.
Davis Riley
Roy closed with a birdie on the 9th hole, a par 5, at the end of the afternoon.The wind was strong and with some gusts. Many of the holes had a crosswind, so it was difficult to calculate the distances correctly. Sometimes it helped, sometimes it hurt. You almost had to time your shots correctly and have a bit of luck too.
Nick Taylor
Dumont de Chassart shot a 67 and Kim a 68, both during the morning. Maverick McNealy (66), who started in the morning, finished one stroke behind, along with afternoon players Takumi Kanaya (66), John Parry (68) and Chris Gotterup (69).When you have wind like that, it doesn’t seem like it’s going in the same direction. It seems to be blowing everywhere. I tried to do a really good job, just trying to plot my way around the course.
Kevin Roy
Jordan Spieth finished at 3 under par after a 69, marking a bogey on the 15th hole.Obviously, it was a difficult day here with the wind.
Chris Gotterup
Vijay Singh made the cut with rounds of 68 and 70. The 62-year-old Hall of Famer is using a career money exemption to participate in full-field events this year. This is his twenty-fifth appearance in the event, which he won in 2005. The season began a week later than usual due to the cancellation of The Sentry in Kapalua, Maui, due to water problems.It was very difficult this morning. I hit a 7-iron on that 15th hole. It was maybe 158 yards and I think it went 120 yards and I played it like 175. So it was very challenging at times. And on the greens, it gets really difficult to make putts when it’s that windy.
Jordan Spieth
