KAPALUA, Hawaii — Chris Kirk two-putted for birdie from simply wanting the 18th inexperienced at Kapalua on Saturday, giving him a 7-under 66 for a one-shot lead in The Sentry and hardly any room for error going into the ultimate spherical of the PGA Tour’s season opener.
Low scoring has turn into the norm on the Plantation course at Kapalua, even with stronger commerce wind. Totally different about this 12 months is the variety of gamers with an opportunity.
That features 21-year-old Akshay Bhatia in his first full 12 months on the PGA Tour and Xander Schauffele and Jordan Spieth, each previous champions at Kapalua.
And it nonetheless contains Scottie Scheffler, the world’s No. 1 participant, who did not see many putts go within the gap and needed to accept a 71. Scheffler was nonetheless solely three behind.
Kirk was at 21-under 198 in his first time again at Kapalua in eight years. He was the PGA Tour’s comeback participant of the 12 months in 2023 from successful the Honda Traditional after having stepped away for an enormous a part of 2019 to take care of alcoholism and melancholy.
He begins the brand new 12 months with what appears like a dash on the aspect of a mountain.
“You actually cannot defend something out right here, that is for certain,” Kirk stated. “When it is a shootout like this and the scores are actually low, you simply keep aggressive and simply go do your factor.”
Bhatia, who secured his PGA Tour card by the minor leagues after which gained the Barracuda Championship, took solely 27 putts for the second straight day. His solely lapse was three-putting from 60 ft for par on the 667-yard closing gap for a 66.
The group two photographs behind included Schauffele (65), who closed with a 62 5 years in the past to rally for victory at Kapalua; and Spieth (67), who gained by eight photographs at Kapalua in 2016. They had been joined by Byeong Hun An (68).
Schauffele and Spieth know the drill. Most leads should not protected it doesn’t matter what the rating reveals, notably due to a dynamic closing stretch of par 5s and a reachable par 4.
“Positively maintain your head down,” Schauffele stated. “There’s actually no level taking a look at a leaderboard early on a property like this.”
Spieth made birdie from a bunker some 40 yards wanting the flag on the reachable 14th, probably the most troublesome photographs in golf, and closed with a 6-iron into the inexperienced for a two-putt birdie.
He first got here to Kapalua a decade in the past and understands the circulate of scoring. The trick is to keep away from bogeys on the more durable holes and attempt to decide up a couple of birdies earlier than the motion begins on the reachable par-4 14th.
“Then hastily it is a dash and also you see who makes 4 out of the final 5,” he stated. “That appears to be the case and it most likely would be the case tomorrow.”
That was Kirk’s plan Saturday with one wrinkle. The totally different wind fooled him on his tee shot down the par-5 fifteenth, and he performed it too far to the best and into the weeds. He took a penalty drop, needed to lay up wanting the elevated inexperienced after which hit wedge slightly too robust, onto the perimeter going through a putt downwind, barely downhill and with the wind at his again.
He holed the putt for a par, ending his streak of three straight birdies and but nonetheless feeling that he had the wind in his sails.
“To make that one after a pleasant run of birdies earlier than that positively stored the momentum going,” Kirk stated.
Scheffler by no means had a lot momentum in any respect. He made his first birdie on the par-5 fifth, the best gap at Kapalua. However he had a three-putt bogey on No. 7, and hit right into a bunker beneath the inexperienced on the par-3 eighth that led to a different bogey.
Scheffler completed with a three-putt par on the 18th from just below 40 ft. The upside was being solely three photographs out of the lead, together with Harris English (64), Jason Day (67) and Sahith Theegala (68).
Throw in Patrick Cantlay and Collin Morikawa, and 12 gamers had been inside 4 photographs of the lead. That was totally different from final 12 months, when Morikawa took a six-shot lead into the ultimate spherical solely to be caught by Jon Rahm; the 12 months earlier than, Rahm and Cameron Smith shared the 54-hole lead and had been 5 away from everybody else.
Now it is anybody’s sport Sunday.
“The again 9, something can occur,” English stated. “I bear in mind getting off to a troublesome begin the ultimate spherical of that 2021 12 months and obtained it occurring the again 9 and performed very well coming down the stretch. I feel having a few of that persistence will assist tomorrow.”
Trending Merchandise
