Patrick Fishburn, Denny McCarthy on top at Sony Open in Hawaii
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Patrick Fishburn (left) and Denny McCarthy, two 30-something players each seeking their first PGA Tour win, share the lead at the midpoint of the Sony Open in Hawaii.
PHOTOS: REUTERS
HAWAII – Patrick Fishburn and Denny McCarthy, two players in their 30s seeking their first PGA Tour win, share the lead at the midpoint of the Sony Open in Hawaii.
Fishburn produced a second consecutive five-under 65 at Waialae Country Club on Jan 10. McCarthy carded a 66 and is also at 10-under 130 for the tournament.
Fishburn started his bogey-free round with a hot streak on the back nine, as he recorded three consecutive birdies from Nos. 12 to 14. After the turn, he added birdies at the fifth and ninth holes.
The 32-year-old Utah native said the key to his strong two rounds was “probably just keeping the ball in the fairway”.
He added: “I’ve hit a lot of fairways and feel really comfortable with the putter. First round I made a few long ones and today felt like everything was kind of going where I wanted it to on the greens.
“Just a matter of judging the wind and the break. Feels like I’m rolling the ball really well, so excited for the next two days.”
Fishburn is competing in his 28th career PGA Tour event, and he has never finished higher than third place.
He said of his strategy for the weekend: “Just to continue what I’ve been doing... Just kind of take what the course gives me and be aggressive when I can, but try to continue to have good course management and hopefully roll a few in.”
McCarthy, a 31-year-old Maryland native, is in his 191st start on the tour. He has registered two runner-up results, at the 2023 Memorial and the 2024 Texas Open.
On Jan 10, he started birdie-bogey-bogey, then was bogey-free the rest of the way, adding five more birdies.
“I played really well,” McCarthy said. “I played better than yesterday, I think, tee to green. Hit way more fairways today. Missed a lot of short putts, but I made up for it. Made a couple longer bonus putts... Everything feels really good.”
Eric Cole and Paul Peterson (both 67) and Japan’s Kensei Hirata (63) are tied for third place a stroke back. Hirata was the biggest mover of the second round, vaulting 41 places up the leaderboard.
Lee Hodges, Alex Smalley (both 64), Zach Johnson, J.J. Spaun and Austria’s Sepp Straka (all 66) share sixth place at eight-under 132.
Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama, coming off a record-breaking 35-under victory at The Sentry last week in Kapalua, Hawaii, is tied for 42nd place at 136 after a one-under 69 on Jan 10. He captured the Sony Open title in 2022.
The 32-year-old won the 2021 Masters for his first Major and has 11 career PGA Tour wins. REUTERS, AFP
