Golfers seeking the breakthrough technology and proven performance of Titleist 718 AP3 and AP2 irons can bring an extra edge to their game with the introduction of new limited all-black editions.

Available March 1, the new 718 AP3 Black and 718 AP2 Black irons are finished with a sleek, High Polish Black PVD coating to create a look that stands apart.

True Temper AMT Onyx shafts – with a powder coat matte black finish that helps minimize glare – and an all-black Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360 grip complement the technically striking blacked-out setup.

The development of AP3 Black and AP2 Black was inspired by requests from the PGA Tour, where Titleist has been the #1 iron since 2005, and members of Team Titleist.

“Since we added AP3 to our lineup last fall, more and more golfers are experiencing the game-changing speed and forgiveness of this hollow-blade construction, while AP2 continues to set the standard for tour played iron technology,” said Josh Talge, Vice President, Golf Club Marketing. “One request we heard from both tour players and amateurs, particularly those who have gravitated toward our Jet Black Vokey SM7 wedges, was if they could have these same irons in a darker finish. Our team spent a lot of time making sure the aesthetics were done just right. It’s a look that you just have to see.”

The finish on AP3 Black and AP2 Black will wear similar to the Jet Black coating on SM7 wedges. New Titleist 718 AP3 and AP2 Black irons will be available beginning March 1, 2019. MAP $200 CAD per club ($1,999 CAD/set of 8).

Click here to learn more.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Canada’s Brooke Henderson is tied for the lead after the opening round of the LPGA Tour’s season-opening Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions.

The 21-year-old native of Smiths Falls, Ont., carded a six-under 65 to put her on top along with Korean Eun-Hee Ji.

Henderson overcame a slow start with a bogey on the second hole and a par save on No. 3 at the Tranquilo Golf Club at Four Seasons. She birdied five of her last eight holes for a 65 to tie Ji, who had a bogey-free round.

The tournament – the first season-opener in Florida for the LPGA since 2015 – is only for LPGA winners each of the last two years.

The event had the feel of a pro-am because of all the celebrities and athletes, although it wasn’t all hits and giggles. Along with the 26-player field from the LPGA Tour competing for a US$1.2 million purse, 49 entertainers are competing for a $500,000 prize fund using the modified Stableford scoring system.

Tennis player Mardy Fish led that field with 39 points for a two-point lead over a group that included retired pitcher Mark Mulder.

But it was a different vibe from most LPGA events.

“I had to remind myself it wasn’t Wednesday afternoon, it was Thursday, and I had to get a good score together,” said Henderson, who was in a group with former NBA star Ray Allen. “I think that’s when things kicked in on the front nine. I started getting a couple of birdies to recover from that bogey, and then from there I was ready to go and made a lot of birdies.”

The leaders are one stroke ahead of Lydia Ko of New Zealand and American Stacy Lewis, who was playing her first tournament since giving birth to her first child last year.

.@BrookeHenderson’s first swing of the 2019 @LPGA season ????‍♀️ pic.twitter.com/3UuBvRB52s

— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) January 17, 2019

Nearly three months after Lewis became a mother, and six months after she last played on tour, she opened with seven birdies on Thursday.

“Pleasantly surprised,” Lewis said. “Had pretty low expectations going into the day. Just really made a lot of putts. I had some weird shots, which I knew was going to happen having not played in a while. I don’t know where it came from, but I’m going to take it.”

Ariya Jutanugarn, the world’s No. 1 player who captured every major award last year, opened with a 67. Shooting the same score were Lexi Thompson and Mirim Lee.

Jutanugarn started the year with a new caddie, who previously worked for his fiancee, ANA Inspiration winner Pernilla Lindeberg. She opened with a 77, the highest score among LPGA players.

The Thai said she had some nerves from not having played in two months. And not being used to celebrities in her group also required an adjustment.

“Because I didn’t play for so long – especially playing with them – I feel upset. He hit like 60 yards past me,” said Jutanugarn, who played in the same group with retired baseball players Josh Beckett and Kevin Millar. “Every hole he has a chance to make eagle, so I thought, ‘Maybe I’m not that good.”’

She was referring to Beckett on the long tee shots. She didn’t know much about either, though she figured one thing one quickly.

“I know they are baseball players. I know both of them are really famous,” she said. “And nobody asked me for an autograph. They all asked them.”

Lewis had not played on the LPGA Tour since a 66 to tie for 39th on July 12 at the Marathon Classic in Ohio. She gave birth to her first child, a daughter named Chesnee, on Oct. 25.

The biggest difference was her routine.

She now has to remember where to find daycare, to get out the door a little earlier and making sure she has all the bags for her game and her daughter.

“You’ve got to take three trips to the care to get out the door every morning,” she said. “So it’s a new normal.”

Her game looked like the old Stacy Lewis, at least for the opening round. She was 1 under at the turn until rolling in five birdies to offset one bogey on the back nine.

Twenty of the 26 players were at par or better.

Henderson finished fourth on the LPGA money list last year after winning two events.

Corey Conners was working on his putting last Friday when fellow Canadian Mackenzie Hughes offered some advice.

Hughes pointed out that if Conners tucked in his right elbow a little bit, it would improve his setup.

Conners listened to his longtime friend and went on to shoot a 64 in the third and fourth rounds of the Sony Open in Hawaii to finish at 17-under 263 and tie for third after having to qualify for the PGA Tour event at the start of the week. The high finish has helped Conners climb the FedEx Cup standings and given him momentum heading into this week’s Desert Classic in La Quinta, Calif.

“It gave me some confidence and I told him on Friday afternoon ‘thanks to you, you’re going to see my name rocketing up the leaderboard this weekend.’ I was able to putt a little bit better and do just that,” said the 27-year-old Conners on Wednesday. “He sent me a text after the round on Sunday saying nice work and I thanked him for giving me the tips. I owe him one.”

Conners, from Listowel, Ont., earned a partial PGA Tour card last season by finishing 130th in the FedEx Cup standings with 353 points. The top 125 players on that list get a full card, with American Harris English earning the final spot with just 50 points more than Conners.

But Conners’s third-place finish on Sunday, coupled with a second-place finish at the Sanderson Farms Championship and a tie for 23rd at the RSM Classic, has him sitting 19th early in this season’s FedEx Cup standings with 331 points. In other words, he’s already closing in on his point total from last season and is a virtual lock to earn a full PGA Tour card for 2020.

“I was in a position last year where I was trying to fight for my card all through the summer and toward the end of the year,” said Conners. “It takes a lot of pressure off. Something that I don’t have to worry about as much going forward, I can just focus on having good weeks instead of feeling the pressure to have a certain finish.”

Given his quick rise up this season’s FedEx Cup standings, Conners will likely be asked to play in more invitational tournaments, helping him earn even more points toward next year’s card.

“It was a bit unknown what events I would get into at the beginning of the year, but having this good start there will be some of the invitational tournaments that I’ll be able to get into, which is awesome, and there will be a couple of new events I’ll get to add, which is really exciting,” said Conners. “It’s really helpful to have a good start like I’ve had to set up the rest of the year.”

Conners was joined by seven other Canadians as the Desert Classic teed off on Thursday. Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., and Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont., joined Conners on the LaQuinta course. Adam Hadwin and Nick Taylor, both from Abbotsford, B.C., and Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., were on the Stadium Course.

 

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Swipe for Canadian results on Tour this week! ↔️ @coreyconners leads the way with a T3 performance @sonyopenhawaii ?????

A post shared by Golf Canada (@thegolfcanada) on Jan 14, 2019 at 12:57pm PST

It’s the third time this season eight Canadians are in a PGA event, marking the highest number for a non-domestic tournament since the organization began keeping track in 1970.

Despite the name of the Desert Classic, there has been a lot of rainfall in the days leading up to the event.

“Hopefully they get some sun the next few days,” said Conners. “The golf courses here in the desert are awesome, so lush. The grass is perfect. They’re beautiful courses.

“The greens are rolling really nice so I’m real excited to get going. I like the golf courses a lot. It’s hard not to enjoy when yourself when you get to play in such beautiful places.”

Golf Canada is pleased to announce the 10 athletes—six female and four male—who have been selected to the 2019 Team Canada Young Pro Squad.

Comprising the 2019 Women’s Young Pro Squad is Brittany Marchand (Orangeville, Ont.) , Anne-Catherine Tanguay (Quebec City), Maddie Szeryk (London, Ont.) Augusta James (Bath, Ont.), Jennifer Ha (Calgary) and Jaclyn Lee (Calgary). Lee, 21, makes the transition from the Amateur Squad after turning professional in December.

The Men’s Young Pro Squad will be represented by Jared du Toit (Kimberley, B.C.), Hugo Bernard (Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Que.), Taylor Pendrith (Richmond Hill, Ont.) and Stuart Macdonald (Vancouver).

The Team Canada Young Pro Squad—now in its sixth year—helps bridge the gap for top-performing amateurs transitioning into the professional ranks. Since the inception of the Young Pro Squad in 2014, current and former team members have accounted for 35 wins across various professional golf tours including LPGA Tour and PGA TOUR wins by Young Pro graduates Brooke Henderson, Mackenzie Hughes and Corey Conners, respectively.

“The quality of talented athletes is a strong representation of the future of Canadian golf competing on the world’s major tours in the years to come,” said Jeff Thompson, Golf Canada’s chief sport officer. “Golf Canada continues to support athletes who are demonstrating the capacity to compete at the highest levels of golf in an effort to cultivate heroes for our sport. We are proud to extend the world-class services of the Team Canada program which include coaching support, sport science and financial assistance as this group strives for success in the professional ranks.”

Men’s and Women’s National Squad coaches Derek Ingram and Tristan Mullally—both PGA of Canada members and Ben Kern Coach of the Year past recipients—will provide coaching to their respective Young Pro athletes. In addition to funding and coaching support, the athletes will have access to Team Canada’s sport science staff which includes Psychologist Dr. Adrienne Leslie-Toogood along with Physiotherapist and Strength Coach Greg Redman.

Funding for this program, in large part, comes from the Golf Canada Foundation with generous contributions from founding partners Canadian Pacific and RBC, as well as supporting partners Citi Canada and Bear Mountain Resort—the Official Training Centre of Golf Canada’s National Team program.

“The Young Pro program has achieved tremendous success with Canada’s up-and-coming stars and their ascension through the pro ranks,” said Martin Barnard, CEO of the Golf Canada Foundation. “Fundraising for Canada’s top athletes will remain a priority for the Foundation as we continue to mold and support the future of Canadian golf.”

Throughout the season, Golf Canada will closely monitor the performance of elite Canadian amateurs transitioning to professional golf with the possibility of program expansion.

Click here to read Team Canada Young Pro Squad player bios.

On the airplane from Ottawa after her Christmas holidays, everyone recognized Brooke Henderson.

“That was just kind of different, but kind of cool,” said Henderson with a laugh from Naples, Fla., as she prepared for the LPGA season-opening Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions this week in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

While the 21-year-old native of Smiths Falls, Ont., insists life hasn’t changed much as she’s rocketed up the golf rankings the past few years, the airplane scene shows just how far Henderson has come in the general Canadian sport landscape.

With seven LPGA victories, Henderson enters 2019 one back of the all-time win record by Canadian professionals held by Mike Weir, George Knudson and Sandra Post.

To match or eclipse that mark, the reigning Canadian Press female athlete of the year (an award she has won three times in the past four years) said she’s focused on keeping her scoring average below 70. Her 2018 average of 69.99 was good enough for fourth on tour and if she meets that goal again, she said everything else would fall in line.

The key to her success will be her putting, as it’s the one area of her game that has held her back in the past. She said she’s been working hard with her father Dave (who is also her coach) on speed.

Having good pace on the greens, she said, would be a difference-maker this year.

“I’ve been working on consistency and make sure I’m ready for 2019,” she said. “And I feel like I am.”

Henderson earned a legion of new fans at least year’s CP Women’s Open in Regina, when she won by four shots and became the first Canadian woman to win on home soil in 45 years. She also won the Lotte Championship in Hawaii in April.

“I feel like I’ll be in contention a lot of the time and hopefully that leads to getting at least one win this year,” said Henderson. “But I’d love to keep that streak going of having at least two (she’s won two tournaments each of the past three years).”

Adam Hadwin, Canada’s top-ranked male golfer, certainly wouldn’t doubt that possibility. He calls Henderson “a force.”

“With someone like her, with her being so young, the world is her oyster,” said Hadwin. “My hope is that she continues to enjoy the game and she stays the young, happy kid that she is and she continues doing what she’s doing. If she can do that, she’ll have an extremely long, successful career.”

Despite the money (she’s earned more than US$1.4 million the last three years in a row and counts Rolex as one of her sponsors), and the fame (a bobblehead doll made in her likeness has become a collector’s item), Henderson doesn’t feel like her life is that much different.

It’s been a big adjustment going from a town of 9,000 to being recognized around the world, she admitted, but Henderson remains close to the people who have been by her side for years.

After dropping the ceremonial puck before an Ottawa Senators game in December and receiving a standing ovation, she watched the game in a box surrounded only by family and some friends she’s known since grade school.

“The people that have always been there for me and always been important to me ? they haven’t changed at all,” she said. “I feel like I’ve just grown friends around the world. I’ve brought things in, in addition to those people from my life in Smiths Falls.”

Henderson, who joked at the 2017 CP Women’s Open about retiring early, said she’s not looking too far ahead these days.

The 2019 season is her main focus.

“I feel like I’ve handled everything pretty well so far,” said Henderson. “I’m just trying to get a little bit better every day, and have a great year.”

Henderson is the lone Canadian in the winners-only event this week. The first full-field event of the LPGA Tour season goes Feb. 7-10 in Australia.

CANADIANS TO WATCH ON THE LPGA TOUR IN 2019

• Brittany Marchand – Marchand, 26, managed to secure LPGA status for 2019 after finishing tied for seventh at the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic in July, her best result of the year. The native of Orangeville, Ont., is Canada’s second-ranked female golfer behind Henderson.
• Alena Sharp – Sharp, 37, said in 2018 she battled depression as she struggled on the course. But a run of solid results to end of her year secured LPGA Tour status once again in 2019 for the native of Hamilton. She’s looking for her first win.
• Jaclyn Lee – Calgary’s Lee finished in sixth place at the LPGA Tour’s Q-Series (an eight-round qualifying tournament) to comfortably earn status for 2019. The 21-year-old announced in December she would be leaving Ohio State University to turn professional. While she’s still going to get her degree, she won’t play on the golf team.
• Anne-Catherine Tanguay – The native of Quebec City is back on the LPGA Tour for the second year in a row after finishing eighth in Q-Series. She finished 126th on the money list last year.

Scotty Cameron has added two new mid-mallet models to his flagship line of Select putters – the Select Fastback 2 and Select Squareback 1.5 – developed through feedback from the game’s best players.

Available in golf shops worldwide beginning Feb. 15, the new Select models provide additional mid-mallet options for players seeking Scotty’s popular Fastback and Squareback head styles with specific neck configurations and performance characteristics:

Select Fastback 2: Following the introduction of the 2018 Select Fastback model on the worldwide professional golf tours, players immediately asked Scotty for one option – a plumbing neck. The familiar, confidence-inspiring setup, which provides one shaft of offset, has been incorporated into this rounded mid-mallet. In addition to the new neck, subtle refinements have been made to the topline for a slightly thinner look, as well as a reduction of face height.

Select Squareback 1.5: Scotty’s new Squareback 1.5 incorporates a new mini-slant neck that further squares off the overall shape and look at address for the player seeking clean, distinct visual cues. Additionally, the draft angle has been updated to accommodate the new neck, which also produces slightly more toe flow than its mid-bend counterpart, the Select Squareback. Similar to the Fastback 2, Scotty shaved some topline thickness for a thinner appearance from address, and reduced the overall face height.

Both models adopt the Select line’s tour-proven multi-material construction with a precision milled, MOI-enhancing 6061 aircraft aluminum face-sole component expertly designed into the 303 stainless steel putter head.

 “Extending the Select line was all about taking the feedback we got from players and incorporating it into new offerings. Shortly after we introduced the 2018 Fastback and Squareback models on tour, players began asking for them with prototype necks,” said Scotty Cameron. “We are seeing more and more players gravitate to these nice, compact head shapes. They’re not blades and not exactly mallets. We call them mid-mallets. By creating the Fastback 2 with a plumbing neck, and the Squareback 1.5 with our mini-slant neck, we’re giving players everything they asked for and more.”

HONOLULU – Corey Conners notched his second top-5 PGA Tour result this season — but it didn’t come easy.

The Listowel, Ont., native got into the field via Monday Qualifying, going on to finish in a tie for third at 17 under par. Conners made his most significant move on the weekend, firing matching scores of 64 to rocket up the leaderboard.

With the finish, the 27-year-old Team Canada alumnus sits 19th in the FedEx Cup rankings and moves into the top-200 (No. 181) on the Official World Golf Rankings for the first time in his career. Conners finished five strokes back of champion Matt Kuchar.

He shot 74 on Labor Day and failed to advance out of the second round of the FedEx Cup playoffs for the first time in 10 years. He was never in serious contention all year. The captain’s picks for the Ryder Cup were announced the next day. Kuchar wasn’t even considered, left off a U.S. team for the first time since 2009.

Four months later, the view is so much different.

The rainbow that stretched across the Oahu sky on Sunday looked magical when Kuchar turned to raise his arms after one last birdie for a 4-under 66, which gave him a four-shot victory in the Sony Open.

Kuchar, a member of Team RBC, had gone 115 starts on tour without winning. Now he has won two of his last three.

“Crazy to comprehend,” he said.

This was much harder than reading the fine print that he won by four shots over Andrew Putnam with the third-lowest score in Sony Open history.

Kuchar’s two-shot lead going into the final round was gone in four holes, and when he missed the green on No. 5 with a wedge, he was trailing for the first time all weekend. At the par-5 ninth, Kuchar and Putnam were in the same bunker short of the green. Putnam went first and blasted out to a few inches. Kuchar left his 10 feet below the hole and was in jeopardy of falling two behind.

He made the putt, one of several key moments the rest of the way. And right after Putnam’s lone mistake, a 9-iron into a deep bunker left of the 14th green that led to his only bogey in a round of 68, Kuchar answered with back-to-back birdies and was headed to another victory.

Matt Kuchar (Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

“Thrilled to have won two events this early in the year,” said Kuchar, the first multiple winner on the PGA Tour this season. “It absolutely sets up the year to be in great position for the FedEx Cup. There’s a lot of year left, and a lot of great things that are out there to be done.”

It was only the second time in his career that he had multiple victories. The other was in 2013, when he won the Match Play Championship in February and the Memorial in early June, with three majors still to be played.

Extra special to Kuchar was going up the 18th fairway with a comfortable margin. Winning was never this easy in his previous eight victories.

Then again, part of him likes it that way, whether he’s trying to recover from a bad start on Sunday or even a bad year.

“I love playing golf. I love how hard it is,” he said. “Golf is addictive that way, in that if you’re not playing well you can’t wait to figure it out and make it better. If you’re playing well, shoot, it’s great. It’s awesome. You want it to never end. It’s a cycle of whether it’s good or bad that you have this quest to continue to play, to improve, to fix, whatever it is.”

He goes to No. 22 in the world ranking and No. 2 in the FedEx Cup. He already has earned over $2.5 million in January, $800,000 more than all of last season.

Kuchar turned 40 last summer, which might have added to the anxiety of going so long without a win.

He never saw it that way. This run began with a visit to his swing coach, Chris O’Connell, right before he began this season. He didn’t score well in Las Vegas and stayed the course. He won in Mexico at the Mayakoba Classic the following week, and then he won again.

“I’m not sure I’m into making a statement, but it is interesting to see how young the tour has gotten,” he said. “But thankfully, golf requires so many different things to be going right. It’s not just power game, a putting game. There are so many facets to the game that it allows people to play for a long time and play competitively and play great for a long time.”

Putnam’s consolation was cracking the top 50 in the world for the first time at No. 45. He won the Barracuda Championship last summer, a month after he played better than anyone except for Dustin Johnson at the FedEx St. Jude Classic.

“I’m feeling a little let down right now,” Putnam said after closing with a 68. “I’m sure when I think about it … a lot of good things have happened. Just needed to make some better swings. Kuch was making birdies and played great coming down the stretch. I just couldn’t keep up with him.”

Kuchar had the gold trophy, the winner’s lei around his neck. He was in no hurry to leave, and plans to stay in Hawaii for another two weeks with his wife and two sons. Even better? He already has earned a spot at Kapalua next year, the tournament reserved only for winners.

“Trust me, getting in the field at Kapalua is a real treat,” Kuchar said.

Roger Sloan (Merritt, B.C.) finished T33 ahead of first-round leader Adam Svensson (Surrey, B.C.) at T43 and Adam Hadwin (Abbotsford, B.C.) at T57.

CHILE – Canadian Chris Crisologo escaped with his second consecutive South American Amateur title on Sunday at Los Leones Golf Club in Santiago de Chile.

Crisologo successfully defended his title, obtained a year ago in Argentina after he defeated the Costa Rican Luis Gagne on the second extra hole. A crucial birdie on the par-5 hole 18 gave moved Crisologo into a tie for the lead at 281 (-7), with players like the Colombian Iván Camilo Ramírez and the Argentinean Leandro Correa climbing to the top during the round.

“This is a different victory, it’s a very different course,” said Crisologo. “It was a privilege to be here and it was a very fun week at the end.”

Reunited ?

And it feels so goooood ??? pic.twitter.com/FGYljQC5Wy

— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) January 14, 2019

Team Canada teammate Brendan MacDougall of Calgary finished T26 at 5 over par.

In the women’s division, Team Canada Junior Squad standout Céleste Dao of Notre-dame-de-lÎle-Perrot, Que., cracked the top 10 in a tie for 9th at 4 over par. She was chasing champion María Fernanda Escauriza of Paraguay, who closed well clear of the pack at 12 under.

Dao’s teammate Ellie Szeryk finished in 46th place at 31 over par.

Click here for full scores.

HONOLULU – Matt Kuchar kept another clean card and shot a 4-under 66 to take a two-shot lead into the final round of the Sony Open, a chance to win twice in one PGA Tour season for only the second time in his career.

Kuchar ended a four-year drought by winning the Mayakoba Classic in Mexico last fall, and there are a few similarities. He set a personal record for 54 holes in Mayakoba at 193. He went one better at Waialae at 18-under 192.

Both courses require keeping the ball in play, and Kuchar has done that well over three rounds. He has made only one bogey through 54 holes, and he only came seriously close to one on Saturday, saving par from the bunker on the par-3 17th.

“Good, steady golf,” Kuchar said. “It felt easy out there. I didn’t find myself in any trouble.”

Andrew Putnam was two shots behind after a 67.

Keith Mitchell had a 63 to pull within four shots, along with Chez Reavie, who fell back with three straight bogeys early on the back nine. Those were the only players within five shots of the lead, and all of them are chasing Kuchar.

“I anticipate needing another good score tomorrow,” Kuchar said. “I know I can’t coast.”

Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., is the top Canadian after three rounds. Conners shot a 6-under 64 and is a tie for fifth at 11-under.

Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., (66) is 10-under, Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., (70) is 5-under, Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., (70) is 2-under while Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., (73) is 1-over.

Kuchar is 2-2 when he has the 54-hole lead going into the final round.

The only other time Kuchar won twice in the same season was in 2013, when he won the Match Play Championship in Arizona in February and the Memorial in early June. That put him at No. 4 in the world, the highest he has been in his career.

Kuchar was sliding his way out of the top 50 toward the end of last year, when he failed to make a Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup team for the first time since 2009. But he had a good session with his swing coach in Dallas, and it paid off two weeks later on the Gulf side of the Mexican coast.

This was more of the same.

Putnam, who won for the first time last year in the Barracuda Championship held opposite a World Golf Championship, did his best to stay in reach. They were tied through seven holes until Putnam made bogey on No. 8 and failed to birdie the par-5 ninth, the easiest hole at Waialae. Putnam missed an 8-foot birdie attempt on No. 18.

“Didn’t feel as easy as the first two days,” Putnam said. “Still played a good round. Still got a chance.”

Bryson DeChambeau had a 63 and led a large pack at 11-under 199, seven shots out of the lead for a slim chance at winning unless the leaders come back to the field. Also tied for fifth were Charles Howell III and 54-year-old Davis Love III, who had one of his better putting rounds.

Kuchar was at his best on a number of putts from the 50-foot range. He didn’t make any, but he didn’t leave himself any work for par. That added to the stress-free feeling of a round, and the overall control he feels in his game.

He never looks to be under stress, though Kuchar says looks can be deceiving.

“I’ve got grey hair,” he said with a laugh. “Listen, the game of golf is not easy. It’s not often you’re in full control. Those times you’re not in full control, you’re faced with a lot of situations where golf is going to find a way to stress you out and test you. I’ve been through it. But I enjoy the challenge even when you’re not playing well of trying to figure out shooting a score. I enjoy that challenge.”

The next challenge is winning, and it helps to have gone through the experience last November.

HONOLULU – The easygoing vibe in Hawaii is a perfect fit for Matt Kuchar, who spends as much as a month at a time on the islands when his schedule allows.

The Sony Open is more about work than play, and he’s having just as much fun.

Kuchar ran off four birdies in five holes to start his second round Friday, handled the par 5s at Waialae again and finished with another round of 7-under 63 to take a one-shot lead over Andrew Putnam.

“To shoot 7 under back-to-back is unexpected, but awfully excited,” Kuchar said with the same smile he wears for most any occasion.

Kuchar was at 14-under 126, matching the lowest 36-hole score of his PGA Tour career. He also had a 126 in Las Vegas in 2008.

Putnam, playing in the afternoon, had a bogey-free 65 and was one shot behind. Chez Reavie (65) and Stewart Cink (62) were four behind.

Jordan Spieth had a short week after a long break from golf. In his 2019 debut, Spieth had a 66 and missed the cut by one shot. Needing to birdie the last four holes to qualify for the weekend, Spieth ran off two birdies, missed a 10-foot birdie putt and then narrowly missed chipping in for eagle.

“I loved the fight,” Spieth said. “I feel like I was trying to win the tournament trying to make the cut, which is not something I want to get used to.”

He returns in two weeks at Torrey Pines.

No one had a more memorable round than Reavie. He holed out for eagle three times from the fairway – a sand wedge from 101 yards on No. 10 at the start of his round; a 9-iron from 149 yards on No. 16, and a gap wedge from 135 yards on No. 6.

The PGA Tour only began keeping hole-by-hole records in 1983, and no one had ever made three eagles in one round on par 4s since then. Reavie didn’t think all that much about it until he piped a drive on No. 8 and hit a wedge that covered the flag.

“It was on a good line, and that was the only time it crossed my mind – ‘Wow, could we make another one?”’ he said. “The other two, I just hit the shot I was trying to see and it was going at the hole. Never expected it to go in. It’s always a surprise when it disappears.”

So odd was this round that Reavie made more eagles than birdies, and the one shot that made him think the ball might go in the hole led to a par.

“Apparently, I need to go buy a lottery ticket today,” Reavie said.

That would be a good idea, except Hawaii doesn’t have a lottery. For now, he has to figure out how to make up four shots on Kuchar.

Calgary’s Roger Sloan is in at 6 under par in a tie for 12th to lead the Canadian contingent. Corey Conners (Listowel, Ont.) and Adam Svensson (Surrey, B.C.) are one stroke back at T20.

Mackenzie Hughes (Dundas, Ont.) and Adam Hadwin (Abbotsford, B.C.) hold shares of 65th place after making the cut on the number at 2 under par.

 

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Cink made nine birdies in his round of 62. Marc Leishman (64) and Ted Potter Jr. (65) were at 9-under 131.

Kuchar sometimes comes to Hawaii with his wife and two kids even when he’s not playing golf. He has been to five of the islands, and plans to stay another few weeks after the Sony Open. He likes it better when he can play a few tournaments.

He became eligible for the winners-only field at Kapalua last week by winning at another beach resort – Mayakoba – last year, opening with rounds of 64-64, the kind of start he has enjoyed at Waialae.

Clearly, the 40-year-old is in a better spot than when he had gone more than three years without winning and was left off the Ryder Cup team for the first time in 10 years. He felt as though he was grinding too hard, and that’s not a trait he wears well.