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HONOLULU — Patrick Fishburn found some early momentum and Denny McCarthy overcame a slow start Friday to both finish in the same spot — a share of the lead at the Sony Open heading into what will be a wide-open weekend at Waialae.
Fishburn escaped with three straight birdies on the back nine to start his round and chipped in for a birdie on the fifth hole, closing with a final birdie for a 5-under 65.
McCarthy missed a pair of relatively short par shots by his standards in the early rounds. Once he rolled in a 25-foot birdie on the fifth hole, he was on his way to a 66. McCarthy, considered one of the better putters on the PGA Tour, missed an 8-foot birdie attempt on the closing hole.
They were at 10-under 130, one shot clear of Kensei Hirata (63) and Eric Cole (67), who had a chance to tie for the lead until they missed a 4-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th at Waialae.
Also one stroke was 36-year-old rookie Paul Peterson, who had played on five previous tours around the world before earning his PGA Tour card this year. He chose to end his round on the par-5 ninth hole, two-putting for birdie and a 67 in near darkness.
The cut was at 3-under 137. Among those missing from the first event of the year were 15 players who were in Maui last week for The Sentry, a $20 million tournament featuring 2,024 winners and the top 50 in the FedExCup in . That list included Billy Horschel, Chris Kirk and Austin Eckroat.
McCarthy wasn’t the least bit bothered by some of the shorter shots he missed because he was playing in the afternoon when there was already plenty of foot traffic, and because he made up for them by making his share of longer shots.
“Kind of a tie,” he said.
Fishburn, a 32-year-old from Utah, is in his second year on tour after taking advantage of a strong slump to ensure he has a full ticket for 2025, an important year because only the top 100 of the FedExCup keep their tickets. He finished 104th as a rookie.
This is the second trip to the Sony Open and the first time playing. He was among the Korn Ferry Tour graduates who came to Oahu for rookie orientation only to find out the field was full and most of them wouldn’t make the tournament.
“It was a great relief to be on the plane knowing I would get the training. A completely different scenario,” he said. “So I’m happy to get the tee time this year.
One thing was certain. That record par score of 35 under Hideki Matsuyama at Kapalua last week is safe. Swing Hawaii offers two completely different paths – Kapalua built on the mountain, Waialae along the sea. One is a resort course that is long and wide, the other is a private club with fairways and narrow landing areas.
“This one is definitely harder,” McCarthy said. “You’re not going to have a 35-under winner here.”
The leading five players heading into the weekend have never won on the PGA Tour, which is crucial because an invitation to the Masters is at stake. But victory is a long way off with 25 players on the four-shot lead and 36 holes to play.
Among those two backlogs were figures from the last Ryder Cup outside of Rome — Sepp Straka of Austria and American captain Zach Johnson.
Johnson, who turns 49 next month, holed a 9-iron from the third fairway for eagle and shot a 31 on the front nine. He finished with 66.
Matsuyama had a 69 and was 4 under. He remains in the mix to try to become the third player to win tournaments in Hawaii in the same year. This was recently done by Justin Thomas in 2017.
Johnson first joined the PGA Tour in 2004 at the Sony Open. He now has no status, needing an exemption from the Sony Open to enter the tournament he once won. He writes more letters, makes phone calls, looks for a place on the field.
“I’m not going to play a big schedule this year. I don’t feel like I want to or I have to, obviously for priority reasons,” said Johnson, who played just twice this fall because his son plays high school football and he didn’t want to miss a game.
Woodland at Sony Open: ‘It’s like seeing again’
Gary Woodland finished his second round at the Sony Open in Hawaii at 6-under par and talks to Todd Lewis about how he feels about starting 2025.
The 6- to 134-year-old group included Gary Woodland, who a year ago returned from brain surgery to remove a lesion that caused seizures and an unfounded fear of death. Woodland’s swing connects. He says he sees the golf course more clearly now and is incorporating some patience into his game.
“I feel good, but I’m on the golf course and I’m in my zone and I’m not looking for it,” Woodland said. “I think for a long time — most of last year — I didn’t know what to expect from each frame, how I was going to feel. It’s like I haven’t felt this way in a long time. I’m heading in the right direction. There are still some things to improve on, but it’s exciting and the signs are there.”
