Day: January 15, 2023

HONOLULU - Hayden Buckley made eagle the hard way (from 133 yards at the par-4 10th hole) and the easy way (from 27 inches at the par-5 18th) as he shot a second straight 64 to get to 15 under par and take a two-shot lead at the Sony Open in Hawaii. David Lipsky (66), Ben Taylor (65), and Chris Kirk (68) are two back, while Si Woo Kim (64) and Andrew Putnam (62) are at 12 under and will go into Sunday three back. With his first PGA TOUR victory in his sights, the question had to be asked: When was the last time Buckley was out at a restaurant and got recognized as a professional golfer? "Probably never," said Buckley, who got married in the off-season and barely touched a club. "Doesn't happen much. I'm enjoying that while I can." Lipsky and England's Taylor will also be seeing their first win Sunday. Then there's Kirk, 37, a four-time PGA TOUR winner, most recently at the 2015 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. That was the same year Kirk played for the winning U.S. Presidents Cup Team in South Korea. Will having those experiences give him a leg up? "I don't know, probably not," he said. "If I had won three weeks ago maybe, but it's been a little while. I definitely know what it takes, but also know it's not easy to do. "But I definitely like where I’m at," he continued. "I like the way my golf game feels. Obviously am very comfortable and love this place, so I’m excited for the opportunity against these guys that haven't won. Most of them are probably 15 years I younger than me." Kirk has four top-10s, including two runner-up finishes at the Sony, where he has recorded 13 rounds of 65 or better since 2011, more than anyone. Another reason he should like his position is that four of the last five winners of the Sony came from an average of two strokes back. Putnam, who made his 13th straight cut at the Sony, the second-longest active streak on TOUR (Jon Rahm, 20), lives in Tacoma, Washington, which doesn't have optimal winter weather, so he prepared for one island golf trip with another. Last month he went to Cuba with friends who help residents start small businesses, and he brought his clubs and played three times at Varadero Golf Club. "It's a good course," he said. "Unfortunately, they had a huge fire, and all the mowers were destroyed, so $7 million worth of damage right before we got there. I think they had one or two mowers on the whole island. I think they have to hand mow all through the night to get the course ready." Putnam, whose lone TOUR win came at the 2018 Barracuda Championship, was 2 over through four holes Saturday. Then he made six straight birdies and ended his round with three more. He took just 24 strokes on the greens and made 167 feet of putts. Not surprisingly, he ranked No. 1 in Strokes Gained: Putting for the round. He's also tops in the field in that metric for the week - he's made over 400 feet of putts - which is important at the Sony. Since 2010, ever Sony winner but one has ranked in the top 10 in Strokes Gained: Putting. Si Woo Kim shot a third-round 64 and said his singles victory over Justin Thomas at the Presidents Cup last fall helped with his self-belief. "My game was little down like at the end of the season," said Kim, a three-time PGA TOUR winner, including THE PLAYERS Championship in 2017, "but I think that kind of like gave me momentum." They'll all be chasing Buckley, 26, who has already experienced one life-changing moment in Hawaii. It wasn't that long ago that he shot a 61 at the Warrior Princeville Makai Invitational, a college tournament in Hawaii. He was a senior at Missouri and realized he might just have the stuff to play golf professionally, perhaps even on the PGA TOUR. "It kind of woke me up a little bit to where I realized, this is something I could do for a living," he said. "... It was that defining moment where I was studying pretty hard, and I studied a little less hard after that because I knew that golf was something that I was going to pursue." In his 40th PGA TOUR start, this marks the first time Buckley has held the 54-hole lead. Newly married, he's also a new resident of Jupiter, Florida, having moved there from nearby Fort Myers in the fall. He's spent only three days in Jupiter and hasn't had time to find a place to play. Perhaps, someone suggested, the clubs there will have to fight for him. "Hope so," he said. "That would be great."

Given 12 players held at least a share of the lead in Saturday's third round at the Sony Open in Hawaii trying to pick Sunday's champion at Waialae is certainly not the simplest task. But one stat might just help you predict who will hold the trophy. Hayden Buckley is undoubtedly positioned beautifully for his first win on the PGA TOUR at 15-under, two clear of Chris Kirk, David Lipsky and Ben Taylor. Former PLAYERS champion Si Woo Kim is poised three back, as is Andrew Putnam while Will Gordon and Nate Lashley will start the final round four off the overnight leader. But remember last week's winner Jon Rahm was eight off the pace during the final round a week ago before surging to victory. As such the seven players at 10-under in J.T. Poston, Taylor Montgomery, Maverick McNealy, Ben Griffin, Nick Taylor, Austin Eckroat and S.H. Kim will all have dreams of going low. Another nine players will start six off the lead. History shows that 12 of the last 13 winners of the Sony Open In Hawaii finished the week inside the top 10 in Strokes Gained: Putting so with that in mind lets take a look where those at the top of the board rank in this vital stat. STROKES GAINED: PUTTING As you can see above Buckley is currently ranked eighth this week in SG: Putting, a big improvement from his season rank of 77th. Ben Taylor sits fifth in putting, making him a likely challenger while Kirk is ranked 12th, outside the top 10 but with a round to go certainly in a position to push further up the rankings. For Lipsky to win it will take something outside his previous form this season. Ranked 199th on TOUR in putting, he's been 27th this week. That's good... but not inside the historical top 10. The leader in Strokes Gained: Putting through three rounds is Putnam, gaining an incredible 10.201 strokes on the greens. He has already holed over 400-feet of putts at Waialae this week! Now it would appear keeping that clip going might be tough... but Putnam is ranked 30th on TOUR so far this season so he's been rolling the rock well. At just three off the lead he is one to watch. Despite his disappointing third round Montgomery has the putting prowess to surge back into the mix on Sunday while McNealy has been silently plodding along around the top 10 all week threatening to make a run. Three players from the group at T16 rank second, third and fourth this week respectively in SG: Putting. Harry Hall, Byeong Hun An and Denny McCarthy become potential lottery tickets if they can continue the groove. * Visit BetMGM.com for terms and conditions. 21+ years of age or older to wager. BetMGM is available in AZ, CO, DC, IA, IN, IL, KS, LA, MI, MS, NJ, NV, NY, OH, PA, TN, VA, WV, or WY only. All promotions are subject to qualification and eligibility requirements. Paid in free bets. Free bets expire in 7 days from issuance. Minimum deposit required. Excludes Michigan Disassociated Persons. Please Gamble Responsibly. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-NEXT-STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO, DC, LA, NV, WY, VA), 1-800-270-7117 for confidential help (MI), 1-800-GAMBLER (IN, NJ, PA & WV), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA) or call (877-8-HOPENY) or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), call or text the Tennessee REDLINE: 800-889-9789 (TN) or call 1-888-777-9696 (MS). Sports betting is void where prohibited. Promotional offers not available in Nevada.

HONOLULU — Hayden Buckley started and ended the back nine at Waialae with eagles Saturday for a second straight 6-under 64, giving him a two-shot lead and creating some separation going into the final round of the Sony Open in Hawaii. Buckley holed out a wedge from 133 yards on the 10th hole. He finished his day with an approach to 2 feet on the par-5 18th hole. He was at 15-under 195, and his two-shot lead might have been the biggest surprise in a third round that at one point featured an eight-way tie for the lead. Even now, Buckley has a long road ahead of him. In his second year on the PGA TOUR, he had never had the lead after any round. And five players are within three shots of the lead on a TOUR where it seems no lead is safe. Only last week, two-time major champion Collin Morikawa lost a six-shot lead on the back nine at Kapalua. Nine of the leading 15 players at Waialae have never won on the PGA TOUR. Buckley led by two over Chris Kirk (68), Ben Taylor (65) and David Lipsky (66), the Californian who has spent the majority of his career in Asia. Kirk began the third round with a one-shot lead and good vibes because of his runner-up finish two years ago that enabled him to keep full status on TOUR. His first shot sailed toward the houses down the right side of the first fairways, out-of-bounds and leading to a double bogey. He was otherwise solid from there, though he missed a 6-foot birdie putt on the 18th that would have put him in the final group. Lipsky knows the feeling. His opening drive went left, and bounced along the cement path right of the driving range until it settled outside the white stakes. He managed to limit the damage to a bogey when he made a 25-foot putt. He followed that by taking two chips to get onto the second green for another bogey, and then he had seven birdies the rest of the way. “It’s never ideal when your ball goes 50 yards down the path OB,” Lipsky said. “I’m pretty happy with how I played and how I handled those first two holes.” While the third round wasn’t a bizarre as Friday — Jordan Spieth went from a share of the lead to missing the cut, Rory Sabbatini was one off the lead until three straight double bogeys — there was enough to realize 18 more holes might feel like a marathon to those trying to win for the first time. S.H. Kim, the rookie from South Korea, ran off four straight birdies to take the lead at the turn. And then on the 10th hole, the third easiest at Waialae, he had 124 yards from the middle of the fairway and made double bogey — an approach that bounded over the green, a chip to 30 feet and three putts. Byeong Hun An had a 66 and was tied for 16th, six shots behind. That includes his quadruple-bogey 8 on the 10th hole after his drive was in the middle of the fairway, 87 yards from the hole. An went long going after a back pin, muffed a chip, and twice had a wedge slide under the ball sitting in thick grass. It was a mess. Andrew Putnam and Nick Taylor each had a 62, the low round of the tournament. That got Putnam within three shots of the lead. Taylor made the 36-hole cut on the number and goes into the final day five shots behind.