How to watch Sony Open of Hawaii, Round 1: Featured Groups, live scores, tee times, TV times

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Bubba Watson and his wife, Angie, adopted a son, Caleb, just prior to Watson winning the 2012 Masters. They adopted a daughter, Dakota, in December of 2014, the year Watson won his second Masters. Life and golf always coexisted peacefully. Until last year. “Last year was a challenging year for me and my family,â€� said Watson, who shot a bogey-free 69 to get to 6 under and within three of the early second-round leader, Daniel Berger (65) halfway through the Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale. “Me, physically, I went down to 165 pounds, which, I was up to 210 at one time during my career. I guess I fluctuate a lot. “So I wasn’t very healthy, as I needed to be last year,â€� he added. “So trying to get back healthy. My son’s in kindergarten, my wife had knee surgery, so there’s a lot of things we’re battling. But struggling on the golf course is not very bad.â€� A nine-time PGA TOUR winner, Watson, 39, comes into this week at 193rd in the FedExCup and 108th in the Official World Golf Ranking. (He hit a high of second in the world for four weeks in early 2015.) He prefers not to specify the nature of his illness, but whatever it was, he failed to seriously contend in any tournament, missed the cut by a mile at the Masters (74-78), and finished a career-worst 75th in the FedExCup. Today, Watson is back up to around 180 pounds, which, he says, “is about what I was when I won the two Masters.â€� After a brief bit of tinkering with his equipment, he has gone back to the ball he used in his prime. And, lo and behold, he’s playing well again. He made two birdies and no bogeys Friday, a continuation of the steady tee-to-green play he enjoyed at the recent CareerBuilder Challenge (MC), but in this case with a few made putts sprinkled in. “I missed the cut (at CareerBuilder) but I was tied for first in greens in regulation,â€� Watson said. “So my ball-striking is right where I want it to be. And my putting, I feel good over the putts, they’re just not going in. Right now, the ball’s just laughing at me.â€� Strictly speaking, Watson’s most recent victory was the 2016 Northern Trust Open, his second win at Riviera. Since then, well, uh, he opened a candy store, Bubba’s Sweet Shop, in July of 2016. Sometimes his mom, Molly, works behind the counter. So that was cool. But he’s still looking for that elusive 10th win on TOUR, which is now within reach in the desert. “You got to pick and choose your battles,â€� Watson said. “Last year I wasn’t very good at golf, but I guess I was good as a dad and a husband. I would rather be that than a good golfer.â€� OBSERVATIONS STALLINGS TRIES TIGER PUTTER: Scott Stallings (65, 8-under) missed the cut at last week’s Farmers Insurance Open, where he was a past champion. And it was a trend. The 32-year-old New England native, who spends his winters in Scottsdale, has slipped to 163rd in the FedExCup and 305th in the world. But with time on his hands, he began watching the Farmers telecast. When the cameras zeroed in on Tiger Woods’ putter, Stallings had an epiphany: He owned a Scotty Cameron just like the one Woods made famous. “It was sitting in my closet,â€� he said. “I pulled it out and went out and hit some putts with it on Sunday. It’s a Scotty Cameron that I’ve had forever, and I had never pulled the trigger in a tournament. I finally pulled it out and here we are.â€� Stallings took just 26 putts and shot 69 in the first round, and 31 putts after hitting all 18 greens in regulation Friday. He was one off the lead after the morning wave. THOMAS SHAKES OFF BAD HALF HOUR: Reigning FedExCup champion Justin Thomas was at 6 under and in contention after getting up and down eight times in eight chances and shooting his second straight 68. The secret to his second round? Not getting bogged down by the way he had ended his first. Thomas was cruising when he made a double-bogey 5 at the rowdy 16th hole, then pitched his second shot into the water and made bogey at the par-4 17th. In a half hour he had dropped three shots. “I just went to dinner (at Maggiano’s Italian restaurant) with my parents,â€� Thomas said after going bogey-free Friday. “I was going to get room service, but I knew I was going to be all miserable and sulky all by myself. I was like: I just need to get out. So I went to eat with them and had a good dinner and went back and got some sleep.â€� BERGER FRESH AFTER BREAK: Daniel Berger took the last two weeks off, so it was easy to forget that he was one of the hotter players on TOUR coming into the Waste Management, where he shot a second-round 65 to get to 10 under and lead the morning wave of players. Berger finished T11 at the Sentry Tournament of Champions and a T14 at the Sony Open in Hawaii. It was a good start to 2018, but still, it felt somehow lacking after his breakout season last year, when he successfully defended his title at the FedEx St. Jude Classic, lost a thrilling playoff to Jordan Spieth at the Travelers Championship, and made his first Presidents Cup team. “It hasn’t been quite what I really wanted it to be,â€� Berger said of his start to this season. “I think the expectations from the last couple years were pretty high, so just trying to maintain a lower expectation and just have fun and play well, and that’s kind of what’s happened this week.â€� NOTABLES Jordan Spieth shot a second-round 70 and at even par was projected to miss the cut. Patrick Reed shot a 5-under 66 and was at 5 under for the tournament. QUOTABLES I was probably playing golf swing versus playing golf a little bit.When we were making the turn, one of the nurses came up and said, ‘We’re happy we haven’t seen you this year.’

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Kuala Lumpur – A battling Kim Leun Kwang claimed a playoff victory over Amir Nazrin Jailani at the CIMB National Championship at TPC Kuala Lumpur’s East course on Friday, securing a maiden professional title and a dream appearance at the US$7 million CIMB Classic in two weeks’ time. The 23-year-old Kim, who led by three shots after the second and third rounds, survived some anxious moments during the final round as he was caught by Amir who forced extra time with a four-under-par 67 as  both golfers tied on 12-under-par 272. With the winner earning a prized spot in the PGA TOUR’s only tournament in Southeast Asia on the line, both golfers found trouble with their tee shots on the par four 18th hole and Kim, who shot a closing 70, emerged victorious with a bogey against Amir’s double bogey after the latter agonizingly three-putted from about 15 feet. “This means a lot to me,â€� said Kim, who bagged RM30,000 for his win. “I’ve been looking for my first win for a very long time and I finally did it. It was crazy … Amir played really well and gave me a good fight. I’m a bit brain-dead right now and I guess I was on the lucky side. it’s not easy to see a golfer three-putting from close range. I feel for him but I’m happy I’m going to be playing in the CIMB Classic. “In the playoff, I saw Amir hit it over the green and I was worse off in the trees and had to cut the ball by some 30 yards or otherwise I’d be out of bounds. I pulled it off and I’m really happy to be the last man standing. It has taken me a long time to get this win and there were some struggles over the years but I knew it would come someday. I’m really happy now. Having my first win and getting my reward to play in the CIMB Classic is amazing,â€� added Kim, who turned professional when he was 17. Kim said he walked outside the ropes as a spectator in the last two CIMB Classic tournaments, dreaming that he would one day have the opportunity to compete against the stars from the PGA TOUR. “When I was younger, I did dream about playing in a PGA TOUR event. I’ve taken it week by week. This feels amazing. I just want to learn from the PGA TOUR players. When Gavin (Green) played here a few times, I’d come out to watch him as he’s my best friend. It’s going to be different this time, I’ll be the one holding the club and I’m going to enjoy it for sure,â€� he said. It was heartbreak for the second straight year for Amir, who finished third in the CIMB National Championship last year. He turned in 33 to reduce Kim’s lead to one and then caught his rival on the 16th hole with his sixth birdie of the day. However, he missed his opportunity with mistakes in the playoff. “It’s about luck once you get into a playoff. I would have done the same thing over again. I made a silly mistake on the green … can’t say anything about that now. There was also a stone under my ball in the bunker and the first putt was just too firm. It didn’t quite work out for me and I have to accept it,â€� said Amir. Effendy Shahul Hamid, CEO, Group Commercial Banking and Group Asset Management & Investments, CIMB Group, extended his congratulations to Kim. “We are delighted to have sponsored this competition as Malaysia’s top golfers compete for the coveted spot at the upcoming CIMB Classic 2018. Our heartiest congratulations to Kim Leun Kwang who played a solid game and showed tremendous skill to clinch the championship title. We look forward to having him represent Malaysia at the CIMB Classic 2018, where many of the world’s top golfers will compete for a total prize purse of US$7million. “The CIMB Classic has grown the game in Malaysia by inspiring and providing opportunities for top Malaysian golfers to be part of the PGA TOUR. Our commitment is to make the CIMB Classic an enjoyable experience for both golfers and non-golfers alike, and we look forward to welcoming all of them at TPC Kuala Lumpur again from October 11 to 14,â€� said Effendy. Kim will now have the opportunity to face PGA TOUR stars including 2017 FedExCup champion Justin Thomas, CIMB Classic defending champion Pat Perez, Keegan Bradley, Ryder Cup star Paul Casey, Japanese ace Hideki Matsuyama, 2017 Rookie of the Year Xander Schauffele and World Golf Hall of Fame members, Ernie Els and Davis Love III. Apart from this week’s winner earning a spot, the highest ranked Malaysian on the Official World Golf Ranking as of October 1 will also earn the right to play in the CIMB Classic which features an elite field of 78 players comprising of the top 60 available players from the 2017-18 PGA TOUR FedExCup points list, eight sponsor exemptions and the top-10 available players from the Asian Tour. Tickets for the CIMB Classic is also now on sale. For more details on ticketing prices and to purchase online, click here.

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AUSTIN, Texas — Needing to win the final hole to advance, Robert MacIntrye drilled a driver to 3 feet of the cup on he 371-yard 18th hole. Moments later, Sergio Garcia ended one of the record eight sudden-death playoffs with a hole-in-one. RELATED: Bracket, Scoring | Things you may have missed, WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play Day 3 Already the most fickle event in golf, the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play on Friday was an endless frenzy. Kevin Na discussed with Dustin Johnson about waiting for a putt to be conceded — 6 inches — and then birdied the last two holes to oust the No. 1 player in the world. Patrick Cantlay, practically flawless with 14 birdies and an eagle over two days, managed only two birdies and lost a playoff with a three-putt. When it finally ended, Jon Rahm at No. 3 was the only player from the top 20 seeds who made it to the knockout stage of the weekend at Austin Country Club. “You just never know what can happen out there,” Billy Horschel said after beating Max Homa on the third playoff hole. Just about everything did. Garcia beat Lee Westwood in the longest of the eight playoffs with a 9-iron from 161 yards to a front pin on the par-3 fourth hole that landed just beyond the pin and trickled back into the cup. Equally stunning was the drive of MacIntyre, the 24-year-old from Scotland with plenty of spunk and loads of fight. He was 1 down against Adam Long, who was poised to advance with Johnson in the group ahead about to lose to Na. Johnson backed away from his 6-foot par putt — Na only had 4 feet for birdie — and his caddie, brother Austin, stepped in a few feet from the cup to help read the putt. Out of nowhere, a ball shot up the left side of the bank around the green and rolled in front of the caddie’s feet. Dustin had to mark MacIntyre’s ball so he could putt. MacIntyre was oblivious to what happened except he knew he hit the shot of his life. “Probably one of the best and one of the luckiest golf shots I’ve hit in my life,” MacIntyre said. “You’ve just got to keep fighting until the end, and it just shows anything can happen in this game.” His only chance was a low bullet, and it caught the downward slope for extra run toward the left side of the green, which MacIntyre couldn’t see. He heard it was on the green. “I didn’t have a clue how close,” MacIntyre said. I’m thinking it’s going to be just on the green below the slope. Going to have hopefully two putts maybe to win the hole. But when I seen where they put the ball back down I was like, `No way!’ “And that’s what you play the game for, these moments.” Given how three days of group play has gone, there is no telling what to expect on the win-or-go-home weekend. It will include a trio of Texas Longhorns, including Jordan Spieth for the first time since 2016. He won three straight holes around the turn and, unlike Thursday when he let Matthew Wolff off the hook, Spieth managed to close out Corey Conners. Scottie Scheffler halved his match when Xander Schauffele made an 8-foot birdie putt on the last hole, and then Scheffler returned the favor with a 12-foot birdie on the second extra hole. The other Longhorn is Dylan Frittelli of South Africa, who became the first No. 64 seed in Match Play history to make it to the weekend. Frittelli had company. Two other players seeded at No. 60 or lower made it to the knockout stage. Ian Poulter won his third straight match as the No. 60 seed, while Erik van Rooyen (62) advanced by beating Daniel Berger with a par on the second playoff hole. Poulter and Matt Kuchar are the only players to have won all three matches. Kuchar knocked out defending champion Kevin Kisner with a 20-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole. The 64-man field based on the world ranking was divided into groups of 16 based, with the final 16 assigned to the “D” group. Eight of those players are still in the game. Rahm was the only player from the “A” group of top 16 seeds. Brian Harman felt a small measure of redemption. He shot the equivalent of a 64 in the opening round and still lost to Cantlay, who had seven birdies and an eagle. But when Cantlay fell flat and lost to Hideki Matsuyama, that sent Cantlay and Harman back out for a sudden-death playoff that Harman won when Cantlay’s 4-foot par putt lipped out. Garcia was amazed by his ace, but he was quick to point out that he had to make a 10-footer and an 8-footer for par on the previous two holes just to stay in the match during the playoff. The eight playoffs to decide group winners broke the previous mark of five in 2017 since group play began six yeas ago. “The two putts I made … massive to keep myself going,” Garcia said. “And then obviously the shot on 4, it’s a great shot, but then you get lucky that first of all it doesn’t hit the flag because it must have been very close to hitting the flag, and then it rolls back in. Obviously, very happy about that.”

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