Sony Open in Hawaii. Brendan Steele Leads By Two.

Brendan Steele leads the Sony Open by two shots after 54 holes at a calm Waialae Country Club in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Brendan cruised around the Waialae Country Club course in a wonderful bogey free -9 under par 61, to lead the Sony Open by two shots at -18 under par. He last here in a play-off last year;

 “You hope that you come back and you play well and erase whatever negative memories there are, but all the memories are pretty positive.”

“Playing great here last year was good, and I’m excited for the challenge tomorrow.”

“I know it’s going to be really tough. Guys are coming after me. But I’ll just do my best, and, hopefully, it will be enough.”

Sharing second place at -16 under are Kevin Na, also -9 under 61 today, and last weeks loser in the play-off Joaquin Niemann from Chile, who carded a third round -7 under 63.

Five players are the tied in fourth place at -15 under par; Peter Malnati, -6 under 64 for his third round, Charley Hoffman, also -6 under 64, Russell Henley, Chris Kirk, and Stewart Cink, all three with -5 under 65 third rounds.

After three days of near perfect weather, it is forecast to change for the final round tomorrow, with rain and a good chance of the wind picking up. It has the organizers worried so much that they have brought forward the tee times by a coupe of hours.

Memorial Tournament 1st Round.

Tony Finau leads the Memorial Tournament after the first round at Muirfied Village Golf Club in Ohio.

Tony / getty

Tony carded a first round -6 under par 66 to lead the Memorial Tournament by one shot ;

“I don’t know about an advantage, but I definitely felt like I played this golf course this way before.”

“I don’t know what the numbers might be as far as the guys that played last week compared to this week.”

“I’ve played this golf course in these type of conditions, and it definitely helped me.”

“I think on a golf course like this in these conditions, it really forces you to think about every shot and stay in the present.”

“Fast greens, tough pin locations, and then the wind; you’ve got to deal with the wind. Whenever you’re thinking about wind on a putt, you know it’s pretty tough.”

Ryan Palmer holds second place following his opening bogey free round -5 under par 67, saying the greens were much faster than last week;

“It’s night and day, the greens, they’re 2, 3 feet faster for sure.”

“So I knew it wasn’t a course you had to just go out and light up.”

Two players share third place at -4 under par after first rounds of 68; Gary Woodland and Brendan Steele.

Some players are struggling to make the cut already, Graeme McDowell, +7 over 79, Dustin Johnson +8 over 80 today, and Rickie Fowler +9 over 81, three of the big names who failed today.

Sony Open. Cameron Smith Wins in a Play-Off.

Cameron Smith of Australia wins his first singles PGA Tour trophy, the Sony Open in a play-off against Brendan Steele at Waialae Country Club in Hawaii.

Cameron / getty

Cameron, -2 under 68 today, and Brendan with +1 over 71 tied at the top of the Sony Open leaderboard at -11 under par, forcing a play-off to decide the winner. Cameron won at the first extra hole, the par four 10th, with a par;

“Every birdie putt I had, just meant that little bit more. Rather than kind of wanting to make it I almost felt like I had to make it.”

“I’ve always been quite good at not giving up. I’ve never felt the need to kind of mentally check out in any way. It was a big fight all week basically.”

“Just having to make the putts, feeling like something else is on the line, I think I drew a little bit from the Presidents Cup.”

“I felt as though I played some of my best golf that week, and with such little time between these events I think that’s kind of rolled over definitely into this week.”

Brendan started the day with a three shot lead, and it all seemed to be going OK, until the final hole. On the final hole, In the group ahead, Ryan Palmer had driven his tee shot into a bunker, and from there onto the scoreboard, it bounced off into who knows where. Instead of playing a provisional ball he walked off to try and find it, returning sometime later to replay the shot from the bunker. The long delay seemed to affect Brendan who’s next shot was miles off target to the left. Requiring a drop and eventually missing his par putt on the 18th;

“It hurts a lot, kind of everything that could have gone wrong went wrong today.”

“I’m just a California kid who doesn’t like rain, so I was just trying to grind and I worked as hard as I could and it just wasn’t good enough.”

Webb Simpson was in third place at -10 under par.

Sony Open. Brendan Steele In Front.

Brendan Steele is in front a the Sony Open after 54 holes at Waialae Country Club in Hawaii.

Brendan /  getty

Brendan carded a third round -6 under par 64 to lead the Sony Open at -12 under, and will take a three shot advantage into the final round tomorrow;

“I’ve been out here a long time. I’ve been a pro for 15 years now, and sometimes it just gets old.”

“But I kind of relit my fire in the off-season and have been trying to work hard on my game and get the confidence back as well.”

“I expect them to come out and play a really good round tomorrow. I know that I have to go do a lot of good things.”

“There will be no taking the foot off the accelerator. I’ve got to go make as many birdies as I can.”

Cameron Smith from Australia is in second place, -4 under 66 today giving him a tournament total of -9 under par;

“I’ve come from behind before in tournaments and I’ll draw from that tomorrow.”

“Should be a nice battle. Hopefully some more conditions like this.”

“Bit tougher conditions I think will bring a lot of people into it, so should be exciting. If we got more stuff like that I think it’s not so much of a chase, it’s just being smart and hopefully the putts drop.”

Kevin Kisner also had a -6 under 64 third round and has third place alone at -8 under;

“I think that’s the biggest key to the whole week, is seeing how the golf ball was flying last week; not coming fresh off the couch and Christmas break and trying to play in these conditions.”

“I told my caddie that we’re going to be more prepared than most of the guys. I feel comfortable, and hopefully I can keep it going tomorrow.”

Sony Open. Two Tied at the Top.

Two players are tied at the top of the Sony Open leaderboard after 36 holes at Waialae Country Club in a very windy Hawaii. Brendan Steele and Cameron Davies share the honor.

Brendan /  getty

Brendan and Cameron are tied at -6 under par after 36 holes to top the Sony Open leaderboard, both signing for -4 under 66 today.

Brendan spoke about his crazy day, and a double bogey six at the par four 6th;

“It was a wild finish, I made one bad swing and made a double in between there.”

“I was really happy with how I bounced back to make those good swings and good putts on the last few holes.”

Cameron, from Australia, only carded one bogey in that wild wind;

“I just kept on putting the ball in play.”

“I felt like the driving was the big strength of mine over the last couple of days, just continually putting it in the fairway.”

Nine players are tied in third place at -5 under, including yesterdays leader Collin Morikawa who could only manage a second round of even par 70;

“It didn’t feel that different, I just wasn’t giving myself chances.”

Big casualties of the cut were last week’s top pair Justin Thomas and Patrick Reed, they were joined by defending champion Matt Kuchar.

 

Waste Management Phoenix Open. Woodland Wins Play-Off.

Gary Woodland wins the Waste Management Phoenix Open in a play-off against Chez Reavie at TPC Scottsdale, Arizona.

Gary Woodland

Gary shot a final round -7 under par 64 to share top spot on the Waste Management Phoenix Open leaderboard with Chez carding -5 under 66, to both post -18 under par totals. Gary won with a par at the first play-off hole, the 18th.

Gary had a terrible year with his family situation, his little girl passing away, this win was a tribute to her;

 “That was just kind of a tribute to last year, obviously, we lost a little girl, and being there, seeing my wife give birth to her, that’s real.”

“I was in the zone, I mean, I really had it going. My caddie asked me when I got done, did I know I made nine birdies. I didn’t even know I did that.”

Chez grew up on this course, and mentioned the 21 ft putt he made on his last hole for birdie to get into the play-off;

 “That was the dream, man,  I grew up here in Mesa.”

“I carried the sign board here growing up when I was in high school and junior high, and to have a chance to win the tournament this week was a lot of fun.”

“It’s right up there with the putt I made to win in Canada.”

Tied in third place, three shots back at -15 under par were Ollie Schniederjans, -6 under par 65 today, and Brendan Steele, -4 under 67.

Most of the big names, like Rickie Fowler, Jon Rahm, fell away during the final round, getting close was Phil Mickelson, -2 under 69 today to be in the group at -14 under par.

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Safeway Open. Tyler Duncan Delivers.

Tyler Duncan delivers as he holds on to claim the 54 hole lead at the Safeway Open at Silverado Country Club in California.

Tyler Duncan / getty

Tyler scrambled his way to a third round -1 under 71 to maintain his top position on the Safeway Open leaderboard with a -14 under par total, and will have a one shot advantage going into the final round tomorrow;

“I feel OK now, but I’m not sure it’s sunk in yet.”

 “But it probably will after dinner when I’m laying in bed. I’m sure I’ll be nervous tomorrow, but I am looking forward to it.”

“The shot on fifteen was probably the worst shot I’ve hit in a long time.”

 “But I made a nice bogey and then made a nice par save on eighteen.”

Chesson Hadley is in second place, that one shot back at -13 under par, he carded -2 under 70 today, and was happy with his position;

“I was very pleased with my round, I thought the course was playing very difficult and I didn’t get off to a very good start.”

“I was two over through four or five holes. But I hung in there and didn’t panic.”

Another shot back at -12 under par are Bud Cauley, -6 under 66 today, and defending champion Brendan Steele, who flatlined today at even par 72.

Phil Mickelson is waiting in the wings, sharing seventh place with a large group at -10 under par, Phil carded -4 under 68 today, and said it is only a matter of time before he wins again;

“Well, I am going to win, It’s a matter of time.”

“I don’t know if it’s tomorrow. I don’t know if it’s in China, but it’s going to happen.”

“It’s going to happen soon because I’m starting to play well enough to do it.”

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Safeway Open. Tyler Duncan Leads.

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Tyler Duncan leads the Safeway Open at Silverado Country Club in California.

Tyler Duncan / getty

Tyler carded a second round -6 under par 66, with an Eagle at the last, to sit on top of the Safeway Open leaderboard at -13 under par at the half-way stage in California, and will take a one shot advantage into the week-end;

“It’s crazy, it’s nothing I could have ever dreamed of,  I don’t think it’s sunk in yet, to be honest.”

“It’s something I’ve dreamed about for a long time. I’m just happy to be playing here and to be in the lead is something special.”

Brendan Steele, the defending champion, scored a second round -5 under par 67, to claim second place on his own at -12 under par;

“It was really a solid day, very similar to yesterday.”

“I hit a lot of good shots, rolled and a lot of good putts and was able to watch Chesson go crazy.”

Chesson Hadley carded an amazing -11 under par 61, a new course record, in the second round to take third place on that score;

“It’s just one of those days everything was going my way.”

“I was hitting great shots, good putts and got some good breaks. When you get that of momentum, things just go your way.”

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Safeway Open. Three-Way Tie at the Top.

There is a three-way tie at the top of the Safeway Open leaderboard after the first round at Silverado Country Club in California. Brendan Steele the defending champion, Tyler Duncan and Tom Hoge share the honor.

Last years winner Brendan Steele with the Trophy / getty

Tom was bogey free in his first round -7 under par 67, while Brendan and Tyler both had a bogey apiece in their opening rounds of the Safeway Open.

Brendan, had a good putting day;

“A little bit of everything worked for me today, I had a really good ball-striking day.”

“I don’t think I missed a green, so that really helps.”

“And then I had a good putting day as well, so you put that together and it’s going to be pretty good.”

Tyler said the course fits his game;

“I thought the course would fit my game because hitting the fairways is important.”

“There are a lot of sections in the greens that you’ve got to hit into and to hit it into those sections from the rough is pretty challenging.”

Tom also made a few putts;

“I played really well the whole day, I was in a lot of fairways, on a lot of greens and the made a few putts.”

These guys are two shots ahead of the four-way tie for fourth place, Lucas Glover, Chez Reavie, Jamie Lovemark and Emiliano Grillo from Argentina, all scoring -5 under 67 to open their accounts here.

Phil Mickelson, at -3 under, did not play as well as he had hoped for;

“It wasn’t exactly how I wanted to play starting out, but I didn’t hurt myself too much after the first round.”

“But I didn’t drive it the way I’ve been driving it. And this golf course, if I’m driving it well, my iron play is going to give me a lot of opportunities.”

“Just trying to figure out why I wasn’t feeling comfortable with the driver.”

 “The rhythm was a little bit out of whack, a little quick from the top. I’ve actually been driving the ball pretty well, but it was a little bit off today.”

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Waste Management Open. Brendan Steele and Byeong Hun An Lead

Brendan Steele and Byeong Hun An sit on top of the Waste Management Open leaderboard after round two at TPC Scottsdale.

Brendan / getty

Brendan shot -4 under par 67 and Byeong -5 under 66 to share the  Waste Management Open lead at -10 under par.

Byeong had a good finish to his round;

“I look forward to playing those holes, 16, 17, 18, great finishing holes.”

“I love people making noise. I really don’t mind, as long as they don’t make sudden noise.”

Brendan has had good results here before, and feels good;

“I played well the last few weeks.”

“Obviously, the win a couple months ago, and then I’ve got good results on this course before. Everything feels pretty good.”

Matt Kuchar -2 under 69 today, defending champion Hideki Matsuyama, -3 under 68, Martin Laird, -5 under 66 and Sung Kang, -6 under 65, all share third place at -9 under par.

Local boy Matt feels the pressure of playing at home;

“It’s one thing to play at home and feel pretty good about your game.”

“It’s another thing to come out on the PGA TOUR and compete in a tournament. I come with little expectations.”

Hideki made bogey on the last;

“I thought I could go for the pin and came up a little short”

 “Little disappointing, but I played well all day.”

Martin was bogey free, good putting a major factor;

“It was a clean card in terms of bogeys, but my golf game wasn’t very clean.”

“I struggled a little bit with my irons all day, but my putting was probably the best I’ve putted in a long time.”

Crowd favorite Phil Mickelson tried to pull off some impossible shots, they did not work, -1 under today proof of that, he is back at -4 under for the tournament;

“I didn’t really have much, I was trying to get something that would cut it. It was sitting in the rough.”

“The only play was to pitch out, but that’s not really, you know, what I like to do.”

“It sucks, finishing with two bogeys.”.