IRELAND’S SEAMUS POWER remains in the hunt at the US PGA Tour Sony Open in Hawaii after carding a two-under 68 on Friday to end the day tied fifth.
The Waterford man currently sits on nine-under after two rounds, six shots behind leader Russell Henley who fired two eagles in a seven-under-par 63 to seize a three-shot lead over China’s Li Haotong.
“Today was a bit a of a struggle, to be honest, especially early on,” remarked Power.
“I hit a couple very loose shots, made a couple bogeys and was able to recover and kind of turn into a couple under. Kind of kept me in it to some extent, but yeah, just a couple things to tidy up there afterwards.
“It was loose early. I just lost control of my flight there and it cost me couple shots. So if we can get that back and give myself a few extra chances over the weekend, that’s the plan.”
Graeme McDowell failed to make the cut, finishing at four-under which saw him miss out by one shot. McDowell overcame a double-bogey six on the second hole, shooting six birdies to finish on 66.
Henley, who started the day tied for second behind defending champion Kevin Na, opened with a birdie on the 10th hole at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu, and after a bogey at the 16th he kickstarted his round at 18, where he holed out from a greenside bunker for eagle.
He gave back a stroke with a bogey at the first, then picked up six strokes in his last six holes — a storming finish capped by a 29-foot eagle at the par-five ninth.
“Nice to finish like that,” Henley said. “I don’t remember the last time I had two eagles in the same round, but it’s definitely exciting.”
Henley rolled in birdie putts of about nine feet at the fourth, fifth and seventh holes and an 11-footer at the eighth.
“The front I started hitting a few more fairways and giving myself some good looks and executing there from 10 to 15 feet or less,” added the American, who is chasing a fourth US PGA Tour title on the same course where he won his first as a tour rookie in 2013.
Li had six birdies and a bogey in his five-under-par 65 for a 12-under total of 128.
“First few holes (my game wasn’t) quite on, especially on my tee shot, But I played great on my back nine holes, a lot of putts and played super-solid,” said Li, who has one OneAsia tour title and two European Tour titles on his resume but is still seeking a first US tour crown.
American veteran Matt Kuchar, whose nine PGA Tour titles include the 2019 Sony Open, was a further stroke back on 11-under 129 after his second straight bogey-free round, a five-under 65 that included five birdies.
“Fortunately I was finding a bunch of fairways today,” Kuchar said. “If you’re in the fairway you can make birdies. If you’re not in the fairway, you’re hoping to make pars.”
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