Thomas sets 36-hole record with eagle on last hole
Justin Thomas finished with another eagle and put himself in the PGA Tour record book again yesterday in the Sony Open.
One day after his 59 made him only the seventh player in PGA Tour history break 60, Thomas made an eight-foot eagle putt on the 18th hole at Waialae for a sixunder 64 to set the 36-hole scoring record on the PGA Tour.
Thomas was at 17-under 123 and had a five-shot lead over Gary Woodland.
The previous mark was 124, last matched at the 2015 BMW Championship by Australia’s Jason Day at Conway Farm. ‘‘It’s cool,’’ Thomas said. ‘‘Just like yesterday, anytime you can get your name in the record book, it’s awesome. I had no idea until I finished.’’
Thomas started slowly, not picking up his first birdie until the fifth hole. Irritation from a three-putt bogey on the eighth hole got him going, and Thomas ran off four straight birdies around the turn.
From there, no one got closer than four shots on another ideal day for scoring off the shore just up the road from Waikiki Beach. Woodland made a 10-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole for his second straight 64.
A day after shooting an openinground 64 himself, Cameron Smith carded a 68 to be the highestplaced Australian in a tie for 15th with eight under par..
Marc Leishman and Rod Pampling are the next best Australians and have a share of 34th at six under.
Zach Johnson had a and Olympic gold medallist Justin Rose shot 64 yesterday. They were in the group seven shots behind the lead and along with Hudson Swafford, who opened with a 62 but could only manage a 68.
Jordan Spieth felt empty after rounds of 65-67, partially because he was nine shots behind and primarily because he had as many chances as Thomas over the last two days. Only one of them has been converting putt after putt.
‘‘Just has a really cold putter this week,’’ Spieth said. ‘‘I think it added to the frustration on the green, because the game is looking so easy to him. I felt like I was hitting the ball in the same location, I’m just being outdone on the green. That’s something a little abnormal to me.’’
That made Thomas, his best friend in golf for the past 10 years, chuckle.
‘‘Now he knows how a people feel,’’ Thomas said.
Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy stayed close to the leaders at the SA Open on Friday despite hurting his back. lot of
The second-ranked Northern Irishman (68) made five birdies on the first six holes of the back nine but bogeyed the final two to finish in a five-way tie for fifth after two rounds.
‘‘I’m actually surprised I’m standing here. I actually thought about pulling out before even teeing off today,’’ McIlroy said. ‘‘I tweaked my back somehow and the first few shots today weren’t very comfortable and it still isn’t really comfortable.’’
- AAP, AP