Smith struggles, then rallies for lead at TOC

KAPALUA, Hawaii — The scenery off Kapalua suggests a chill vibe. The scoreboard at the Sentry Tournament of Champions delivered a clear message to get a move on it.

Cameron Smith took that to heart Friday.

Smith opened with two straight bogeys to not only lose his one-shot lead, but fall completely off the first page of the leaderboard. And then the Australian made a sensational recovery, capped by four straight birdies at the end for a 9-under 64 and a three-shot lead.

“Few poor shots, a silly three-putt on the second,” Smith said. “I had to hit the reset button.”

Smith was at 17-under 129 and matched the 36-hole record at Kapalua first set by Ernie Els in 2003 when he blew away the winners-only field and won by eight shots.

Smith doesn’t figure to have it that easy on the weekend.

Blessed with another day of ideal scoring conditions — a warm sun, very little wind by Hawaii standards and preferred lies as the Plantation Course recovers from rain — all 38 players were at par or better. The average score was 67.8, nearly two shots better than Thursday.

Jon Rahm, the No. 1 player in the world, didn’t miss a fairway or a green the entire round and posted another 66, leaving him three shots behind along with Daniel Berger (66).

Smith wasn’t alone in his poor start. British Open champion and Las Vegas resident Collin Morikawa had two bogeys and no birdies on the front nine. He birdied five of his last eight for a 70, though he was nine shots out of the lead in his bid to reach No. 1 in the world.