Moore, Thomas share SBS lead, Day in mix
KAPALUA, Hawaii — Ryan Moore and Justin Thomas finished strong Friday and shared the lead going into the weekend at the SBS Tournament of Championship.
Moore birdied four of his last five holes, including a pair of wedges that he stuffed into tap-in range on the 16th and 18th holes that carried him to a 6-under 67. He played in the same group with Thomas, who birdied his last two holes for a 67.
“You need to make birdiess. That’s all there is to it,” Moore said. “I’m looking forward to it, and it’s fun to be in contention going into the weekend the first tournament out of the gate this year.”
They were at 12-under 134, one shot ahead of Patrick Reed (65) and Jimmy Walker (70).
“This is a great, great opportunity to win a golf tournament,” Thomas said. “This is your best chance. You only have to beat 30 people, or however many it is. They’re all great players, but I’ll take my chances over 32 versus 144 every single week.”
As many as six players were tied for the lead at one point along the rugged coast of Maui. One of them was Hideki Matsuyama, going for his fourth straight victory worldwide, until he tried to clear the gorge on the 17th from thick rough and paid for it. He made double bogey, and a birdie on the last hole for a 68 that left him three shots back.
Reed is still struggling with an illness and learned the limits of what he can do when not playing so well. He hit every green in regulation, missed only one fairway and posted a 65.
Jordan Spieth also was in the mix, but only briefly. The defending champion ran off nine birdies, five of them after taking a double bogey on the par-3 eighth hole. But he hooked a tee shot into the hazard on the 17th, hit his next into another hazard and missed a 4-foot putt to take triple bogey. Spieth shot a 69 and was seven shots back.
“I’ll struggle for the next couple hours getting over 17 kind of throwing me out of the tournament,” Spieth said.
Jason Day, the world No. 1 who is playing for the first time since September, had a 69 and was five shots behind.