Brandt Snedeker holed a six-foot birdie putt on his final hole, No. 9, to cap a 5-under-par 65 and take a one-stroke lead over Kevin Kisner midway through the Sony Open in Hawaii at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu.
Snedeker, who was one of five players including Kisner who shared the first-round lead at 63, chipped in for an birdie on the third hole in the midst of a run in which he carded three birdies in five holes through No. 3–where he sank a 20-foot birdie putt.
“I feel like I’m playing great, so it should be fun (on the weekend),” said Snedeker, a seven-time winner on the PGA Tour who tied for third last week in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions while playing with a new driver. “Maui being wide open off the tee a little bit helped me get comfortable with (the driver).
“And then I realized this week … how it feels, what should happen, and when I do hit a bad shot, I kind of know where it comes from. So I feel way more comfortable with it this week and I’m excited about it, because the bad shots haven’t been near as bad as they have been.”
Kisner, the early leader in the FedEx Cup standings thanks to his first PGA Tour victory at the RSM Classic in November, closed out his 66 with a 12-foot eagle putt on the ninth hole.
Luke Donald of England recorded four birdies on the back nine while shooting 65 and was two strokes back in a tie for third with Zach Johnson, the 2009 Sony Open champion, who had a 66, Chez Reavie, who recorded a bogey-free 63, and Zac Blair, who came in with a second 65.
Scott Piercy, Sean O’Hair and Jerry Kelly all finished at 66 and were another shot behind in a tie for seventh with Morgan Hoffman, who put up a 68, and Si Woo Kim of South Korea, who birdied his last two holes for a 67.
James Hahn of Alameda and Cal posted a 65 and was one more shot back in a tie for 11th with Daniel Summerhays, who shot 65, Vijay Singh, who finished at 69, and Danny Lee of New Zealand, who came in a 66.
Graham DeLaet of Canada hung up a 62 that was the low round of the day and was in a tie for 36th that included Jason Gore of Valencia and Pepperdine, who had a 65.
Adam Scott of Australia, the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 11 in the World Golf Rankings, birdied his last two holes for a second 68 and was tied for 47th, and two-time defending champion Jimmy Walker shot 68 and was tied for 66th.
