Brendan Steele spent time in December getting his game ready for the Sony Open in Hawaii and so far, it was paid off.
Steele (pictured) birdied five of the last six holes, also making a double bogey during that stretch, and shot 4-under-par 66 to tie Cameron Davis of Australia for the lead after two rounds in continuing windy conditions at Waialae Country Club https://waialaecc.com on the outskirts of Honolulu.
“It was a wild finish,” said Steele, who is from Idyllwild in the Southern California mountains and UC Riverside. “I made one bad swing and made a double in between there. I was really happy with how I bounced back to make those good swings and good putts on the last few holes. The course played a little easier today. It’s still windy, but it was down a little bit today, but it was still difficult. I hit a few more fairways and was able to make a lot pf putts.
“I practiced hard in December and hoped it would translate into something good this week. I played well during the Fall, even though the results didn’t reflect it. But I know that what I am doing is working.”
The 36-year-old Steele, who claimed the last of his three PGA Tour victories in the 2017 Safeway Open, sank a 14-foot eagle putt while finishing his first nine on No. 18, and after hitting his drive out of bounds en route to that double bogey on the sixth hole, finished with three straight birdies for a 36-hole total of 6-under 134.
Davis, 22, who won the 2017 Australian Open and the 2018 Nashville Open on the Korn Ferry Tour, birdied the last two holes while also finishing his own 66 on the front nine.
First-round leader Collin Morikawa of La Canada Flintridge and Cal salvaged a 70 with birdies on the last two holes and is one stroke back in a big tie for third with Russell Knox of Scotland (65), Cameron Smith of Australia (65), Bo Hoag (65), Rob Oppenheim (65), Keegan Bradley (66), Rory Sabbatini of Slovakia (67), Sam Ryder (68) and 2010 Sony champion Ryan Palmer (68).
“Mediocre,” Morikawa said of his round.
Defending champion Matt Kuchar finished at 69-73—142 and missed the cut by one stroke, while fifth-ranked Justin Thomas, who won the Sentry Tournament of Champions last week and captured both Hawaii tournaments in 2017, shot 72-71—143 and missed the weekend by two shots.
“Just didn’t execute,” Thomas said. “I mean, it’s really, really tough out there. But I played fine. I played plenty good enough to be at 4- or 5-under and right in contention. I missed about every putt. … Just a rough couple of days.”
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 birdied five of the last six holes, also making a double bogey during that stretch, and shot 4-under-par 66 to tie Cameron Davis of Australia for the lead after two rounds in continuing windy conditions at Waialae Country Club https://waialaecc.com on the outskirts of Honolulu.){kind=link}