HONOLULU – There’s no truth to the rumor that officials at the Sony Open are looking to back some tees up at Waialae Country Club to Pearl Harbor to combat a scoring assault that included rounds of 59, 60 and 61.
Chez Reavie became the most recent player to flirt with a sub-60 round on Sunday, playing his first 11 holes in 9 under, a run that included a hole in one at the 17th hole. His bid to join the 59 club was derailed by a bogey at the sixth hole and he finished with a 61.
“When I made those two birdies on [Nos.] 2 and 3, I was like, OK, let’s give ourselves some looks. I kind of figured I would knock it on [No.] 9 in two,” said Reavie, who tied for eighth at 16 under. “I was definitely starting to count my chickens there.”
It was all part of record scoring week at Waialae following Justin Thomas’ opening 59 to become the seventh player to post sub-60 round on the PGA Tour.
Two days later, Kevin Kisner had a chance to join that club, but he missed a 9-footer for eagle at his final hole on Saturday to settle for a 60.
For the week, Waialae played to a 68.31 average thanks to ideal conditions and virtually no wind for most of the week. But then low scores are nothing new in Hawaii. The course played to a 68.49 average in 2016, which ranked the 45th toughest on Tour out of 50 courses last season.
“I think it’s great. I think it’s just what we needed,” Kisner said of the scoring onslaught. “If there’s no defense, then you ought to be able to make birdies. If there’s wind, you ought to be struggling. It’s the defense.”
