The Sony Open in Hawaii leaderboard isn’t quite as jammed going into the last 18 holes as it was after the second round, when 13 players were within a stroke of the lead. But no one player broke away from the pack to turn today’s final round at Waialae Country Club into a victory lap, either.
Keegan Bradley and Grayson Murray are tied for the lead at 14 under, and seven other players are within three shots of the lead, including Sam Stevens who is alone at 13 under, and who will join them in the final group that tees off at 9:50 this morning.
A cluster of five tied for fourth includes Chris Kirk, who shot 67 and is seemingly always in contention here — he finished third last year. Kirk earned his sixth Tour victory at The Sentry on Maui last week.
But the other five in close pursuit are hungry for a first PGA Tour event win.
Bradley is in his 14th year on the Tour and also is a six-time winner, including the 2011 PGA Championship.
“Took me about 12 years until I felt like a veteran out here. I do now. Now I sort of feel a lot more comfortable, like days like today. Felt totally fine. I expect to be nervous tomorrow,” he said, of playing from ahead with plenty of other players still in contention. “I’m trying to just worry about myself. If I go out and shoot a good round tomorrow it’s going to be tough to beat. There is a lot of great players and a lot of players within a handful of shots of the lead, so be difficult as usual.
“It’s a tricky thing because you can’t be staring at the leaderboard all day. If you make a bogey or a few pars in a row you can go from leading to 12th in a second,” Bradley added. “I got to go out tomorrow and probably shoot another pretty low one to win.”
Bradley, Stevens and Emiliano Grillo (T9 at 10 under) all shot a day’s best 7-under-par 63. Bradley closed his with birdies on the par-3 No. 17 and par-5 No. 18.
“Those were crucial holes to finish up the day and hopefully get in the last group,” Bradley said. “I hit a perfect shot on (17). Hit a little cut 6-iron up in there and made a really tricky putt,” he said. “Then 18 kind of hit a bad drive and got a good break and hit a beautiful 6-iron onto the middle of the green, two-putted for birdie. That was huge.”
Murray’s lone win on the PGA Tour came at the 2017 Barbasol Championship in Opelika, Ala., which is played the same week as The Open Championship.
Matthieu Pavon and Murray were among the 10 players who finished the second round 1 shot off the lead at 8 under. They were co-leaders Saturday when both reached 12 under at No. 9, Pavon with a birdie and Murray with an eagle. Murray hit his second shot 182 yards to leave himself a 5-foot putt.
Murray moved into first place by himself with a birdie on No. 14 that dropped him to 13 under, and 5 under for the day. Again, a great approach shot left him with a short putt, and he converted the 4-footer.
Pavon dropped back to 11 under with a bogey on No. 16, and settled for 67 on the day, and a place in the throng at 11 under.
Meanwhile, Murray was steadily productive, adding birdies on Nos. 15 and 18 for a bogey-free 64.
“Basically (Friday) I felt like I didn’t do much wrong and just trying to emulate (that) today,” Murray said. “Hit a lot of fairways, greens and just a lot of stress-free things. At the end of the day it adds up to I would like to say an easy 64. I don’t think 64s are ever easy, but sometimes they’re a little easier than others.”
Life in general isn’t necessarily always easy, but it’s been better in recent months and it’s helped his game, Murray said.
“My rookie year was 2017. I was young and thought I was invincible. Wasn’t doing the correct stuff off the course to really give myself the best chance to succeed out here,” he said. “I think there were multiple low points. My scooter accident in Bermuda was really a low point in my life. … I’ve obviously been vocal about the alcohol use in the past. I’m over eight months sober now.”
Kirk and Murray played in the same group on Saturday.
“Chris is an inspiration,” Murray said. “You know, I think he’s been pretty vocal about his story as well. You can see the success after he got sober, how quickly he had success out here on tour, became the player that he was before and even better.”
Kirk bogeyed his first two holes Saturday, but righted the ship to make the turn at 2 under on the day. His prospects for a Hawaii sweep to start the season seem dimmer than when he was one shot behind after two rounds. But Kirk said he still has a chance.
“Absolutely. It’s going to take a lower round than what I was hoping it would take going into today,” he said. “That’s the way it goes. Happy with the way I’m playing. Hope I can go catch fire tomorrow.”
Russell Henley, the 2013 winner and 2022 runner-up, made an early run from 5 under to take the lead briefly at 10 under after a birdie on his 10th hole, and finished with a 66 for the round and 9 under overall heading into today.
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