Top Ad
I DIG Radio
www.idigradio.com
Listen live to the best music from around the world!
I DIG Style
www.idigstyle.com
Learn about the latest fashion styles and more...

In search of title defense, Schauffele (68) holds lead at Sentry TOC

Written by 
Published in Golf
Friday, 03 January 2020 15:01

KAPALUA, Hawaii – The only thing that resembled paradise to Xander Schauffele at Kapalua was his name atop the leaderboard Friday at the Sentry Tournament of Champions.

Through bursts of rain and gusts that topped 30 mph, Schauffele managed to go bogey-free for the second straight day with a 5-under 68 that gave him a one-shot lead over Patrick Reed and Joaquin Niemann.

Schauffele is trying to become the first repeat champion of this winners-only event in 10 years.

On this day, he was trying to keep it together.

Schauffele finished with a birdie, a two-putt par from just under 100 feet, and a 7-foot birdie on the final hole. That gave him the lead at 9-under 137, the highest 36-hole score to lead at Kapalua since 2008.

"A day of adjustment is sort of how I like to look at it, and glad we were able to come out on top," Schauffele said.

Reed made three straight birdies around the turn, lost two good scoring chances late, made up for that with a 30-foot birdie on the 17th and wound up with a 66 for the best score of the day. Niemann didn't make a birdie until the ninth hole and limited the damage enough for a 72.

Rickie Fowler (71) was two shots behind.

Schauffele won last year with a 62 in the final round, a score that now seems out of reach on a Plantation course with entirely new grass on fairways that remain soft because of rain. The greens have shelves that weren't there a year ago. And the weather was never this rough when he won.

"Besides looking the same and looking over at Molokai, very different," Schauffele said. "We're on the same property, but for the most part there's no memory I can fall back on when it comes to making a putt or hitting a bump-and-run shot on a certain hole since the green layouts are very different."

Justin Thomas was poised to join Schauffele until he missed the green at the 17th to the right and made bogey, and made another bogey on the 18th when his drive went left into the waist-high native grass. He was three strokes back after a 73.

Thomas had a moment that sized up the day. Hitting into the wind, his divot flew back toward his face and deposited in the back of his shirt, leaving tiny splotches of mud on his white pants.

The round was stopped twice, without ever taking players off the course, during a few burst of showers early that left standing water in too many spots. When told it would resume, Paul Casey asked if there was room to hit off the first tee. A puddle stretched from one end to the other, but just behind the tee markers.

It was a sign that Kapalua would play longer than ever, and that much was evident throughout the day. Shots that typically bounce and roll out some 30 yards were rolling a few feet, if not hopping back from their pitch marks.

Matthew Wolff hit a tee shot on the 18th that plugged in its pitch mark.

The temperature felt tropical. Otherwise, this was a test.

Read 301 times

Soccer

Atléti mark Simeone's 700th game with late win

Atléti mark Simeone's 700th game with late win

Diego Simeone's 700th game in charge of Atlético Madrid ended in a late 2-1 win over Deportivo Alave...

Sources: Olof Mellberg to become St.Louis boss

Sources: Olof Mellberg to become St.Louis boss

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsFormer Aston Villa and Sweden defender Olof Mellberg has signed a m...

Arteta backs Saka amid Kane drop-outs comment

Arteta backs Saka amid Kane drop-outs comment

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsMikel Arteta has hit back at anyone questioning Bukayo Saka's commi...

2026 FIFA


2028 LOS ANGELES OLYMPIC

UEFA

2024 PARIS OLYMPIC


Basketball

NBA follows NFL in warning players on burglaries

NBA follows NFL in warning players on burglaries

EmailPrintThe NBA is urging its players to take additional precautions to secure their homes followi...

Sources: Zion (hamstring) not close to returning

Sources: Zion (hamstring) not close to returning

EmailPrintNew Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson has undergone multiple treatments on his left ha...

Baseball

Hays, Finnegan, Rodgers among new free agents

Hays, Finnegan, Rodgers among new free agents

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsNEW YORK -- Outfielder Austin Hays and right-hander Kyle Finnegan -...

Judge giving Soto space amid free agency frenzy

Judge giving Soto space amid free agency frenzy

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsNEW YORK -- Aaron Judge is one of the few people on Earth who can r...

Sports Leagues

  • FIFA

    Fédération Internationale de Football Association
  • NBA

    National Basketball Association
  • ATP

    Association of Tennis Professionals
  • MLB

    Major League Baseball
  • ITTF

    International Table Tennis Federation
  • NFL

    Nactional Football Leagues
  • FISB

    Federation Internationale de Speedball

About Us

I Dig® is a leading global brand that makes it more enjoyable to surf the internet, conduct transactions and access, share, and create information.  Today I Dig® attracts millions of users every month.r

 

Phone: (800) 737. 6040
Fax: (800) 825 5558
Website: www.idig.com
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Affiliated