Montgomery grabs early lead in Sony Open with 64
Taylor Montgomery did better than he expected in his first competition in seven weeks, making birdie on half of his holes Thursday for a 6-under 64 and the early lead on a blustery day at the Sony Open.
Montgomery and Gary Woodland each had low expectations, for various reasons.
Montgomery, who had the 36-hole lead at Waialae last year as a rookie, last played in the RSM Classic a week before Thanksgiving. It helped Thursday that he was in the first group and got in six holes before wind from the toughest direction kicked in.
Woodland had far more reason to be anxious. The former U.S. Open champion had brain surgery on Sept. 18 to remove a tumor that had been causing bizarre and frightening spells of fear and anxiety centered around death.
He only decided in the last week or so that he was ready to play. And then he found himself getting emotional when his name was announced on the tee.
“Hearing Topeka, Kansas, hearing my name called, there was a time when I didn’t know if that was going to be called again, so it got me a little more than I thought it was going to,” Woodland said.
The score was a 71, and in some respects, it was irrelevant.
“Probably the happiest I’ve ever been shooting over par, tell you that,” Woodland said. “The goal this week was to see how I was mentally, and I was really, really good. This was one of the hardest rounds I’ve ever had here. And got off to a rough start. I was excited and was doing a lot of breathing trying to slow everything down because I was moving fast.
“I settled in, especially the last nine holes, and played really, really well. A lot to build on.”
Montgomery had a one-shot lead over Aaron Rai, Austin Eckroat and Stephan Jaeger. One shot behind was a group that included Chris Kirk, who won The Sentry last week on Maui and is trying to join Justin Thomas (2017) and Ernie Els (2003) to sweep Hawaii.
Kirk never gets too high or too low on the golf course, though he said winning made it hard to sleep for the first few nights on Oahu. The feeling of winning can linger, as can the crush of a tough loss in a playoff. There is one difference.
“You don’t mind lying awake after you win,” Kirk said with a grin.
Waialae could not be any more different from the mountainous Plantation course at Kapalua. The greens are smaller, and the classic Seth Raynor design is flat along the shores just around the bend from Diamond Head.
It felt tougher because of the wind, which was largely missing last week. Making it more difficult was the direction. It made the par-5 ninth feel like a breeze — Kirk was between wedge and 9-iron for his second shot and settled on a chip 9-iron.
But it made a few of the par 4s, such as the 490yard first and the 465-yard fifth, play like brutes. Kirk recalls hitting a short iron into the first hole instead of the mid-iron he needed Thursday. The baby wedge he usually hits on No. 5 turned into a 4-iron.
Brendon Todd, who also opened with 66, hit 5-wood off the tee and to the green on the 18th last year. Into the wind, he smashed a drive, hammered a 3-wood and still had a 50-yard wedge to the green. He still made birdie, but it was hard work.
“But it’s three shots,” he said. good
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