HONOLULU — Jordan Spieth lived up to expectations on Thursday. It opened at 6-under 64, and Sony at his open Chris He shared the lead with Kirk and Taylor his Montgomery, showing growing confidence in his game.
Harris English scored 65 on a great day at the Waialae Country Club. In the scorching sun, the wind blew at times that made players think. One big group behind also included Olympic silver medalist Rory Sabbatini from Slovakia.
South Korea’s Sunghyun Kim was 5 under with two holes to go when the opening round was interrupted by darkness.
Spieth finished almost four years without a win when he won the Texas Open in 2021, then added another win at Hilton Head last year. It was a slow swing rehearsal to take root the changes we made to the .
His key word was freedom, and it certainly looked that way at Waialae. The only disappointment was having to settle for par on the final hole of the par-5 9th hole.
KJ Choi, who made a rare PGA Tour start at age 52, was part of a group of 66 that included Stewart Sink, who turns 50 in May.
Defending champion Hideki Matsuyama opened with 68, one more than Adam Scott.
If Spieth had a standout shot, it was his drive that rolled along the dry turf at the 426-yard 12th hole and finished 83 yards out. It was the swing, not the distance, that left him with a 12-foot lob wedge for birdie.
“I call it ‘before the fade,’ which means my sequence was great. rice field. “And then I hit this 5-yard fade that held back the wind in the middle of the fairway.
“When I hit that shot, I said, ‘If I keep pushing how I feel, today is going to be a really good day,’ and walked away,” he said.
And it turned out to be just that.
Waialae has happy memories of Kirk. Two years ago, after retiring to deal with alcoholism and depression, he made his last start in a medical extension to keep his card and shot a 65 on the final day to tie for second and complete I regained my playing privileges.
Now he’s in a good position, birdieing two bogeys.
Kirk hasn’t played in seven weeks since the RSM Classic at Sea Island, as has most of the first full-field tournament of the year. But he’s been working hard in the offseason, especially his fitness, and he’s doing well.
Kirk’s hard work also included good times. He hired a new trainer, Jake Crane, with a baseball background, and Kirk said he pitches and swings in some of his downtime.
A career change is unlikely. His fastball top speed is around 65 mph, but he’s proud of his pitch braking. But mostly it’s about his condition.
“I always feel good and in good shape when I go into this tournament,” Kirk said. “That’s my number one goal this year. When I’m home during my off weeks, it’s to keep it up and work harder at the gym.”
As for Montgomery, his biggest concern was the seven weeks off from the fall schedule, but he played well. The Las Vegas rookie didn’t seem to miss a beat as he finished in the top 15 in six of his seven tournaments.
Most worrying was the 10 days I spent without my golf club while visiting family in Colorado and Nevada.
“When I’m on the golf course, I think about vacations, but when I’m on vacation, I feel like I’m thinking about golf.
But his putting never left him, and Friday morning he got a fresh start.
Kapalua Club Pro Michael Castillo entered his first PGA Tour event at age 60 and opened at 79 while battling cancer.
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