PGA tour Rookies and debutants at Sony open in Hawaii: Review
No fewer than 26 players have qualified for the PGA Tour card this year, 25 of them coming from the top-25 of the Nationwide Tour’s money list from the last year. 24 of these professional players have already started their bid with the second event on the
PGA Tour calendar, the Sony Open in Hawaii, played at the scenic Waialae Country Club.
Nine players are debutants on the tour and have never played on PGA before while rest of the players have had a chance to play on the PGA either on sponsor’s exemption or as a low amateur.
A total of 15 players survived the halfway cut while none of them was able to break into the top-ten over the weekend. Some 13 players were able to play the whole 72-hole stretch.
Here’s a review of how some of the high performers fared in their opening event.
Ted Potter Jr.
Potter was featured in the event as a low rookie, playing for the first time on PGA. He pulled in the finest performance of all the rookies, finishing for a joint 13th. He finished for an aggregate score of eight-under, 272, with rounds of 68,
68, 66 and 70. He also remained bogey-free throughout the weekend.
Will Claxton
Although this wasn’t the first time Claxton has made an appearance as a rookie on the PGA, he was not able to clinch a stellar start at the start of the season. He finished for six-under, 274 with rounds of 66, 69, 69 and 70. This is Claxton’s second start
on the PGA.
Sang-moon Bae
Bae started off his final round inside top-ten on the fourth day, owing mostly to his bogey-free round of 66 the previous day. He lost his composure later in the evening falling for a disappointing three-over, 73, finishing for a joint 29th. Bae
remained bogey-free till the 55-hole stretch.
Bud Cauley
Cauley also finished for a joint 29th and although he opened up the event with an impressive 66, pulling in six birdies, he was not able to keep up with the pace of the proceedings. His fairways hits constantly kept decreasing over the weekend
and while he had opened with rounds of 66 and 68, he closed the event with rounds of 70 and 71.
J.J. Killeen
One of the shining stars on Nationwide Tour, who has been playing for a considerable period of time, only managed a disappointing joint 38th. He is also one of the debutants on PGA and will take some time to adjust to the competitive environment
of the tour. He finished four-under, 276 on the aggregate.
Harris English
University of Georgia graduate English broke headlines in the Walker Cup this year, finished for a high of joint 67th. He pulled in 17 birdies in all but lost majority of them on consecutive bogeys over the weekend. He stumbled on no fewer than
11 bogeys, three of them coming in his final round of 75.
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