Snedeker, Blair tied for lead at Sony Open
HONOLULU (AP) – Even after missing a 2-foot birdie putt on his last hole, it wasn’t hard for Zac Blair to see nothing but opportunity Saturday at the Sony Open.
Blair three-putted for par on the closing par 5 at Waialae and had to settle for a 6-under 64, giving him a share of the lead with Brandt Snedeker as the 25-year-old from Utah goes after his first PGA Tour victory.
Snedeker missed birdie putts of 10 feet and 12 feet on the last two holes for a 66.
They were at 16-under 194, and they still had plenty of company.
Kevin Kisner recovered from a 5-iron that wound up on the other side of the corporate tents behind the par-3 17th for his only bogey of the round. He got up-and-down from behind the green on the 18th for a birdie and a 66, leaving him one shot behind.
Kisner will be in the final group for the third time in his last four PGA Tour starts.
Washington’s Steve Wheatcroft shot 4-under par 66 and moved up 27 spots on the leaderboard to 39th. He is 7-under for the tournament and trails the leaders by nine strokes.
Si Woo Kim, the 20-year-old from South Korea, finished strong with a birdie and an eagle for a 65 that put him two back.
Blair, whose father played briefly on the PGA Tour in the 1980s, is in his second year on tour and facing his first big test. Snedeker is a seven-time PGA Tour winner, while Kisner is one of the hottest players in golf not named Jordan Spieth.
The 2-foot putt that he pulled on the 18th hole cost him the lead, though one stroke means nothing on a course like Waialae that has produced low scores with only a moderate breeze all week.
“Just pulled it. Nothing more to it,” Blair said with a shrug. “Didn’t hit the best putt and it didn’t go in.”
He wasn’t the only player to struggle on the 18th. Jeff Overton was poised to shoot 62 when he took four shots to get in from a greenside bunker on the 18th and made bogey for a 64. He was five shots behind. Fabian Gomez of Argentina had a 65 and was four back.
Saturday at least produced a little separation. Two dozen players were within five shots of the lead when the third round began.