HONOLULU — The Sony Open is the PGA Tour cease the place introductions are so as, and Paul Peterson made fairly the primary impression. He opened with a 6-under 64 and shared the lead with 5 others Thursday on a pleasing day at Waialae.
Harry Corridor, Denny McCarthy and Eric Cole, all of whom acquired an early begin in Hawaii final week at Kapalua, additionally opened at 64 together with Adam Schenk.
Tom Hoge, who tied for eighth in Kapalua, had the one 64 within the afternoon in a spherical that featured two eagles. The second Hoge described as a present — an 8-iron out of the tough from 189 yards that hit the pin and dropped into the cup.
“I used to be simply hoping it could get down earlier than it acquired over the again of the inexperienced,” he mentioned.
Hideki Matsuyama, coming off a file rating to par at Kapalua, birdied two of his final three holes for a 67. He’s attempting to develop into the third participant to comb the Hawaii swing.
Peterson isn’t any peculiar rookie.
The lefty from Oregon State has 5 passport books with stamps from some 44 international locations. He has held playing cards from six excursions all over the world, which does not embody the mini-tours in Arizona and the Dakotas when he was simply beginning out.
“Whether or not I really feel like a rookie, no,” Peterson mentioned. “I’ve traveled so much. I’ve seen lots of golf in lots of locations. I really feel like all of that is helped put together me to get right here. … Do I want I used to be over right here just a little bit earlier? Yeah. However do I remorse any experiences I’ve had alongside the way in which? No.”
The Sony Open is the primary full-field event of the 12 months on the PGA Tour, attracting a giant batch of rookies and graduates from the Korn Ferry Tour.
Peterson lastly made his approach again residence by ending among the many prime 30 on the Korn Ferry Tour, which included a victory in Tennessee. He felt good all week, and had such vary session Tuesday that he needed the event to start out a day early.
The wait did not harm him. He was motoring together with three birdies in eight holes when he belted his 7-wood right into a gentle, tropical breeze on the par-5 ninth gap to five toes for eagle. With birdies in two of the subsequent three holes — six straight 3s on his card — he was the primary participant to achieve 7 underneath.
A couple of gentle bogeys adopted, and Peterson adopted with one other 7-wood to two-putt birdie vary on the par-5 closing gap to hitch the others.
Peterson left Oregon State and tried the Canadian tour earlier than getting his card on the Asian Tour. He picked up his first victory on the Czech Masters over Thomas Pieters on the European tour, added one other title in Myanmar and figured a Japan Golf Tour membership may assist him crack the highest 100 on the planet rating.
He by no means made it that top — No. 120 was his finest — and has but to play a significant.
However the journey, varied situations contained in the ropes and tradition at night time helped him develop. And there have been a couple of reminiscences alongside the way in which. None was higher than in 2015, when he acquired an exemption into the KLM Open.
“Tom Watson made his closing European tour begin and we acquired paired on Sunday,” Peterson mentioned. “It was the best. He was the best. He signed a golf ball for me.”
The journey additionally let him know he did not deal with the wind very effectively. When it blew in Oregon, he simply did not play. He has a house in Arizona and situations have been too pure. So he moved to Sea Island on the Georgia coast simply north of Florida, the place he additionally had loads of motion with a number of PGA Tour gamers.
So sure, he is a rookie. He simply does not really feel like one, and he definitely did not look like one.
Cole, McCarthy and Schenk all performed bogey-free. Corridor, from England, had a extra hectic time, at the least when he wasn’t making 10 birdies. The 27-year-old, who performed school golf at UNLV and now lives in Las Vegas, took two photographs to get out of a bunker on No. 8 for a double bogey that slowed his momentum.
