While many PGA Tour stars left for LIV Golf, several new names are on the leaderboard halfway through the Sony Open. Get used to it.
HONOLULU – The PGA Tour has changed considerably since the LIV Golf insurgency with notable players leaving and younger, less recognizable ones taking their place.
One dramatic example is displayed on the leaderboard at the halfway point of this week’s Sony Open.
With veteran Chris Kirk on top after two rounds, the name recognition drops considerably to J.J. Spaun and Taylor Montgomery.
Spaun has one career victory, and he joins Kirk, Brendon Todd and J.T. Poston as the only players with a PGA Tour win among the top 15 on the leaderboard.
NBC and Golf Channel will be busy making introductions to the viewing audience on the weekend, as many of these players will be on the airwaves for the first time.
But don’t be fooled by the no-name status – these guys can play.
Kirk, Montgomery and Spaun have made a total of 37 birdies to just 6 bogeys over the first two rounds.
In comparison, first round co-leader Jordan Spieth made six bogeys in the second round alone, proving that Waialae was no pushover.
“I felt good going into today, and after playing really well yesterday you want to come out and hit some solid shots and kind of ease into it,” Kirk said. “I did not ease into it at all. Really nice putt I made on 1, and then couple pitching wedges on 2 and 3 that I hit pretty close.”
The three-birdie start made the rest of the round a little easier.
“I felt like off to the races, but then maybe, it can be hard to sustain that sometimes for 18 holes, that type of momentum,” Kirk said. “We’re all trying to birdie all 18 holes, but we never do it.”
Montgomery has also been playing some good golf.
After earning his card off the Korn Ferry Tour last year, Montgomery has made all seven cuts in the fall, including a third at the Fortinet Championship in Napa in mid-September.
Sitting 12th on the FedEx Cup list, Montgomery seems to be the real deal. The golf world is about to hear more from him.
“It suits my game,” Montgomery said of Waialae, the home of the Sony Open since 1965. “You got to drive it really well here and it’s short. Normally I’m a pretty good wedge player.”
After a 64-66 start, the 27-year-old from UNLV has been consistently good and now he enters a weekend with a chance to make a name for himself and help to fill the void that Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Sergio Garcia and Cam Smith among others created when they left for LIV.
“I definitely feel like I could win at any time, Montgomery said. “I hope to do that soon.”
source: si
