Sony Open R1 | Jordan Spieth shoots 64 with round that included WILD par save
Jordan Spieth began the Sony Open on the PGA Tour in Hawaii in fine fashion with a 6-under 64 that included one of the craziest par saves in quite some time.
Jordan Spieth began the Sony Open on the PGA Tour in fine fashion with a 6-under 64 opening round.
Spieth began on the back nine at Waialae Country Club and notched an opening birdie with a nice roll from just inside seven feet.
Another birdie followed at 12 before he dropped a shot at the difficult par-4 13th. He made birdie at 18 after a miraculous par save on the par-3 17th.
Related: Betting tips for the Sony Open
The highlight of his back nine came on 7 when he rolled in a birdie putt from all of 27 feet in typical Spieth fashion.
This was after making birdies at 3 and 6.
The 29-year-old spent the earlier part of this week disagreeing with Adam Scott's radical idea about PGA Tour prize purses.
If Spieth were to win this week it would be his 14th PGA Tour title.
The field at last week's stop at the Sentry Tournament of Champions was considerably stronger.
That was because it was the first event to be played that has been given "elevated" status.
WATCH:
Jon Rahm walked away with the win to claim his eighth victory on the circuit.
Also matching Spieth's opening 64 was the American Chris Kirk in Hawaii.
The defending champion of this event is Hideki Matsuyama. The Japanese golfer hit one of the shots of the season last January.
Matsuyama had a blind shot into the green from 276 yards and managed to make an eagle to get into a playoff with Russell Henley.
The former Masters champion then beat the American having wiped out his five-shot advantage on the back nine.
Matsuyama has been struggling with a neck injury for quite some time. It forced him to withdraw from several events in 2022.
He explained his issues to the media in his pre-tournament press conference, explaining:
Matsuyama continued:
The winner of this tournament will pocket $1,422,000.
