A day after enjoying the highs of breaking par at a PGA Tour event, Seabury Hall’s Tyler Loree endured the lows of a 75.
Loree, whose first-round 67 was the second lowest by an amateur in the first round in the long history of the event, missed the cut by five strokes but gained a wealth of experience in the process.
“We learned a lot this week and want to keep moving forward,” the reigning Hawaii High School Athletic Association champion said. “I didn’t really have my stuff today, but I played very well yesterday, so it’s like I feel like I know I can hang up here. Overall I am just going to keep grinding and I am excited.”
Loree opened his second round in the light morning breeze with a bogey, thanks to yanking his second shot into the rough. He followed with bogeys on 13 and 15 before getting one back with a birdie on 18 even though he yanked his second shot on the wrong side of the grandstands. He gave it away on the next hole with another bogey and his troubles intensified with a bogey on his 14th hole and a double on his 15th.
His day ended with a birdie on the ninth hole for the second straight day, taking a drop from near the portable scoreboard and sticking his shot within 13 feet and draining the putt. The hole surrendered seven eagles in the second round and only one bogey or worse, allowing Loree to leave the nearly century-old layout with a smile on his face.
He doesn’t want any mulligans on his way to repeating as HHSAA champion and beginning collegiate golf at UCLA, but one of his efforts will stick with him during the tough times he has endured on the course as recently at last summer. In his first round, he splashed a bunker shot 64 feet for a tap-in 3-footer for birdie. According to datagolf.com, he made two shots that 95% of tour professionals would miss: an 83-foot putt on the 14th hole and an approach from the rough 183 yards away on No.6 to within 10 feet.
“I kind of blacked out a little bit yesterday,” Loree said. “I went 5 under in a six-hole stretch in the middle there. The bunker shot on nine was really good knowing I could hit out of a decent spot and put it close there.”
Loree beat phenom Luke Clanton, the world’s top amateur, by a stroke on the first day but finished three behind him and both missed the cut. An amateur hasn’t played on Saturday in the tournament since Kyle Suppa beat Hideki Matsuyama to be the low amateur in 2015.
Welsh completes tour of Waialae
The last player on the leaderboard was first in smiles.
Makena Director of Golf Kelly Welsh finished his second round in the darkness with a par on 18 for a 79 after shooting an 81 on Thursday. He finished in 141st place at 20 over par and 10 strokes away from Peter Malnati in 140th.
“This is such a great experience,” Welsh said. “Obviously I didn’t perform my best, scoring-wise, but it was a thrill being out there with the guys and going in there with a great attitude. That’s just the kind of person I am — I try to stay positive.”
Welsh had a large gallery of well-wishers, including his fiancee and his father with a large group from his hometown in Michigan and a Makena member on his bag.
He started with double bogeys on two of his first four holes but settled down with pars on eight of his next 11. He doubled 16 and parred the final two while trying to race the sunset. He birdied No. 3 and No. 14 on Thursday.
“I actually hit some really strong shots,” Welsh said. “Fairway bunker to 4 feet, that was pretty special. I am hoping the video cameras caught that one. I definitely felt like I can compete with these guys.”
Kim makes cut in hometown
Chan Kim, the other HHSAA champion in the field, followed up his 66 with a 71 and made the cut on the number.
The 2006 prep titlist out of Kaimuki suffered four bogeys on three wayward drives but recovered with a 40-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole and went for an eagle out of the fairway bunker on 18 but settled for a par when he missed his 14-footer for birdie by a foot. He made the cut in his third attempt at the Sony Open and is the first PGA Tour player from Hawaii to make the cut since Castle’s Dean Wilson more than a decade ago. He is the top local player in the field for the second straight year.
He missed the cut by a stroke last year after nearly acing the 11th hole, hitting the stick and watching his ball nearly roll to the hotel before taking birdie. He is the first player who attended high school in Hawaii to make the cut since Moanalua’s John Oda in 2018.