Showing absolutely no fear for the second straight day, Russell Henley threw an outrageous number on the Sony Open in Hawaii leaderboard early Friday.
On a flawless Hawaii day, no one at Waialae Country Club could catch him.
The 23-year-old rookie from Georgia shot his second straight 7-under-par 63. At 126 — the lowest 36-hole score since this tournament started in 1965 — he is two shots ahead of first-round leader Scott Langley (66) and Scott Piercy (64) going into today’s third round.
"It’s pretty surreal," Henley admitted. "I remember I got my card after the Tour Championship, and my family was there, and it was just kind of like, ‘Wow, I just got my PGA Tour card.’ This is something … you hope eventually one day you’ll make it out here. It’s so hard, the chances are not in your favor to get out here, and I was just like, ‘Wow, this is amazing.’ "
After his first two days as an official member, Henley remains amazed, and amazing.
He birdied his first hole and never backed off Friday. Henley hit every green in regulation and buried seven birdie putts. He never came close to a bogey.
It was as simple as that, at least for him, for now.
Henley got here by winning twice on the Web.com Tour last year, gathering seven top 10s in the second half of the season.
A year before that he won as an amateur, one week before earning his bachelor’s degree in consumer economics from Georgia.
He won seven college events there, tying the record set by Chris Kirk, who pulled into fifth Friday with a 62 that included two eagles. Matt Kuchar is fourth, at 129, after eagling his final hole for a 63.
All those guys, and the 69 others who made the cut at 2-under 138 or better, will be chasing Henley this weekend. He is trying to keep his perspective.
"I think coming out here with not really any expectations helps," he said.
"Just trying to play my game, and hopefully by the end of this year I’ll learn and be a better player. I think with that mind-set it takes a little pressure off me."
Playing with Langley, the 2010 NCAA champion out of Illinois, has helped as well. The two bonded on a flight to Northern Ireland after sharing low amateur honors at the 2010 U.S. Open. They will play together for the third straight round today and the pairing has helped break the PGA membership ice.
"I think the good thing about Scott and I is we’re just so happy to have the opportunity to play out here," Henley said. "Scott is such a great guy, loves golf so much, and works hard at it. It’s just nice to play with somebody I have a lot in common with.
"I always give him a hard time because I don’t think he’s missed a putt — I don’t remember him missing a putt the last two days."
After needing just 23 putts in his opening-round 62, Langley needed all of 27 Friday. He rallied from his second bogey by birdieing his final three holes.
Piercy wasn’t backing off either. He has gone bogey-free for two days and had eight 3s on his card Friday, including a 14-foot eagle putt on the 18th. He one-putted 12 greens and all but the eagle were from inside 7 feet.
"You know, yesterday I left some out there," said Piercy, who has won each of the past two years. "Today I got a lot out of my game. I didn’t hit it as well as I did yesterday, and the golf course got a little faster. So if you missed it a little bit, it made you look a little worse."
Tim Clark (66) and Charles Howell III (64) share fifth with Kirk, four shots back. Howell has six top fives at Sony and is 46 under par in 18 weekend rounds at Waialae.
Vijay Singh, who won here in 2005, climbed into the top 15 with a second 67. Ryan Palmer, the 2010 Sony champ, is a shot behind him and Hawaii’s Dean Wilson eagled his last hole to shoot 68 and make the cut.
Dustin Johnson, who won last week’s Hyundai Tournament of Champions, withdrew with flu symptoms.
Former champions Jerry Kelly, Zach Johnson and Johnson Wagner all finished at 1 under and missed the cut by one. Wagner, who played the two par-5s in 9 under when he won last year, did not have a birdie on either hole this year, but he did eagle the 18th on his final swing.
