Johnson savoring second chance

Tom Johnson took a break from coaching and found a measure of redemption in a return to Waialae Country Club.

Johnson, a first-year assistant coach at UC Davis, decided to take another swing inside the ropes and earned a spot in the Sony Open in Hawaii by shooting a 66 in the Monday qualifier at Turtle Bay. He made the cut and ended the third round tied for 33rd at 

7 under, giving him quite a bit to share when he returns to the Aggies.

"While this is all fresh in my mind I want to sit down and talk to them about the experiences I’ve had because I know they’re going to eat it up," Johnson said. "Just having lunch with Camillo Villegas, playing with Zach Johnson, a practice round with Luke Donald, the guys are going to be so curious."

Johnson had a short stay in his previous Sony Open appearance. He shot a 67 in the first round in 2007, but was disqualified after the second round for signing an incorrect scorecard. He was assessed a two-stroke penalty on No. 15 but didn’t check his card before signing it.

"I had a pretty sour taste in my mouth that just lingered," Johnson said. "I really beat myself up over that, not knowing the rules well enough, just being sloppy about my scorecard. I feel like a new person compared to that guy." 

Living on the cutline

Punahou’s Kyle Suppa wasn’t the only one living on the secondary cutline during Saturday’s third round of the Sony Open.

Before David Hearn’s birdie putt at the par-5 ninth, he was among six golfers tied for 70th and poised to play in the final round. If Hearn pars, he and former Sony Open champ Mark Wilson, George McNeill, William McGirt, Tom Hoge and Fabian Gomez are in at 2 under for the tournament.

Instead, Hearn rams in the birdie putt from nearly 11 feet to move the cutline to 

3 under and leaves that fivesome with the unfortunate label of made cut did not finish. The 85 who did make the 36-hole cut will still get a check, sans Suppa. Hearn shot a 69 to join nine other golfers at 3-under 207, including Chris Kirk (74), Justin Leonard (72) and Sang-Moon Bae (70).

Suppa had a 25-foot chip for birdie at his closing hole that would have put him in had he made it. He missed a 10-footer for par that left him 1 under for the tournament, two shots shy of the cutline.

Inside the numbers

Jimmy Walker’s 11 consecutive one-putts to close his Saturday round is one reason the defending champion sits atop the leaderboard at 16-under 194. His winning score in 2014 was 17 under, but because of the ideal conditions at this week’s first full-field event of 2015, look for that number to be eclipsed in Sunday’s final round.

The scoring average for the third round was a stellar 68.847. Of the 70 golfers who survived the secondary cut, 12 of them shot over par on Saturday.

There were five bogey-free rounds, ranging from Brian Harman’s 64 to Chad Collins’ 69. The cumulative scoring average through 54 holes is 68.906.

TEE TIMES

First tee

8:50 a.m.

Andrew Svoboda

Tom Johnson

Scott Pinckney

9 a.m.

James Hahn

J.J. Henry

Russell Henley

9:10 a.m.

Daniel Berger

Chez Reavie

Jason Day

9:20 a.m.

Charles Howell

Nicholas Thompson

Jerry Kelly

9:30 a.m.

Ryan Palmer

Paul Casey

Robert Streb

9:40 a.m. 

John Peterson

Brian Davis

Zac Blair

9:50 a.m.

Russell Knox

Hyung-Sung Kim

Webb Simpson

10 a.m.

Scott Piercy

Camilo Villegas

Daniel Summerhays

10:10 a.m.

Harris English

K.J. Choi

Gary Woodland

10:20 a.m.

Max Honma

Jason Kokrak

Shawn Stefani

10:30 a.m.

Troy Merritt

Tim Clark

Justin Thomas

10:40 a.m.

Jimmy Walker

Matt Kuchar

Brian Harman

10th tee

8:50 a.m.

Chad Collins

Stewart Cink

Marc Leishman

9 a.m.

Francesco Molinari

Jhonattan Vegas

Jeff Overton

9:10 a.m.

Kenny Perry

Luke Donald

Stuart Appleby

9:20 a.m.

Mark Hubbard

Kevin Na

Colt Knost

9:30 a.m.

Zach Johnson 

Pat Perez

Steven Bowditch

9:40 a.m. 

Morgan Hoffmann

Scott Langley

Spencer Levin

9:50 a.m.

Rory Sabbatini

Blayne Barber

Roger Sloan

10 a.m.

Boo Weekley

Ben Martin

Nick Taylor

10:10 a.m.

WC Liang

Matt Jones

Justin Leonard

10:20 a.m.

Sang-Moon Bae

Derek Fathauer

Michael Putnam

10:30 a.m.

Kevin Streelman

Brendon Todd

10:40 a.m.

Chris Kirk

David Hearn

SCOREBOARD

At Waialae Country Club
Purse: $5.6 million
Yardage: 7,044; Par: 70
a-denotes amateur
Third Round
Jimmy Walker	66-66-62—194
Matt Kuchar	65-63-68—196
Brian Harman	66-67-64—197
Troy Merritt	66-64-67—197
Tim Clark	65-65-68—198
Justin Thomas	67-61-70—198
Max Homa	69-67-63—199
Jason Kokrak	67-69-64—200
Shawn Stefani	69-66-65—200
Harris English	66-69-65—200
K.J. Choi	68-67-65—200
Gary Woodland	70-65-65—200
Scott Piercy	67-67-66—200
Camilo Villegas	63-70-67—200
Daniel Summerhays	66-67-67—200
Russell Knox	66-65-69—200
Hyung-Sung Kim	69-69-62—200
Webb Simpson	62-66-72—200
John Peterson	65-70-66—201
Brian Davis		66-70-65—201
Zac Blair		71-66-64—201
Ryan Palmer	69-63-69—201
Paul Casey		62-70-69—201
Robert Streb	63-69-69—201
Charles Howell III	69-66-67—202
Nicholas Thompson	69-67-66—202
Jerry Kelly		73-62-67—202
Daniel Berger	68-66-68—202
Chez Reavie	67-67-68—202
Jason Day		65-69-68—202
James Hahn		69-64-69—202
J.J. Henry		65-67-70—202
Russell Henley	72-64-67—203
Andrew Svoboda	70-66-67—203
Tom Johnson	70-66-67—203
Scott Pinckney	71-63-69—203
Chad Collins	69-65-69—203
Stewart Cink	69-69-65—203
Marc Leishman	70-62-71—203
Francesco Molinari	67-68-69—204
Jhonattan Vegas	68-68-68—204
Jeff Overton	67-68-69—204
Kenny Perry	68-69-67—204
Luke Donald	68-69-67—204
Stuart Appleby	68-69-67—204
Mark Hubbard	68-66-70—204
Kevin Na		66-67-71—204
Colt Knost		70-68-66—204
Zach Johnson	68-69-68—205
Pat Perez		67-68-70—205
Steven Bowditch	70-64-71—205
Morgan Hoffmann	70-67-68—205
Scott Langley	70-68-67—205
Spencer Levin	69-69-67—205
Rory Sabbatini	64-67-74—205
Blayne Barber	66-69-71—206
Roger Sloan		0-67-69—206
Boo Weekley	69-65-72—206
Ben Martin		71-67-68—206
Nick Taylor		70-68-68—206
WC Liang		68-68-71—207
Matt Jones		68-67-72—207
Justin Leonard	70-65-72—207
Sang-Moon Bae	67-70-70—207
Derek Fathauer	68-66-73—207
Michael Putnam	66-71-70—207
Kevin Streelman	72-66-69—207
Brendon Todd	69-69-69—207
Chris Kirk		66-67-74—207
David Hearn	67-71-69—207
Made cut did not finish
William McGirt	68-68-72—208
Tom Hoge		71-64-73—208
Fabian Gomez	71-66-71—208
Mark Wilson	69-68-71—208
George McNeill	71-67-70—208
Lucas Glover	70-66-73—209
a-Kyle Suppa	69-69-71—209
Jim Herman		70-66-74—210
John Huh		69-68-73—210
Hideki Matsuyama	72-66-72—210
Martin Flores	70-68-72—210
Jonathan Randolph	65-73-72—210
John Senden	70-68-73—211
Kevin Kisner	70-67-75—212
Luke Guthrie	68-70-75—213

ENLARGE CHART

ENLARGE CHART