KAPALUA >> Defending champion Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth are among 20 golfers who played this week on Maui who will take part in the Sony Open in Hawaii next week at Waialae Country Club.
Last year, 72 percent of the golfers in this winners-only field made the trek to the gathering place. This year, that number is lower at 59 percent, with 14 golfers opting out of the Sony, including world No. 1 Dustin Johnson, No. 4 John Rahm, No. 5 Hideki Matsuyama and No. 7 Rickie Fowler.
There are seven of the top 30 in the world in the Sony Open field and seven major winners in Spieth with three, Thomas with one, Vijay Singh with three, Zach Johnson with two and single major winners Jason Dufner, Webb Simpson and Jimmy Walker.
Walker, who won back-to-back Sony Open titles in 2014 and 2015, is among 10 past champions in the field that includes Singh (2005), Thomas (2017), Zach Johnson (2009), Jerry Kelly, (2002), K.J. Choi (2008), Ryan Palmer (2010), Mark Wilson (2011), Russell Henley (2013) and Fabian Gomez (2016).
Singh has the most PGA Tour wins in the field with 34, followed by Zach Johnson with 12 and Spieth with 11.
The Sony Open is the first full-field event of 2018 and the 10th in the PGA Tour wraparound season. The current FedEx Cup points leader is Patton Kizzire, who will play in the Sony, which begins on Thursday with 144 golfers in the field. The pro-am is set for Wednesday.
Greens rolling true despite appearance
Some of the greens on the Plantation Course don’t look too good on television, prompting the Golf Channel to point out that the players say the greens are rolling true despite their appearance.
Kapalua released a statement on Friday just to clarify the situation, saying that the TifEagle greens were resurfaced in 2004. Since then, a different strain of Bermuda grass has naturally crept into a few greens, causing the variance in coloration.
The weather has been a factor, with a record-breaking 20 inches of rain falling from November through mid-December.
As the Golf Channel reported, “Although … clearly visible, players have said it hasn’t impacted play or how putts roll.”
Spieth goes low
Jordan Spieth had an uncharacteristic opening round of 75 on Thursday. He was a little under the weather and conceded he was working on a putting stroke that was similar to the one he had a couple of years ago.
After Thursday’s round, he explained that he was working on his setup over his putter and that he was battling a little rust.
He shook it off pretty well on Friday, shooting a blistering 7-under 66 to briefly move into second place, before settling in at a tie for 13th at 5 under for the tournament.
“I’m just glad to be back in the conversation,” Spieth said. “I knew I had to do something special today and I did. I’ll have to do it again over the weekend to have a chance.”
