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The second round of the 2023 Sony Open in Hawaii featured some brilliant performances as Carl Yuan, Byeong Hun An, and Austin Eckroat took the 36-hole joint single-stroke lead. While Ben An shot a bogey-free 64, Yuan and birthday boy Eckroat also carded low scores of 65 and 66, respectively.
The Waialae Country Club also witnessed some disappointments from prominent names on Friday, January 12. Matt Fitzpatrick, the top-ranked player in this week's field, faced an early exit after shooting a 1-over 71 in the second round. After 36 holes, he aggregated an even par and missed the cut by two strokes.
In this article, we will delve into three significant highlights of the second round of the Sony Open in Hawaii 2024.
Top three highlights of Sony Open in Hawaii 2024, day 2
1) Austin Eckroat takes the lead on his birthday
Austin Eckroat turned 25 on Friday and presented himself with some great performances to take the joint lead after 36 holes. Starting from the tenth tee, he sank four birdies to finish the front nine at 31. He then sank a bogey on par 4, hole 2, but ended the day with a birdie on the last hole of the day to join Yuan and Ben An at the top for a one-stroke lead.
"Shooting 66 isn’t a bad birthday," he said as per Golfweek.
Eckroat added that he hit the ball well, although he felt that there was some work to be done on his putting game.
2) Carl Yuan makes full use of the opportunity
Last season, Carl Yuan finished 126th in the FedEx season, which meant he would be going back to Q-school to earn the PGA Tour card for the 2024 season.
However, things took a turn when Jon Rahm announced his move to LIV Golf. This resulted in the PGA Tour suspending his membership and also stripping him from the standings.
The 26-year-old Chinese golfer benefited from this decision as he moved to 125th in the standings and secured his PGA Tour card. Further, he was also able to enter the Sony Open in Hawaii. Over the next two days, he carded 66 and 65 to take the 36-hole lead.
3) Chris Kirk looks solid for a second straight week
Last week, Chris Kirk became the first winner of this season after claiming the Sentry 2024. He continued his good run this week as well and shot back-to-back 66 to aggregate at 8-under after two rounds. He is currently in T4, just one stroke short of the lead.
If Kirk wins the Sony Open, he will join Justin Thomas and Ernie Els as the only players to win both Hawaii events in a single PGA Tour season. Overall, only six players have won both the Sentry and the Sony Open in their careers.
