Snedeker, Blair share lead as Kisner lurks at Sony Open in Hawaii
One guy is used to this. One guy is getting used to this. One guy could get used to this.
Brandt Snedeker shares the 54-hole lead at the Sony Open in Hawaii with 25-year-old Zac Blair at 16-under 194.
Snedeker, a seven-time PGA Tour winner who won last year at Pebble Beach, is building on a great week at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions. While he finished well back of champion Jordan Spieth, Snedeker’s T-3 effort was a sign he had found form again and had overcome the embarrassment of an 84 at the Australian PGA Championship in December.
Blair, a BYU product and Utah native, is enjoying his first share of the 54-hole lead of his young PGA Tour career at an event where he finished T-6 a year ago, his second-best finish of the season (T-4 at The Barclays).
A shot behind them at Waialae Country Club is Kevin Kisner, who broke through for his first PGA Tour at the tail end of 2015 at The RSM Classic. In the prior season, Kisner became the first modern PGA Tour player to lose three sudden-death playoffs in a campaign. Just before winning at Sea Island, Kisner had come in second to fellow breakthrough winner Russell Knox at the WGC-HSBC Champions in China.
Now, Kisner knocks on the door again, and he’s drawing inspiration from college football.
“I saw a cool quote from Kirby Smart when he became [University of] Georgia’s [new football] head coach that he was going to teach the young men to be comfortable being uncomfortable,” said Kisner, a Georgia alum. “That’s a good thing, a good quote that I’m sure wasn’t his but somebody else’s, and I think that’s kind of what you do. The more you’re in that position, the better, the more comfortable you are being in that uncomfortable position.”
Blair is relying on his father, James, an accomplished player in his own right, for some guidance after a Saturday 64 got him into the final group.
“He’s been my only coach my whole life,” Blair said. “It’s definitely great to have somebody like that with you all the time or a phone call away. He’s still a great player, and I still like to play with him, and I definitely keep learning from him.”
Snedeker, who first found himself in the final group on Sunday at the Farmers Insurance Open in 2007, has found a system that works for him. Knowing that low scores are not only possible but likely on Sunday, Snedeker plans to keep his head down and focus on himself.
“I’m going to go out there and try and shoot as low as I possibly can,” he said. “You see here in years past, guys shoot 62, 63 here on Sunday to get the job done. I know I’m going to have to make some birdies tomorrow. Even par or 1 under par is not going to get it done.”
Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.
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