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SPORTSSaturday 13 January 2018
Spieth ends up 6 shots behind for a different reason at Sony
By DOUG FERGUSON
AP Golf Writer
HONOLULU (AP) — Jordan
Spieth has played good
golf in the opening round
of the Sony Open each of
the last two years and has
little to show for it.
Both times, he wound up six
shots out of the lead, for dif- sand-packed bottom of ditch, a yard away from
ferent reasons.
He opened with a 65 last
year, a good score except
when compared with an-
other guy in his group —
Justin Thomas — who shot
a 59.
Spieth made eight birdies
on Thursday and was still six
shots behind, this time from
one hole.
He had a snowman — 8 —
on his card.
In Hawaii, no less.
He had to settle for a 69,
thanks to a beautiful chip
over the bunker to inches
from the cup on his last
hole at the par-5 ninth for
a birdie. It left him closer
to the cut line than to the
co-leaders, Zach Johnson
and Chris Kirk, who kept
clean cards in their rounds
of 7-under 63.
One shot off the tee led to
the calamity.
“I’m looking for my best
chance to make bogey,”
Spieth said to his cad-
die from the bottom of an
8-foot ditch as he surveyed
his options.
There weren’t many good
ones.
To take a penalty drop
where the ball entered the
hazard meant playing his
Gavin Green of Malaysia reacts after putt at 15th hole
during the four-ball matches of the 2018 EurAsia Cup golf
tournament at Glenmarie Golf & Country Club in Shah Alam,
Malaysia, Friday, Jan. 12, 2018. opening day of the EurAsia Cup on Fri-
Jordan Spieth drives off the seventh tee during the first round hard to the left. At this point, the par-4 ninth hole at the
of the Sony Open golf tournament, Thursday, Jan. 11, 2018, in he took a few steps forward Valero Texas Open in 2011,
Honolulu. and swung the club like a which included going back
baseball bat, frustration to the tee, having one shot
Associated Press setting in. that hit him and spending
That left another tough more time than he wanted
third shot with trees in front on was the ball hitting a shot — under the branches in the thicket with nowhere
of him and nowhere to go. limb in just the right place of the tree in front of him, to go.
His plan was to hit off the that it sent back toward the and then over a 30-foot John Daly had a similar mo-
rounded tree in front of the ment — there have been
the ditch toward the trees going back in. green. He got the first part a lot of moments with Daly
lining the fairway, and if it For the third shot, he at right, but it came down into — at the Valspar Cham-
got caught up in the trees, least had a gap toward the tree and — of course — pionship in 2013 when his
it would at least leave him the green, except the ball bounced hard to the left, second shot hit a tree and
a shot at the putting sur- came out high enough to next to the base of another went back into the bushes.
face. What he didn’t plan hit another limb and carom tree. He took a swing. He took a
This made Spieth laugh, penalty drop. He hit anoth-
though he wasn’t entirely er tree, tried another shot,
amused. took another penalty drop.
Four shots. Four trees. Spieth’s 8 still beats by one
From there, Spieth had no shot the 9 that Justin Thom-
choice but to punch it into as made from the hay right
the gaping bunker in front of the sixth fairway at Royal
of the green. With a thin lie Birkdale last summer. That
in the sand, he blasted out was the second 9 Thomas
to 30 feet. made in 2017, and the year
Two putts later, he had an 8 turned out pretty good for
and was back to even par. the FedEx Cup champion
Spieth, who hit into a fair- and PGA Tour player of the
way bunker on the par-5 year.
ninth, stood for the longest THE LEADERS
time with his arms folded Kirk arrived on Oahu a
across his chest, a quiet week ago and was remind-
look that belied the roiling ed how rusty he was when
frustration of letting such a he reached into his bag for
good round get away from some light practice at Ko
him. Olina and found golf balls
He had no comment after that he had marked for the
his round. A PGA Tour me- final round of the RSM Clas-
dia staffer asked him if he’d sic nearly two months ago.
like to speak to reporters He shook off enough rust to
and Spieth offered a firm birdie three of his last four
but polite, “No thank you.” holes for a 63. This is the sec-
Spieth then signed auto- ond straight tournament for
graphs for some 15 minutes Kirk to have at least a share
and left. of the first-round lead. He
It could have been worse. tied for fourth in the last
Kevin Na once took a 16 on one.q
Asia leads Europe by 1 point
after first day of EurAsia Cup
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Asia comfortable with each other. That was
bucked the odds and led defending my main goal this week, to just go out
champion Europe 3 1/2 to 2 1/2 after the there and have fun.” Asia trailed heavily
on the first day of the previous competi-
day. With Asia holding the lead on a day tions in 2014 and 2016, and lost the first
Associated Press of constant drizzle, Li Haotong earned match at Glenmarie Golf and Country
the biggest cheer for the men in red af- Club when Tommy Fleetwood and Paul
ter he birdied the final hole of the final Casey beat Kiradech Aphibarnrat and
fourball match for he and Nicholas Fung An Byeong-hun 4 and 3. But the Asians
to force a draw against Europe’s Bernd leveled through Kang Sung-hoon and
Wiesberger and Rafa Cabrera Bello. Poom Saksansin, who overcame Henrik
Asia seeks its first win in the third EurAsia Stenson and Alexander Levy 5 and 4.
Cup. “I don’t want to ever sound cocky Kang and Poom started with eight suc-
with a team like Europe, and I’m not go- cessive birdies and went five up in the
ing to get cocky, but it’s a great start,” first seven holes. They secured victory on
Asia captain Arjun Atwal said. the 14th hole to send a surge of confi-
“I noticed that every single pairing was dence through the Asian team.q