Hayden Buckley fired eagles at the 10th and 18th to close with a second-straight 64 and take a two-shot lead into the final day of the Sony Open.
BUCKETS FOR BUCKLEY!@HBuckley13 holes out for eagle to take the lead @SonyOpenHawaii 🔥 pic.twitter.com/MXNoEyOYjc
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 14, 2023
"I think the firmness of the course is very difficult. Just because you hit it straight doesn't mean it's going to be in the fairway and the rough is up pretty heavily, so I think I've just hit the right shots at the right time.
"I think the putter has been there. I know I've made a lot of feet of putts, but I just put it in the right places.
"Today I felt like I was kind of getting away from that, putting it in some tougher places to make birdies. Pars are a lot better than you think when you get out here. The wind kind of switched on last few holes, which made it a little difficult.
"But just kind of put it in the right places and just kept my head down and kept playing."
Closing in style 🔥 @HBuckley13 finishes with an eagle on 18 to take a two-shot lead @SonyOpenHawaii. pic.twitter.com/u1vtQIQfnR
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 15, 2023
The American is in his second year on Tour and holds the lead for the first time.
His 15-under 195 total is a new career-best 54-hole score on Tour, his previous best was 200, most recently at the 2022 ZOZO Championship. His best finish so far was T4 at the 2021 Sanderson Farms Championship.
Overnight leader Chris Kirk started his round with a double bogey and closed with a 68 to move down into a share of second place at 13-under alongside fellow American David Lipsky (66) and Englishman Ben Taylor (65).
Defending champion Hideki Matsuyama, currently T25 at 8-under, carded a 5-under 65 to notch his 14th consecutive under-par round at 8-he Sony Open in Hawaii, the longest active streak at the event.
