On a windy day in Honolulu, Waialae Country Club showed its teeth in the second round of the Sony Open on Friday, with tougher scoring conditions bringing the top of the leaderboard together and sending some big names home early.
He posted two 62s on Thursday, but Friday’s best was a 64. Davis Riley shot six under par in the second round to take a share of the lead, while Ryan Gerrard joined him in the low round of the day to move into the top 10. Riley credited a strong putter and improved ball-striking for his rise to a tie at the top of the leaderboard despite a penalty stroke in the round.
“My putts were really good today, but I definitely hit the ball a little better today,” Riley said. “Maybe it wasn’t as good as it was. I didn’t have as many crazy shots as I did yesterday. Yesterday I took a penalty stroke off the tee and it really hurt me and I felt like I lost a lot of momentum there. Overall I was hitting the ball a little bit cleaner and continued to putt well.”
At the other end of the spectrum was Collin Morikawa, who is ranked 17th in the Official World Golf Rankings and just shot a 68 on Friday, ending the week at even par, one shot short of the cut line. As is often the case with Morikawa, it was his putter that let him down. Morikawa missed several short putts on the back nine, including a 6-foot birdie on the 18th.
Missing out on the opening game, where many of the elite players did not participate, is an extremely difficult road for Morikawa to get off to the start of a season in which he hopes to make a comeback after a difficult second half of 2025. Morikawa still seems to be finding the form that made him a two-time major champion, and won’t have the confidence he expected from his start at the Sony Open.
Morikawa wasn’t the only one to suffer from Friday’s strong winds, and will find companions among other big names looking for early morning flights home — most notably Keegan Bradley, who also finished the week at even par.
Jordan Spieth was looking to have a rebound season himself, and on the Friday after his round he emphasized the difficulty of the conditions, shooting a 68 for the second year in a row and comfortably heading into the weekend at 4 under.
“I hit a 7-iron on that 15th hole. I think it was about 158 holes and I think it hit 120 yards. I played it about 175 yards,” Spieth explained. “So it was very difficult at times. And when it’s windy, it’s really hard to putt on the green.”
Those conditions have put things in place so much that as the third round begins, many players will believe they are still in contention to win the 2026 PGA Tour season opener.
leader
T1. Nick Taylor, Davis Riley, SH Kim, Adrian Dumont de Chassard, Kevin Roy (-9)
Although Taylor and Roy were unable to repeat Thursday’s 62 seconds, the first-round co-leaders maintain a share of the lead heading into the weekend, with Taylor looking to make it back-to-back wins in Honolulu. Riley moved into the lead in the low rounds of the day, with Kim (68), Parry (67) and Dumont de Chassard (67) also moving to the top of the leaderboard.
These five players are scheduled to tee up in the late afternoon for Saturday’s third round and are hoping for conditions similar to Friday, when the wind picked up in the morning and the early surf became tough. Taylor is the most likely candidate to keep his spot among this group given his ranking and history of success at Waialae.
contestant
T5. Maverick McNeely, Chris Gotterup, John Parry, Takumi Kanaya (-8)
T10. Ryan Gerrard, Vince Whaley, Patrick Rodgers (-7)
T13. Ben Griffin, Jake Knapp, and 6 others (-6)
There are some very notable names in the chasing pack going into the weekend, but everyone in this group, and even those at the back, will feel like they’re chasing a win, given we know that poor conditions at Waialae could mean low scores.
McNeely, Gotterup and Griffin will pick up where they left off in 2025, with all three enjoying their tour careers and getting off to a good start heading into the 2026 season. Griffin slowed down a bit on Friday and stumbled with a 71 after a hot first round, but he will be a serious threat along with McNeely and Gotterup come the weekend.
Ryan Gerrard is popular as a breakout star for the 2026 season after finishing the 2025 season on a high note, and his start in Hawaii makes that prediction seem smart.
Notable players who did not participate
- Collin Morikawa (E)
- Keegan Bradley (E)
- Luke Clanton (+1)
- Chris Kirk (+1)
- Cam Davis (+3)
- Gary Woodland (+3)
- Tony Fiau (+6)
2026 Sony Open picks and odds updated
Odds from FanDuel Sportsbook
- Nick Taylor (11/2)
- Maverick McNeely (17/2)
- Chris Gotterup (11-1)
- Takumi Kanaya (13-1)
- Adrien Dumont de Chassard (13-1)
- SH Kim (13-1)
- Kevin Roy (14-1)
- John Parry (16-1)
- Davis Riley (16-1)
- Ben Griffin (17-1)
- Ryan Gerrard (17-1)
The odds sheet heading into the weekend is very tight, but it does offer an opportunity to identify some value. At 17-1, just three strokes off the pace, Griffin appears to have some value, especially after proving he can hit low with a 63 on Thursday. Gottapp, 11-1, also looks solid, especially if the wind holds. He has proven in the past that he can handle the conditions, albeit on a very different kind of course in Scotland.
