Sony Open in Hawaii Round 3: J.J. Spaun Grabs the Lead as Jaeger Fires 62

The wind showed up at Waialae on Saturday, and the leaderboard at the Sony Open in Hawaii responded the way leaderboards do when the trade winds start pushing back: it got shorter at the top and much, much longer underneath.

J.J. Spaun shot 5-under 65 to take a one-shot lead at 13-under 197 heading into Sunday. Right behind sits a three-way tie at 12 under: Stephan Jaeger, who fired the low round of the week, a 62, plus Patrick Fishburn (68) and Eric Cole (67). Another pack sits two back at 11 under, including Keegan Bradley, Nick Taylor, Brian Harman and Nico Echavarria.

Spaun Survives a Wild Finish

Spaun's round was steady for a long time and then got very interesting. A birdie on the third set the tone early, and Spaun stayed patient while the wind picked up after the turn. The final four holes were a seesaw: bogey on 15, a 17-foot birdie on 16 to pull level with Fishburn, a bogey on the par-3 17th after a 10-foot par putt slid by, and then the shot that mattered. On the par-5 18th, Spaun got up and down for birdie, and that was enough to finish alone on top.

"I've felt pretty calm and relaxed out there. It's been a fun week here in Hawaii," Spaun said, per the AP.

That calm carries some weight this week. Spaun is from Los Angeles, where wildfires were tearing through communities as the tournament played out, and Spaun called the situation "pretty tragic," per AFP. Spaun's only TOUR win came at the 2022 Valero Texas Open, and a second one is now 18 holes away.

Jaeger's 62 From Nowhere

The round of the tournament came from a player who started the day six shots back with 40 players between Jaeger and the lead. The German started on No. 10 and made nine birdies against one bogey, per AFP, for a 62, a career low on TOUR. A pair of 20-foot birdies got things rolling. Late in the round, Jaeger poured in a putt from just under 60 feet on the eighth and then hit a wedge to 4 feet at the ninth for one last birdie.

"You're in limbo at that point," Jaeger said of starting so far back. "I played pretty aggressively off the tee, a lot of drivers," Jaeger said.

On a course with doglegs, deep bunkers and Bermuda rough that does unpredictable things to a golf ball, that was a gamble. It paid off in full. "Game feels nice, so I'm excited about tomorrow," Jaeger added.

Fishburn's Back-Nine Wall

For nine holes, this looked like Fishburn's tournament to run away with. The co-leader after 36 holes went out in 31, including a 50-foot chip-in birdie on the second, per AFP, and a birdie on the par-5 ninth made Fishburn the only player all week to reach 14 under. Then the wind turned the back nine into a different golf course. Fishburn made just one birdie the rest of the way against three bogeys, found a greenside bunker on 17, and missed a birdie try from just inside 8 feet on the par-5 18th.

"As soon as we made the turn there, the conditions got quite a bit harder," Fishburn said. "A lot of the wind was hard off the left with pins on the left, so it was a tricky setup."

Fishburn, still searching for a first TOUR win and a Masters invitation that comes with it, was blunt about the inward half. "The back nine was completely different. It was brutal," Fishburn said, per AFP. "I'm glad it's four rounds so I get another shot at it tomorrow."

Cole Keeps Hanging Around

Cole has been the steadiest name near the top all week. After a bogey-free 64 on Thursday and a 67 on Friday, Cole added another 67 on Saturday to sit one back at 12 under. Like Fishburn, Cole is chasing a breakthrough TOUR win, and Waialae tends to reward the player who never gives the course much to work with.

The Two-Back Pack

Bradley, the U.S. Ryder Cup captain, quietly crept into the mix with a 64, birdieing his final two holes, the last one from 22 feet. Taylor of Canada shot 65. Harman, the former Open champion, posted 66, and Echavarria, who won the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP last fall, went bogey-free in the wind for a 66 of his own. Gary Woodland shot a second straight 66 and sits three back alongside Lucas Glover.

Hideki Matsuyama added a 67 but is six back at 7 under, which makes the Hawaii sweep a long shot. Friday's co-leader, Denny McCarthy, slipped back with a 71, and first-round co-leader Paul Peterson shot even-par 70.

Woodland summed up the state of play better than anyone. "If you can get hot, you can make a run," Woodland said. "It wouldn't shock me if someone came from behind and posted a number. Hopefully, that's me tomorrow."

Sunday Math

Waialae has a way of keeping everyone bunched, even if it also produced Justin Thomas' TOUR scoring record of 253 here in 2017. With 15 players within three shots, per the AP, Sunday does not set up as a coronation for anyone. Spaun has the lead and a TOUR win already on the resume. Jaeger has the momentum. Fishburn and Cole have the motivation of a first win and a trip to Augusta.

"Just try to hone in on that tomorrow and see what happens," Spaun said.

Catch up on the first two rounds in our Round 1 recap and Round 2 recap. Full scoring is on the official PGA TOUR leaderboard (opens in a new tab), and the TOUR's Round 3 story (opens in a new tab) has more.

Sources: PGA TOUR (Round 3 story and leaderboard), AP, AFP. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.