Sony Open in Hawaii Round 3: Davis Riley Shakes Off a Shaky Start to Grab a Two-Shot Lead

Friday ended with five names stacked at the top of the Sony Open leaderboard. Saturday ended with one, and it belonged to the player who opened moving day by going backward.

Davis Riley shot 3-under 67 in another round of stubborn trade winds at Waialae Country Club to reach 12-under 198 and take a two-shot lead into the final round. Harry Hall (66), Chris Gotterup (68) and Kevin Roy (69) are tied for second at 10 under. Defending champion Nick Taylor, Ryan Gerard and John Parry sit three back at 9 under.

A Rough Start, Then the Switch Flipped

Riley did not look like a 54-hole leader early. Bogeys on the first and third holes knocked Riley out of the share of the lead Friday's 64 had earned, and the wind was not offering many easy holes to get the shots back.

"I could feel myself a little tense or trying to force it a little early," Riley said.

The fix, by Riley's own account, was a swing that started finding its start lines, the key in this kind of wind. Once that happened, the back nine turned into a clinic. A bogey on the par-3 11th was erased immediately with a birdie on the par-4 12th. Riley stuck a wedge inside 2 feet on the 14th, rolled in a 15-footer on the 15th and finished with a birdie on the par-5 18th, the hard way. A 60-foot eagle try ran 7 and a half feet past, and Riley calmly poured in the comebacker.

That is four birdies over the final seven holes, on a day when par was a good score on most of them.

"You got to make some gritty pars in these conditions," Riley said.

Riley Knows How to Close

Riley comes into Sunday ranked No. 101 in the world, but the record carries more weight than that number. Riley won the 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge for a lone individual PGA TOUR title and also teamed with Nick Hardy to win the 2023 Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

A two-shot cushion at Waialae is something, but it is not a fortress. Three players are right behind, and three more are just one shot further back.

The Chase Group Has Different Stories

Hall had the best round of the group tied for second, a 66 built on tee-to-green control. A bogey on the 15th could have stalled things, but Hall bounced right back with a birdie on the 16th.

"Hitting the ball where I'm looking and doing well judging the wind tee to green," Hall said of what worked.

Gotterup took the steadier route, a 68 capped by a 10-foot birdie on the 18th. Gotterup said the greens were the hardest part of the day. "I would say putting today was probably the toughest," Gotterup said.

Roy, still chasing a first PGA TOUR win, needed a big finish to stay in the second spot and found it. From 62 yards on the 18th, Roy hit a pitch to 2 feet to set up the closing birdie and a 69.

Taylor's Defense Hangs On

Taylor, who opened the week with 62 and held a piece of the lead after 36 holes, had the toughest Saturday among the contenders. A back-nine struggle produced a 70, and the defending champion slid three shots behind Riley. Taylor did not sound defeated.

"I grinded it out and gave myself a chance for tomorrow," Taylor said.

Gerard (68) and Parry (69) are alongside Taylor at 9 under. For Parry, the Englishman who started Saturday one shot off the lead, Sunday is a shot at a breakthrough.

Conners and Matsuyama Light the Fuse

The two best rounds of the day came from players who started Saturday well off the pace. Corey Conners shot 65 to jump to 8 under, four back of the lead and suddenly a real factor.

"I like when it's windy here," Conners said. "I think it really puts a premium on the ball-striking."

Hideki Matsuyama, who made the cut on the number Friday with a chip-in and a closing birdie, matched that 65 to reach 6 under. Matsuyama won here in a 2022 playoff and knows exactly how fast this place can turn.

Jordan Spieth shot 68 for the third straight day and sits at 6 under as well. And Vijay Singh, the 62-year-old Hall of Famer playing on a one-time career money exemption, shot 68 to climb to 4 under. Singh won this tournament in 2005 and is still finding ways to keep up with players half that age.

What Sunday Holds

The PGA TOUR's season opener, pushed back a week after The Sentry was canceled, finally has a clear front-runner. Riley has the lead, the ball striking that clicked on the back nine and a closing stretch that just yielded four birdies in seven holes.

The chase is crowded, though. Six players sit within three shots, Conners is lurking at four back, and the wind has shown no interest in letting anyone relax. Sunday will test whether Riley can keep hitting those start lines with the whole field watching.

Catch up on the week so far with our Round 1 recap and Round 2 recap. For more detail, see the PGA TOUR's Round 3 recap (opens in a new tab).

Sources: PGA TOUR (Round 3 recap), AP, theScore. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.