LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i’s T.J. Kua, of Lihu‘e, shot a 4-over par 74 in his second round at the PGA’s Sony Open at Waialae on O‘ahu, Friday. After shooting a 1-under 69 in Thursday’s opening round, Kua struggled to score well
LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i’s T.J. Kua, of Lihu‘e, shot a 4-over par 74 in his second round at the PGA’s Sony Open at Waialae on O‘ahu, Friday.
After shooting a 1-under 69 in Thursday’s opening round, Kua struggled to score well Friday and missed the cut after falling to 3-over par for the tournament.
The cut was 1-over par.
Kua played a solid front nine (playing holes 10-18 first) and after two bogeys on 12 and 15, he got back to even par for the event with a birdie on the Par-3 17th hole.
He made the turn still one shot ahead of the projected cut, but a bogey on the Par-3 fourth hole put him back in jeopardy.
The decisive hole proved to be the Par-4 sixth, which Kua finished with a double-bogey six.
He then bogeyed No. 7, but finished strong with a birdie on the Par-5 ninth hole to shoot 38 on the back nine.
While the weekend won’t be in his plans, Kua said in an interview Wednesday that he wasn’t going to concern himself with his score while he played this, his first PGA event.
“I don’t want to spend what could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity mad or upset,” he said.
As the only amateur in the field, the University of Hawai‘i sophomore made a strong showing during his time at the Sony Open, ending the first round as one of 47 players in the 144-player field to shoot below par. He was tied after Day One with former major winners Ernie Els, Vijay Singh and Retief Goosen, among others.
Six players from Hawai‘i competed in the event and two — Dean Wilson and Kevin Hayashi — made the cut and will play the weekend.
Wilson (-2) and Hayashi (+1) each shot 67 Friday to advance.
Kua, Tadd Fujikawa (+7), Nick Mason (+3) and Parker McLachlin (+4) did not make the cut.V
