At the halfway point at The Sentry in Kapalua, Hideki Matsuyama is at the top of the leaderboard at 16 under. The 2021 Masters champion looked unstoppable on Friday, posting back-to-back 8-under 65s. He relied heavily on his iron play, hitting his trademark tight draws toward the flag all day long. This explains why he improved his approach by over three strokes on Friday alone and is currently leading the field.
Still, he leads Collin Morikawa, who has had much success on this course over the past five years, by just one stroke.
“I haven't played well for a while, so I'm glad I got off to a good start here,'' Matsuyama said.
With Sunday's winning score likely to threaten 30 under, this tournament was once again an absolute birdie extravaganza. Kapalua already has 365 birdies in 36 holes, but only 79 have bogeyed by players over the same span.
One reason for that is that the trade winds died down on Friday, making it much easier to work in the field. The field of 59 averaged a second-round score of 68.1, nearly five strokes under par. Meanwhile, his average score on Thursday was 70.7.
“First of all, there was obviously less wind, so I think it's a lot easier to control the golf ball. The greens are perfect here. If you get within 10, 15 feet, you have a great chance to score. I feel that way,” explained first-round leader Tom Hoge, who is currently at 14 under.
“In addition to that, I feel like the fairways are harder and I'm playing shorter and getting a few shorter clubs to the green. I think it's going to go through the golf course, but if I can stay out of trouble, I can score. There are a lot of holes, so you should get a lot of birdies here.”
Leaderboard:
1. Hideki Matsuyama -16 — 65-65
2. Collin Morikawa -15 — 66-65
T3. Corey Connors -14 — 66-66
T3. Maverick McNeely -14 — 68-64
T3. Tom Hoge -14 — 64-68
T3. Thomas Detrie -14 — 69-64
T7. Keegan Bradley -13 — 69-64
T7. Harry Hall -13 — 68-65
T7. Cameron Young -13 — 66-67
T7. Windham Clark -13 — 69-64
11. Sepp Straka -12 — 69-65
12. Will Zalatoris -11 — 65-70
Eight players hit a round of 64, including Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley. He grew a pretty mustache earlier this year. Maverick McNeely, Thomas Detrie and Windham Clark also joined the fray with 64-second times.
Morikawa, on the other hand, had one bad hit, but will join Matsuyama and Corey Connors in Saturday's final lineup. The two-time major champion didn't get off to a great start, finishing with a 2-under 34. Morikawa then improved on the back nine, posting a 6-under 37, including five consecutive birdies on holes, 13-17.
“I know people are going to take it lightly. I like to look at the leaderboard and by the start tomorrow, before Hideki and I go out, maybe someone will lead or someone else will lead. I know that he is deaf,” Morikawa said.
“I feel like I can get a birdie from the first hole to the 18th. With that feeling, there's no need to rush to get to 5 under by nine. If it's coming, it's coming. If it's coming, it's coming.” Today. I didn't get off to the hottest start, so I just kept trying and kept giving myself opportunities. Once you have a few successes, you get a little bit of momentum and a few par 5s come in. Hopefully I can get one birdie later this week. that's nice. ”
Despite ranking as the fourth easiest hole of the week, Morikawa has not been able to take advantage of the tough downhill par-5 18th, which measures over 660 yards. On Friday, he had a great chance to tie for the lead, but the 12-footer skimmed over the high-side hole.
“I felt like I looked like a birdie the entire back nine,” Morikawa added.
“Obviously, I only scored a handful, but it was really nice to see a few guys drop and hit on 14 and 15 and, you know, two more guys finish.”
Given Sentry's annual birdie streak, the tournament usually comes down to putting. It will be a battle at the end of Sunday to see who can take advantage of that opportunity. Morikawa currently ranks 10th in strokes gained putts, while Matsuyama ranks 14th. That's not bad per se, but if either of these two can improve their putting some over the weekend, one of them should have a firm grip on the tournament. What's interesting is that Tony Finau, who has struggled on the greens so far, is now leading in strokes gained putts at the halfway point. Finau is tied for 13th place with a total of 10 under.
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation's Playing Through. Follow him on X @jack_milko.
