Sony Open Notebook

Els caught by surprise

Ernie Els could only smile.

After his tee shot on the par-3 17th landed within 5 feet of the cup, Els went up to his ball to fix the divot nearby.

Meanwhile, Jim Furyk, last year’s PGA Tour player of the year, was struggling on his way to a 1-over 71 to miss the cut.

His tee shot landed 36 feet from the hole, but Furyk had his putter ready, walked to his ball, and gave it a quick look before putting with Els still hovering over the hole.

Startled by Furyk’s quick putt, Els moved to step back, but stopped as the ball continued on a direct line to the hole, dropping into the cup for a birdie.

As if to apologize for being in his way, Els reached into the hole to grab Furyk’s ball and tossed it back to him with a little smirk.

Els went on to make birdie and finish with a 65 to sit at 5 under, five shots back of the leaders.

Els sponsors own tourney

Ernie Els has played 30 rounds at Waialae Country Club and shot par or better all but twice after yesterday’s 65 kicked him into a 12-way tie for 20th. He already has five top-10 finishes at Sony and is the only golfer to defend a title, winning in 2003 and ’04.

His Hawaii ties include designing the Hoakalei Country Club course, which opened two years ago in Ewa Beach.

But that is hardly the most memorable slice of Els’ diverse life.

He recently was named one of the "Top Five Most Positive Athletes in the World" by the United Nations NGO Voting Academy. Els was nominated by Autism Speaks and judged based on his "community involvement and impact on his community."

Els and his wife, Liezl, have been raising awareness and funds to fight autism since their son Ben was diagnosed. The Els for Autism Foundation was established in 2009.

Big finish for Summerhays

Daniel Summerhays went into his 16th hole at 2 under and knowing he needed to make a move to qualify for today’s rounds.

And boy did he ever.

Summerhays birdied each of his final three holes to close out a round of 64, tied for the low score of the day, and secure two more tee times by moving to 5 under for the tournament.

"I’m looking forward to a long day tomorrow," Summerhays said after finishing in the final group of the day at No. 9. ‘It’s going to start early and end late, but I’m really excited to be playing."

Meyer, Hayashi inducted

Hilo’s Kevin Hayashi and Gregory Meyer were inducted into the Hawaii Golf Hall of Fame on Friday night, a few hours after Hayashi fired 75 in the opening round of his 10th Sony Open in Hawaii start.

Hayashi closed with a 71 yesterday to miss the cut for the ninth time. He got through last year, at age 47, by firing a second-round 67 to make it on the number.

Meyer, 49, plays almost exclusively in Japan now, but he also made 10 starts at Waialae, between 1991 and 2005. He made the cut in 1999 and 2005.

The pair have more in common than the Sony Open and golf. Meyer’s mother and Hayashi’s father graduated together from Hilo High.

Eagles keep coming

Waialae’s par-5 ninth hole yielded eight eagles on Friday and surrendered seven more yesterday, with Kevin Chappell and Sunghoon Kang carding 3s there in both of the first two rounds.

Chappell was at 1 over coming into No. 9 yesterday and in jeopardy of missing the cut. He stuck his second shot inside of 2 feet from 196 yards away and dropped the putt to fall into red numbers.

"I made eagle there (Friday) to end my round and my caddie and I talked about that last night, ‘How much better would you feel to make eagle and then play the back side?’ " Chappell said. "I said you’d have a lot of momentum."

Chappell, a tour rookie out of UCLA, went on to make birdie putts of 17 and 15 feet on holes 14 and 15 to move to 3 under, which ended up right at the cutline.

Kang finished at 3 over and missed the cut.

Micheel gets hole-in-one

Shaun Micheel, winner of the 2003 PGA Championship, had a hole-in-one at the 17th. He used a 6-iron to hit it 198 yards, and drained it after three bounces.

Micheel still missed the cut at 68–142.

Inside the numbers

Waialae Country Club played a shot easier yesterday even with players not allowed to lift, clean and place their golf balls.

The scoring average was nearly 1 under par, at 69.070. For Friday’s first round, with players allowed to improve their lie because of wet conditions, Waialae played to an average of 70.132.

The easiest hole continued to be the par-5 ninth, which played more than half a shot under par yesterday (4.427).

The toughest hole was the par-4 13th, home to 43 bogeys, two double-bogeys and a scoring average of 4.238 in the second round.

Only 35 players were over par yesterday, compared to 60 on Friday.

Hilo’s Kevin Hayashi made the day’s longest putt, sinking it from 56 feet on the sixth hole.