Following consecutive bogeys, Jared Sawada figured he needed at least birdie on Waialae Country Club’s 18th to ensure his finishing hole on Saturday wouldn’t be his last of the week.
With a second cut looming and Sawada hovering near the line at 4 under, his birdie on the par-5 kept him safely in the top 70 going into the final round of the Sony Open in Hawaii.
“I was just thinking about hitting a good shot,” Sawada said of his walk from the 17th green to the 18th tee box. “Hit three solid shots and expect that tap in at the end.”
He executed that vision with a 5-wood into the fairway and a 3-wood to 24 feet from the pin that he called his “best shot of the tournament.” His eagle putt stopped just short of the cup and he indeed tapped in for birdie and a 1-over 71.
“I knew it was going to be challenging today and it sure was,” said Sawada, who starts today’s round at 5 under. “But I made it through the day and live to play tomorrow, so that’s just wonderful.”
The Mililani and University of Hawaii graduate qualified on Monday and carded rounds of 68 and 66 to make his first cut in a PGA Tour event. He missed the cut in his tournament debut as an amateur in 2014 and was the lone member of the six-player Hawaii contingent to make it to the weekend this year.
“Just a very different feeling,” Sawada said. “It’s all new for me and I’m sure next time I make the cut in a PGA Tour event I’ll handle it better. But I’m happy with the way I handled it today.”
Sawada played the front nine at 1 over, then birdied No. 10. At the 209-yard par-3 11th, he fired a 6-iron inside of 3 feet from the pin to set up another birdie.
“My 6-iron doesn’t go that far, but just being a little amped up and I was going to hit a little draw, I knew that was the club,” Sawada said.
He bogeyed three of the next six holes and stayed in the field with his fourth birdie of the round and stuck around to greet friends and sign autographs for fans outside the scoring trailer.
“First time. Pretty cool feeling,” Sawada said. “Just a little while ago I was on the outside of the ropes too asking for autographs.”
Secondary cut catches Funk
Fred Funk missed the 54-hole cut by one shot when the 60-year-old fired an even-par 70 on Saturday to close out at 3-under 207. Because more than 78 golfers made the 36-hole cut, only the top 70 and ties play on today. In tour parlance it is called “made cut did not finish.”
Funk will still earn last-place money as he prepares for the Champions Tour’s first event at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai that starts on Thursday. Joining him from Waialae are past Sony Open winners David Toms, who missed the cut on Friday, and Vijay Singh, who made it through to the final round.
He opened with a 65 on Thursday and followed it up with consecutive 70s to sit in a tie for 58th. He is paired with Sawada and Rod Pampling in today’s final round.
