Some top stars will sit out Sony Open | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

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Hideki Matsuyama won’t have much high-ranked opposition when he tries to repeat as Sony Open winner next week. The No. 21-ranked Matsuyama is one of just seven players in the top 25 signed up for the event.

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KAPALUA, Maui >> The flight from Maui to Honolulu is only 104 miles and takes less than an hour.

Despite the close proximity, only four out of the top 20 in the World Golf Ranking will tee it up next week at the Sony Open at Waialae Country Club.

Defending champion Hideki Matsuyama, Jordan Spieth, Tom Kim and Sungjae Im are the big names committed to play as the field for the first full-field event of 2023 on the PGA Tour was announced Friday.

Seventeen of the top 20 in the World Golf Ranking came to Maui to play this week, but most of them have decided to skip the Sony.

The Sentry Tournament of Champions is one of 13 elevated events this season with increased prize pools. Those named as part of the Player Impact Program are required to miss no more than one of those events to avoid a penalty.

The Sony Open is not one of those events.

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Justin Thomas, who completed the Hawaii slam — winning at both Kapalua and Waialae — in 2017, is among the big names not making the trip interisland. Thomas played Waialae five consecutive times from 2015 to ’19 but hasn’t been back since.

“I think at the end of the day a lot of events aren’t going to change drastically,” Thomas said of the PGA schedule format in 2023. “They may lose one or two people here or there, but I think it’s going to be a great opportunity for a lot of other story lines.”

Matsuyama won the Sony last year after shooting 63 in his final round to force a playoff. He hit one of the most memorable shots on Tour all season — a 3-wood into the sun from 276 yards to 3 feet on 18 to win.

He’s currently tied for 12th place at 9 under in the TOC.

Schauffele withdraws

World No. 6 Xander Schauffele withdrew from the Pro-Am on Wednesday with a back injury but made it through the first round on Thursday.

He couldn’t survive another 18 holes on Friday.

Schauffele, who won at Kapalua in 2019, withdrew from the tournament after the eighth hole as his back continued to bother him. He was 1 over in his round to that point.

“It’s really frustrating. It’s a place that I’ve played really well at. I just love being out here and, yeah, it sucks,” Schauffele said. “I’m 29. I need to preserve my health. I feel like I’ve done a really good job up until this point and the fact that I can’t really pinpoint what it is is a bit frustrating.”

Schauffele said he will return home to Las Vegas this weekend to get an MRI on his back.

List goes low

One of 13 players making his debut at Kapalua, Luke List said everyone told him he would like this place.

They were right.

List shot the low round of the day on Friday, firing an 8-under 65 to shoot 26 spots up the leaderboard into a tie for eighth place at 10 under.

List birdied four of his final five holes and finished with nine total to move into contention after opening with a 71.

“I was a little disappointed with yesterday because I felt like I played better,” List said. “I made the most of my opportunities (today). I’m happy with my score today.”