Nick Mason seized upon his opportunities to make a lasting memory at the 2016 Sony Open in Hawaii. Parker McLachlin was left to rue the ones that got away.
Two of the Hawaii natives who stepped onto the Waialae Country Club grounds Friday morning hoping to make a PGA Tour cut saw their days diverge in drastic fashion.
Mason, a 33-year-old graduate of Leilehua High and Hawaii Hilo, mostly treaded water, then birdied two of his last three holes to qualify for the weekend at 3-under 137. He deliriously declared it “probably the best moment in my life for sure.”
Just as Mason was exulting in his first made cut at the Sony in three tries, McLachlin mentally replayed the moments where it all went wrong for his fourth straight Sony miss. He hadn’t played the event since 2012 but had performed well in recent competitions and made the field on a sponsor’s exemption.
The 36-year-old Punahou graduate and former PGA Tour regular came out on fire with birdies on three of his first four, and rolled in a 17-footer to go into the turn with some momentum.
But McLachlin’s back-nine effort got blown off course in part by some unusual Kona breezes and he finished at even par for the day and 1-over 141 in total.
“A few inches here and there and it could have been a lot different,” said McLachlin with a sigh. “It’s not the result I wanted. I’m a little disappointed. It’s hard to take all that good stuff (being at home) in when you’re grinding it out and trying to post a number.”
Friends and family in the gallery were toasting McLachlin with morning beverages as he carved his way to 2 under overall.
But then his experience on his “home track” came into conflict with the unusual wind.
“A very different wind,” McLachlin said. “It was just hard to adjust to the direction it was blowing from. It was hard to pick out different lines.”
On his 11th hole, things went rapidly awry. As a nearby gallery erupted for a birdie, McLachlin shanked his drive into a tree to the right of the fairway. He made a decent recovery shot, but then fell into a bunker on a 30-yard chip attempt to the green and double bogeyed the hole.
He found the rough on No. 12 and bogeyed that one, too. He made it up with a nice approach to within 5 feet on No. 15, but at even par, realized he needed two more birdies to have a chance at the cut.
He couldn’t get close enough to the pin on 16 and 17 and had to play the par-5 final hole aggressively for an eagle. He found two sand traps instead for a bogey.
McLachlin said he will look to hone his game in Monday qualifiers in tournaments on the West Coast in coming weeks.
Mason, meanwhile, isn’t done yet, thanks to some incredibly clutch shot-making.
He hit a difficult approach shot from 191 yards out in the rough on 16 to within 6 feet of the cup and drained it for birdie. Mason then creamed his second shot on the par-5 No. 18 onto the green — “probably the best shot I’ve hit in my life” — and set himself up for a 3-footer to make the weekend.
“It feels like you belong out here,” Mason said. “I’ve played in major championships and I’ve played in a few PGA Tour events, but you never feel you belong until you play with the guys on the weekend.”
Moanalua High senior Shawn Lu fired matching 73s over the first two days to finish 6 over.
Maui native Garrett Okamura, the Aloha Section PGA champion, shot a 9-over 79 Friday to finish in last place at 13 over.
