Sepp Straka had seven birdies on Friday at Kapalua Plantation Course.
Getty Images
Good weather conditions led to a low score on Friday at Kapalua Plantation Course. In fact, of the 59 players in attendance, only two finished above par. 32 players shot 5 under (68) or better, and as many as 8 players shot 64 – 9 under!
Starting with a score of 69-65 (-12) will usually put you high on the leaderboard. But this week, Sepp Straka remains outside the top 10 after 36 holes, four shots behind Hideki Matsuyama’s lead. But Straka did achieve something big on Friday, rattling off an incredible seven straight birdies on the back nine before ending his tournament in par on No. 17.
“Well, I love turkey, so I got three in a row in the 12th and was really happy about that,” Straka said after the game. “Then birdies on 13, 14, 15, which were pretty easy to get, so I thought about six in a row, but I never got seven, but yeah, I was getting a little hot with the irons. , hit some nice shots and then was able to putt.
When the streak finally ended at par on the par-4 17th, Straka said his playing partner, Patton Kizer, was more disappointed than he was.
“I missed my putt on 17 and he immediately told me he was mad at me,” Straka said.
So what happened?
“I hit it 20 feet and missed the putt,” Straka said.
Follow-up: Was that devastating?
“It’s devastating,” he said. “It was a tough scene, but I’ll get through it.
Mid-range putts stumped the Tour pro. But now he swears there is only 1 drill
Nick Piastowski
“[Playing partners Kizzire and Stephan Jaegar] Both were very disappointed with my finish (laughs).
Seven birdies in a row is quite an accomplishment (the PGA Tour record is nine in a row), and Straka said he couldn’t remember doing anything before.
“I’m definitely not at eight yet, so I think seven is definitely my ceiling,” he said.
Although Straka had to make seven putts to keep his winning streak alive, he attributed the birdie to a strong iron play.
“My iron shots are pretty close,” he said. “10 I hit it to five feet. 11 I hit it to 10 feet. I just got into 10 feet. The wind can be difficult here, it wasn’t that strong today, but it’s also hard to figure out where it’s coming from. , so it’s hard to really get it within 10 feet, and I was able to stretch it out a little bit there.
While he currently sits in the Chaser position on the leaderboard, when scores are this low, anything can happen over two rounds.
