Henley, Langley sit at 17-under to break Sony Open record, share lead

Henley two-putted from 30 feet for birdie on the last hole Saturday for a 3-under 67, allowing him to catch up to Langley, who had to settle for a par and a 65. They broke the tournament scoring record through 54 holes at 17-under 193.

Better yet, they had a three-shot lead over Tim Clark.

The 23-year-old rookies have a chance to become the first rookies to win in their PGA Tour debut since Garrett Willis at the 2001 Tucson Open. They never flinched on a warm afternoon with only a mild breeze on a Waialae Country Club that was ripe for low scores.

Langley made seven birdies to offset a pair of bogeys. Henley has been steadier and carries a streak of 43 holes without a bogey into the final round.

Rookies have ruled along the shores of Oahu, and if not for Clark, it would have been even more pronounced. Clark made a birdie on the last hole that put him into the final group at the cost of another rookie, Scott Gardiner of Australia, who had a 64 and was four shots behind.

Charles Howell III, twice a runner-up at the Sony Open, had a 67 and also was four behind.

Seven players were within five shots of the lead, which included Monday qualifier Danny Lee and Pat Perez, whose goal to have a more positive attitude was severely tested on the final hole when he missed a 40-inch birdie putt. Perez still had a 67 and was at 12-under 198.

Henley and Langley shared low amateur honors at Pebble Beach in the 2010 U.S. Open, and then became fast friends by flying together to Northern Ireland for the Palmer Cup. They were thrilled to be playing together for their rookie debut in the opening two rounds.

Neither had any idea they would still be together going into the final round. Nobody has been able to catch them.

Those expecting to see the rookies get stage fright in the final group on the weekend quickly learned that these aren't ordinary rookies — at least not on Saturday. Both played with remarkable poise and kept this Sony Open a two-man show.

SHARE CLOSE
Blogger		Google+
Live Journal		Plurk
Stumble Upon

Tweet

	PREVIOUS ARTICLE
	Winner Ligety hails his best-ever World Cup season

NEXT ARTICLE
Armstrong may have yet more to lose if he admits to having doped

Write a Comment

Terms

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

 Receive China Post promos
 Respond to this email

Submit