Going into the final round of the Sony Open, J.J. Spaun leads by one stroke after finishing with a birdie for a 65.
However, 14 players were within three shots of the lead, so he will have a lot of opponents to overcome.
You can watch the Sony Open final round live on Peacock and Fubo TV (FREE trial) starting at 4 p.m. ET on Sunday.
The winner will take $1.566 million out of Hawaii with the $8.7 million prize money.
In the final stretch at Waialae, Spaun twice made birdies after bogeys, the latest of which was a pitch-and-putt on the par-5 18th hole, giving him a 5-under 65 and a one-shot lead over Patrick Fishburn (68), Eric Cole (67), and Stephen Jaeger (62).
Spaun had a large group within striking distance and was at 13-under 197.
At the Sony Open, it is typically the case. This traditional course has a tendency to remain crowded until the very last hole because of its doglegs, thick bunkers, and erratic Bermuda rough.
Scottie Scheffler’s most dominant portion of a fantastic year was when Jaeger defeated Scheffler at the Houston Open, earning him the most notoriety. At the start of the third round, he was six strokes behind. Together with the two players at the top of the scoreboard, he had 40 players.
Jaeger told The Associated Press, “You’re in limbo at that point.” You will either shoot a terrific round and be in contention, or you will have a wonderful round and have a chance.
Fishburn, a second-year player from Utah making his Sony debut, was the only player to reach 14 under after making a birdie on the par-5 ninth hole to finish in 31 and put some distance between himself and the other players. He only made one birdie the rest of the way, though.
Numerous others returned to the tournament after Fishburn dropped a couple shots.
In the group two shots behind Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley, who birdied his final two holes for a 64, were Nick Taylor of Canada (65), former British Open champion Brian Harman (66), and Nico Echavarria of Chile, who won the Zozo Championship in Japan last fall and shot a 66 without making any bogeys in the wind.
The conditions became considerably more difficult as soon as we turned that way, according to Fishburn. It was a challenging setup since there were pins on the left and a lot of wind coming from the left.
Lucas Glover and Gary Woodland, who had brain surgery at the Sony Open a year ago and needed to do breathing and meditation exercises to get his brain working properly, were in the group three shots behind.
With the tournament’s low round, Jaeger stood out. He began on No. 10 and got a major boost with a birdie from just under 60 feet on the eighth hole. He scored two 20-foot birdies on the front nine. On the par-5 ninth hole, he finished with a wedge to 4 feet for birdie.
On Saturday, January 11, 2025, at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu, Denny McCarthy plays out of bunker on the 17th hole during the third round of the Sony Open golf event. (Photo by Matt York/AP)
On Sunday, Spaun starts from the pole position with many cars accelerating up behind him.
Out there, I’ve felt quite at ease and content. “This week has been enjoyable here in Hawaii,” he stated. It’s always relaxed and unhurried. It’s easy to feel that way when you’re playing well and things are going your way, and that’s what I’ve been thinking on the course. Simply attempt to focus on that tomorrow and observe the results.
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