Hoey’s mid-round spark fuels strong 67 at Sony Open

MANILA, Philippines — Rico Hoey leaned once more on his growing mastery of Waialae Country Club’s par-5s, igniting a decisive mid-round surge that carried him to a three-under 67 and a jump into joint 32nd after three rounds of the Sony Open in Honolulu, Hawaii on Saturday (Sunday Manila time).

Still eight shots adrift of new solo leader Davis Riley, Hoey’s charge from the tail end of the 60-plus-ties cut line to the middle of the leaderboard nonetheless underscored the promise of the Filipino-American’s bid to rebound from an underwhelming campaign last season.

With earlier rounds of 69 and 70, the ICTSI-backed Hoey totaled a four-under 206, sharing 32nd place with 11 others, including Sahith Theegala and veteran Vijay Singh. More importantly, he showed flashes of the confidence and shot-making that once marked him as one of the tour’s rising talents.

Hoey’s round began quietly, marked by steady if unspectacular golf. After opening with three regulation pars, he narrowly missed an early birdie chance from 11 feet on No. 3. Trouble followed on the par-3 fourth, where his tee shot found the greenside bunker and he failed to get up-and-down, momentarily halting his momentum.

But the turning point came soon after.

Shaking off the bogey, Hoey settled into a groove, stringing together three straight pars before unleashing a burst of precision and poise. On the eighth, he drained a curling 25-footer to spark the run. He followed that with a confident 13-foot birdie putt on the par-5 ninth, then stuffed a crisp approach on No. 10 to within three feet for another gain.

The surge nearly continued on the 11th, where he missed a 16-footer, but Hoey quickly regrouped. On No. 12, he delivered yet another superb approach, setting up a stress-free six-foot birdie that pushed him deeper into red numbers and reinforced his control of Waialae’s scoring holes.

Just as he appeared to have cracked the par-70 layout, a miscue on the par-4 13th brought him back to earth. He missed the green and then failed to convert a 14-footer for par, a reminder of how swiftly Waialae can punish even slight lapses.

To his credit, Hoey responded with composure, closing out the round with four straight pars before once again capitalizing on the par-5 18th. For the third straight day, he birdied the finishing hole, a fitting exclamation point to a back-nine 33 and a round of 34-33 that hinted at even better things to come.

At the top of the leaderboard, Riley seized control with a gritty 67 to reach 198, moving ahead of Harry Hall, Chris Gotterup, and Kevin Roy, who shared second at 200 after rounds of 66, 68, and 69, respectively. Defending champion Nick Taylor stumbled to an even-par 70 following earlier rounds of 62 and 69, slipping into a tie for fifth at 201 alongside Ryan Gerard and John Perry.

With the $9.1-million season-opening PGA Tour event headed into its final 18 holes, the title chase remains tight and unpredictable. For the big-hitting Hoey, while contention may be a long shot, Saturday’s mid-round brilliance served as a timely reminder that his game and confidence are trending in the right direction.