Paul Peterson made a big impact at the Sony Open, the PGA TOUR stop where introductions are due. On Thursday, a lovely day at Waialae Country Club, he opened with a 6-under 64 and shared the lead with 5 other players.
Alongside with Adam Schenk , Harry Hall, Denny McCarthy and Eric Cole opened at 64. All 3 players received an early start in Hawaii last week at Kapalua.
In an afternoon round with 2 eagles, Tom Hoge, who tied for 8th place in Kapalua, had the lone 64.
The second one, an 8-iron out of the rough from 189 yards that struck the pin and fell into the cup, was what Hoge called a gift.
“All I wanted was for it to fall before it crossed the back of the green.” he said.
Following a record-breaking score of par at Kapalua, Hideki Matsuyama finished with a 67 after birdieing two of his final 3 holes. His goal is to sweep the Hawaii swing and become the 3rd player to do so.
Peterson is no average rookie.
The Oregon State lefty has 5 passport books with stamps from about 44 countries and has cards from 6 tours worldwide, except the mini-tours in Arizona and the Dakotas when he first started out.
“No, I don’t feel like a rookie. I’ve seen a lot of golf in a lot of places and I’ve travelled a lot. I think all of that has helped me get here. Do I wish I had been here a little sooner? Yes, but do I regret any of the experiences I’ve had along the way? No.” Peterson said.
The PGA TOUR’s first Full-Field Event of the year, the Sony Open in Hawaii, draws a sizable number of rookies and Korn Ferry Tour grads.
After placing in the top 30 on the Korn Ferry Tour, which included a victory in Tennessee, Peterson eventually returned home. He wanted the event to start one day early since he felt great all week and had a great range session on Tuesday.
He was unharmed by the wait. When he belted his 7-wood into a gentle tropical breeze on the par-5 9th hole to 5 feet for eagle, he was cruising along with 3 birdies in 8 holes. He reached 7-under after making birdies on 2 of the next 3 holes and hitting 6 consecutive 3-pointers.
Peterson followed with another 7-wood to two-putt birdie range on the par-5 final hole to join the others on the leaderboard after a couple of soft bogeys.
Before receiving a card on the Asian Tour, Peterson tried out for PGA TOUR Canada after leaving Oregon State. He defeated Thomas Pieters on the DP World Tour in the Czech Masters for the first time, gained another victory in Myanmar, and reasoned that a Japan Golf Tour membership may help him break into the top 100 worldwide rankings.
He hasn’t played a major yet and never reached that high; his best number was 120.
However, the journey, the different conditions within the ropes, and the nighttime culture all aided in his development. Along the journey, there were also some recollections. When he was granted an exemption to the KLM Open in 2015 was still the best time ever.
“On Sunday, we were matched with Tom Watson, who started his last European tour. It was the most awesome. He was the most awesome. For me, he signed a golf ball.” Peterson said.
He discovered along the trip that he was not particularly good at handling wind. He simply did not play when it blew in Oregon. The conditions of his Arizona home were too pure. In order to have more activity with a number of PGA TOUR players, he relocated to Sea Island, which is located on the Georgia coast just north of Florida.
He is a rookie, then. He didn’t look like one, and he doesn’t feel like one either.
Although there was little wind at The Sentry and the conditions in Paradise were perfect, the Bermuda rough is dubious and the Waialae greens have always been difficult to read.
Schenk, McCarthy, and Cole all played without bogeys. If he wasn’t making ten birdies, Hall’s time was more stressful. The 27-year-old Englishman, who currently resides in Las Vegas and played collegiate golf at UNLV, needed 2 shots to escape a bunker on No. 8 after a double bogey that hampered his pace.
He is still on a high from the previous week, though. Last year, Hall won an additional event ; the ISCO Championship in Kentucky. Since he doesn’t participate in Signature Events, Kapalua was a unique chance, and he took advantage of it.
Additionally, he is making use of Butch Harmon, a proper swing coach he met in Las Vegas who consented to take him on as he nears retirement.
“A few months after I approached him, he contacted me and said, “It would be great to see you.” Since we began working together, I’ve played pretty well.” Hall said.
