HONOLULU – The Sony Open is a stop on the PGA Tour, and by introduction, Paul Peterson made a strong first impression. He had a good day at Waialae on Thursday, opening with a 6-under 64 and sharing the lead with five others.
Harry Hall, Denny McCarthy and Eric Cole, who started early last week in Kapalua, Hawaii, also joined Adam Schenk in a 64 Open for business.
Tom Hoge, who tied for eighth at Kapalua, shot his only 64 on the afternoon with two eagles. Hogg described the second shot as a gift – an 8-iron that hit the flagstick from 189 yards of rough and dropped into the cup.
“I just hope it comes down before it goes over the back of the green,” he said.
Hideki Matsuyama set the par score record at Kapalua, birdieing two of the final three holes for a 67. player.
Peterson is no ordinary rookie.
The southpaw from Oregon has five passport books with stamps from some 44 countries. He holds cards for six world tours, not counting mini-tours in Arizona and the Dakotas when he first started.
“Whether I feel like a rookie or not, no,” Peterson said. “I've been to a lot of places. I've been to a lot of golf tournaments in a lot of places. I feel like all of that helped prepare me to get here… Do I wish I'd gotten here sooner? Yeah, but I'm very grateful to me all the way. Do you regret this experience?
The Sony Open is the PGA Tour's first full event of the year and attracts a large number of Korn Ferry Tour rookies and graduates.
Peterson eventually returned home with a top-30 finish on the Korn Ferry Tour and a victory in Tennessee. He's been feeling good all week and trained really well on Tuesday and hopes the game will start a day earlier.
Waiting didn't hurt him. When he had three birdies in eight holes, he took his seven-wood into the gentle tropical breeze and hit eagle from 5 feet on the par-5 ninth. After birdieing two of the next three holes – six consecutive three-pointers on his card – he was the first player to reach 7 under.
A few soft bogeys followed, and Peterson hit 7-wood to two-putt for birdie on the par-5 closing hole to join the others.
Peterson left Oregon and tried out for the Canadian Tour, then qualified for the Asian Tour. He took his first win on the European Tour, beating Thomas Pieters at the Czech Masters, added another title in Myanmar and thinks a Japan Golf Tour membership could help him advance in the world rankings Be among the top 100.
He has never finished that high – 120th is his best finish – and has yet to play in a major.
But the travel, the conditions inside the ropes and the culture of the night helped him grow. There were also some memories made along the way. It didn't get any better than 2015, when he earned an exemption to the KLM Open.
“Tom Watson finished his last European tour and we were paired up on Sunday,” Peterson said. “It was the coolest. He was the coolest. He signed a golf ball for me.”
The trip also taught him that he didn't handle wind well. He didn't play when the outbreak hit Oregon State. He has a home in Arizona, and the conditions are so pure. So he moved to Sea Island, off the coast of Georgia, just north of Florida, where he also played many matches with several PGA Tour players.
So yes, he's a rookie. He just didn't feel like one, and he certainly didn't look like one.
Cole, McCarthy and Schenck all went bogey-free. Hall, who is from England, has been through a more stressful period, at least when he didn't make 10 birdies. The 27-year-old, who played college golf at UNLV and now lives in Las Vegas, was slowed by a double bogey that came out of a bunker twice on No. 8. His momentum.
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