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Patrick Fishburn shot a Bogey Five-Under 65 on Friday to take a one-shot lead alongside fellow American Denny McCarthy midway through the PGA Tour’s Sony Open in Hawaii.
Fishburn, chasing a first tour title of his career after turning professional in 2018, produced one-time iron play and put up atop the leaderboard on 10-under 36 holes at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu.
Teeing off on the back nine, Fishburn got off to a flying start with birdies on the 12th, 13th and 14th holes before adding two more after the turn to cap a largely flawless round.
“I hit a lot of fairways and I feel really comfortable with the putter,” Fishburn said of looking forward to the weekend.
“The first round I hit a few longs and today I felt like everything was kind of going where I wanted it on the greens.
“I feel like I’m rolling the ball really well, so excited for the next couple of days.”
McCarthy, who shot an opening 6-under 6 on Thursday, overcame a shaky start that featured two bogeys in his first three holes to move up the leaderboard.
After his initial problems, McCarthy drained five birdies and 10 pars over the remaining 15 holes for a four-down 66.
It was a mixed bag for McCarthy, who sank short putts for the second and third before reigniting his round with a 24-footer to Birdie for the fifth.
“Missed, I was missing some today that I normally clean up, so that was a little frustrating,” McCarthy said.
“Missed a few shorts early and bounced back. Made some mid to long putts in the middle of the front nine to get me into the round…all really good.”
Japan’s Kensei Hirata was the biggest mover in Friday’s second round, jumping 41 places on the leaderboard into a three-way tie for third on nine under, one off the pace, after a seven-under 63.
Hirata is joined by Americans Eric Cole and Paul Peterson, who followed his opening 64 with a 67 respectively.
Five players – SEPP Straka of Austria and Americans Lee Hodges, Alex Smalley, JJ Spaun and Zach Johnson are another shot at eight under.
RCW/FOX
