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Saturday, January 20, 2001
Even at age 46 and without a victory since 1995, Peter Jacobsen remains one of the Tour's most fun-loving players. Jacobsen not far
off after 64
The Leader board
By Dave Reardon
Star-BulletinYesterday the golf at Waialae Country Club was enjoyable for him, too.
Jacobsen fired a 31-33--64 to move into a second place tie at 7-under 133 after two rounds of the Sony Open.
"Playing first this morning was a plus for me. There was little wind, the greens were freshly cut and the course was superb," Jacobsen said.
"It's a ball-striker's golf course. The only holes you have legitimate birdie chances on are 9 and 18."
Jacobsen took advantage of both par-5s yesterday, albeit in somewhat scrambling fashion.
He hit his third shot on No. 9 to within a foot of the hole -- from a bunker. He converted for his second-consecutive birdie and fourth of the front nine.
Later, to close his round, Jacobsen hit a 2-iron over the green on 18, but chipped for another successful one-foot birdie putt.
The round, which also included 25-foot birdie putts on Nos. 8 and 16, put Jacobsen in a position he hasn't been in lately -- high on the leader board.
"I haven't played too well the last few years," he said. "I've had a bad back and torn cartilage in my right wrist, little nagging things.
"I've been making swing changes and trying to score at the same time, which is difficult. But I just love competing. I've worked hard on improving my game and my health."
Jacobsen represents Waikoloa on the Tour, but said he hasn't had many chances lately to visit the resort.
"My wife (Jan) and I come as often as possible. (But) my son's playing high school basketball (in Portland, Oregon), and I have two daughters in college in New York.
"My days of fun and sun and mai tais are over. ... For now."
Of course, 'For now' could end tomorrow if Jacobsen has two more monster rounds like yesterday's.
Key hole: No. 4, Par 3, 203 yards
The No. 4 hole at Waialae Country Club is called "Apiki," or "Tricky."But Peter Jacobsen said the name can be misleading.
"It's a very straightforward and fair hole, but tough," said Jacobsen, who birdied the 203-yard par-3 yesterday with a 5-iron and a 12-foot putt.
"It's one of the toughest par-3s we play on Tour."
The green sits above the fairway, and is almost completely surrounded by sand.
Brad Faxon birdied No. 4 yesterday on his second-consecutive 6-under rampage.
"I hit a 4-iron. It might have been my best iron shot of the day," Faxon said. "To make a two there, that's a great number."
In addition to Jacobsen and Faxon, 26 others managed the great number yesterday. Far more suffered either a bogey (70) or double-bogey (eight).
"The bunkers are huge and hard to hit out of," Jacobsen said. "Today I was lucky there was no wind.
"Unless you hit it on the green it's a very difficult par."
For mere mortals, even if you avoid the sand you could be in trouble -- there's a deep swale running across the middle of the 55-yard green that can make for treacherous putting.
There's the tricky part.
Dave Reardon, Star-Bulletin
BRIAN Sasada went into yesterday's second round of the Sony Open after shooting a 70 on Thursday hoping to make the cut. SONY OPEN NOTEBOOK
Sasada failed by his driver
But his driver let him down. Three times.
Errant drives on Nos. 6, 13 and 16 led to two triple bogeys and a double bogey for the pro from Makena on Maui, as he struggled to 38-40--78.
"Nothing was much different (from Thursday)," Sasada said. "The wind was about the same. Yesterday my putter wasn't going. Today it was the driver."
Sasada was one of the six local entrants, none of whom made the 1-under 139 cut.
David Ishii (Pearl Country Club, Japan Tour) and Douglas Bohn (Kapalua) both shot 73. Matthew Hall (Hapuna) shot 77.
Amateurs Brandan Kop and Tommy Kim each improved one stroke from disappointing first rounds: Kop shot 76 yesterday and Kim 79.
KEEPING UP WITH JONES: Peter Jacobsen said he grew up playing golf with University of Hawaii football coach June Jones in Portland, Ore.
"He used to kick my butt," Jacobsen said. "If June had stuck with it he could've been on the Tour. I know he would've been better than Michael Jordan."
HEY, ROOKIE: Eight Tour rookies made the cut. That includes four players who received checks at last week's Tucson Open -- Garrett Willis, Cliff Kresge, Stephen Allan and Kaname Yokoo.
DALY STRUGGLES, SCRAMBLES: As expected -- especially since he was tied for the lead after the first round with a 64 -- John Daly drew a large weekday gallery of a couple hundred fans yesterday.
After starting out with a bogey, Daly battled all day and finished at par 72. He went into today's third round tied for 20th place at 4-under 136.
Daly stayed with his strategy of using the driver less often, but had difficulty hitting the fairways, anyway.
He battled through the errant tee shots, though; on No. 14, he saved par with a chip and 15-foot putt after a recovery shot from the right rough clipped a tree and stopped well short of the green.
Then on the 15th -- nicknamed "Pilikia" (trouble), Daly landed in the left rough behind several trees. Somehow, he punched a shot through and onto the green, giving himself a downhill 12-foot putt that he made for birdie.
"I don't know, but it sure helped," said Daly, when asked if it was the key hole of the round for him.
COULD HAVE BEEN EVEN BETTER: Carlos Franco had reason to feel good about his 33-34--67 yesterday that put him in a six-way tie for second at 7-under 133. But Franco lamented some missed putts that would have put him closer to leader Brad Faxon, who is at 10-under 128.
"My round was very solid, but my putting was no good," said Franco, who finished tied for ninth last year at Waialae. "I missed an 8-foot birdie putt, and I had a double-bogey on 13 because of putting.
"But we've got two more days. It's a long weekend and anything can happen," Franco said.
TAP-INS: A total of 59 players broke par yesterday. ... The Sony Open increased its purse by $1,100,000 this year to a total of $4,000,000, with the winner getting $720,000. ... The course gave up 16 eagles yesterday, compared to seven on Thursday. ... The 459-yard par-4 No. 6 hole was the second round's most difficult, with an average score of 4.329. ... The easiest was the par-5 No. 9, which yielded an average score of 4.4416. ... The field shot an average score of 70.275.
Dave Reardon, Star-Bulletin
