Sony Open field is set

KAPALUA, Maui » One of the stronger Sony Open in Hawaii fields is set, with 20 of the 28 golfers taking part in this week's SBS Championship teeing it up in the first full-field event on the PGA Tour.

The list includes all four major winners — Masters champ Angel Cabrera, U.S. Open winner Lucas Glover, British Open champ Stewart Cink and PGA Championship winner Y.E. Yang — as well as world No. 3 Steve Stricker, No. 15 Sean O'Hair, No. 17 Ernie Els and No. 26 Vijay Singh.

The eight playing this week who decided to sit out the Sony Open are Michael Bradley, Paul Casey, Martin Laird, Ryan Moore, Geoff Ogilvy, Kenny Perry, Heath Slocum and Nick Watney.

Also in the Sony Open field next week are local boys Dean Wilson, Parker McLachlin, Tadd Fujikawa, T.J. Kua and Kevin Hayashi. Of the 10 Sony Open champions, only Paul Azinger and Jeff Sluman are not touring the Waialae Country Club course.

Not over yet

Despite his three-shot lead going into today's third round of the SBS Championship, don't give the trophy to Glover just yet. Twice he has held or shared the 36-hole lead only to come up short down the stretch. His best finish was a tie for seventh at the 2008 Verizon Heritage. He tied for 17th at Bay Hill in 2006.

Glover put himself in position to win this week's tournament in part by carding six consecutive 3s on his scorecard yesterday with a birdie, birdie, par, eagle, birdie and par. He managed eight 3s in a nine-hole stretch.

Going long helps

Driving the golf ball deep and straight is a prerequisite to success on the par-73 Plantation Course. Six players ranked in the top 20 in total driving (distance and accuracy combined) after last season are in the field this week and are doing well.

They are Glover (ranked second), Perry (tied for third), John Rollins (T3), Moore (T8), Slocum (T8) and Laird (T17). Only Slocum is not in the top 10 through 36 holes this week. Jonathan Byrd, who did not win in 2009, was the No. 1-ranked player in total driving last year.

Going bogey-free

A half-dozen golfers managed bogey-free rounds in yesterday's calm conditions. They were Rollins (66), Ogilvy (66), Laird (68), Matt Kuchar (68), defending Sony Open champ Zach Johnson (69) and Troy Matteson (70). Of that group, only Kuchar is bogey-free through 36 holes. He is tied for third at 11-under 135.

Inside the numbers

The hardest hole for the second consecutive day was the par-3 eighth, with a scoring average of 3.107. There were three birdies, 20 pars, four bogeys and one double by Yang. Yang was the only golfer to shoot over par with a 74 thanks in part to a triple bogey at the closing hole.

The easiest hole was the par-5 ninth for the second straight day, with a scoring average of 4.250. There were two eagles by Cink and Glover, 18 birdies, seven pars and one bogey by Bradley. The scoring average yesterday was 69.179.