16 Jan 2023 | Professional golf |
Aussies on Tour: Baddeley’s bonus for Sony Open top 10
by Australian Golf Media
By Tony Webeck
A brilliant final round of five-under 65 has not only secured Aaron Baddeley a top-10 finish at the Sony Open in Hawaii but exemption into this week’s The American Express in California.
Playing with limited status on the PGA TOUR this season, Baddeley was not even in the field at the start of the week, receiving a late exemption to take his place in the field.
He made the most of the opportunity, posting consecutive 65s over the weekend to earn a share of seventh and the certainty of a start this week.
Admitting that the doubt around his schedule is harder on his family than it is on him, Baddeley was nonetheless grateful for a second top-10 finish on the season.
“The main goal (at the start of the week) was just to get a little bit better every day,” said the 41-year-old.
“Obviously I want to win. A win takes care of everything. That’s definitely the No.1 goal. Next goal would be top 10.
“Funnily, I’ve treated these a little bit like a Monday qualifier, just a four-day qualifier, and there’s 10 spots instead of four.
“I’ve felt like the game is there. I don’t feel like I’m trying to find anything.
“It’s just a matter of getting some starts, and I feel like my game will just take care of the rest. It’s in that spot.”
In a bogey-free final round, Baddeley hit 85.71 per cent of fairways and 83.33 per cent of greens in regulation, crediting his connection with Florida-based instructor Mike Adams for a much-needed injection of confidence in his ball-striking.
“I’ve hit it pretty crooked for a lot of my career,” admitted Baddeley, whose most recent PGA TOUR win was the 2015 Barbasol Championship.
“To be able to stand up and just trust that I can just hit the shot and be comfortable with that, I feel like it really only comes with hitting the shot and having that positive feedback.
“You can try and think as positive as you want and do that, but to actually see it and know it’s going to go where it needs to go, that’s the reinforcement that I can stand there and just swing away.”
It was shaping as a dual top-10 finish for the Aussies until a late stumble by Adam Scott.
Sparking his tournament to life with three straight birdies to close out Round 1, Scott followed it up with rounds of 66-67-67 to finish tied for 21st.
Scott sat inside the top 10 when he converted from just outside six feet at the par-4 14th but a bogey at the par-3 17th and par at the par-5 18th resulted in a drop down the leaderboard.
“I liked some of the things that I worked on throughout the week and felt like it’s in a goodspot going forward, that’s for sure,” said Scott, who will now spend a month back in Australia.
“If I was super critical of my game, I’d say I’m underprepared at the moment and need practice in all areas to lift it up to a better level.
“But the fact of the matter is I’m really only interested in a few weeks a year.
“As long as I’m ready for them, the rest is just ticking boxes.”
Sydney’s Cam Davis closed out his first tournament of 2023 with a three-under 67 to finish tied for 32nd.
Victorian Tom Power Horan topped Section E of Asian Tour Qualifying School as seven Aussies advanced to Final Stage starting Wednesday while Curtis Luck (68, T16) is the best-placed Australian after the opening round of the Korn Ferry Tour event in the Bahamas.
Results
PGA TOUR Sony Open in Hawaii Waialae Country Club, Honolulu, Hawaii 1 Si Woo Kim 67-67-64-64—262 $US1.422m T7 Aaron Baddeley 67-70-65-65—267 $231,865 T21 Adam Scott 69-66-67-67—269 $77,025 T32 Cam Davis 66-70-68-67—271 $41,387 T48 Danny Lee (NZ) 69-68-67-69—273 $20,250 MC Harrison Endycott 77-69—146
Asian Tour Qualifying School Section E Springfield Royal Country Club, Thailand 1 Tom Power Horan 70-66-68-68—272 7 James Hydes (a, NZ) 66-71-71-70—278 T12 John Lyras 76-66-69-69—280 T12 Doug Klein 70-70-68-72—280 T19 Charlie Dann 75-73-65-70—283 T19 Dylan Perry 70-68-71-74—283 Failed to qualify T29 Jeongwoo Ha 72-76-69-68—285 T29 Ed Donoghue 71-69-73-72—285 T35 Darcy Brereton 72-71-71-72—286 T39 Matias Sanchez 71-68-73-75—287 T42 Aiden Didone 75-71-69-73—288 T58 Ben Eccles 72-74-73-74—293 T62 Blake Collyer 74-68-78—220 T69 Brett Rankin 75-70-77—222 T90 Scott Adams (NZ) 77-75-75—227 T90 Chris Crabtree 81-73-73—227 T92 Jeremy Fuchs 80-75-73—228 T95 Lachlan Armour 74-82-73—229 T105 Darshan Shivalkar 79-78-76—233
Section D Thana City Country Club, Thailand T11 Nick Voke (NZ) 70-71-71-64—276 T16 Aaron Wilkin 70-74-66-68—278 T21 Doeun An 72-70-66-71—279 Failed to qualify T26 Peter Wilson 69-69-72-70—280 T48 Andre Lautee 70-69-70-77—286 T62 James Marchesani 71-70-74—215 T68 Nathan Buzimkic 72-72-72—216 T86 Mark Hutson (NZ) 78-69-72—219 T113 Bond Chan (a) 75-77-74—226
Korn Ferry Tour The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay Sandals Emerald Bay Golf Club, Great Exhuma, Bahamas Round 1 1 Jeremy Paul 65 T16 Curtis Luck 70 T28 Brett Drewitt 71 T121 Rhein Gibson 78
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