After all that, MJ Daffue was the only South African to make the cut on Friday in the Sony Open in Hawaii after a second round of two-under-par 68 at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu.
Daffue got things going on the 10th in his second round and made a birdie on the 12th. He dropped a shot – his first of the tournament – on the 14th, but got things back into red figures with a birdie on the par-five 18th. He picked up his final birdie on his final hole of the day, the ninth.
At five-under for the tournament, Daffue was six shots behind the leader, Chris Kirk of the United States. At 11-under, Kirk led by one from countrymen Taylor Montgomery and JJ Spaun.
First-round co-leader Jordan Spieth followed his opening six-under 64 with just one birdie and six bogeys to go from the lead to missing the cut at one-under for the tournament.
Slovakian South African Rory Sabbatini, playing in his 25th consecutive Sony Open, was one shot off the pace after his first round of five-under, and he had moved it to seven-under at the turn after starting his second round at the 10th. But a horror sequence of three consecutive double-bogeys, followed by a bogey saw him slide right out of the picture, and he eventually signed for a four-over 74. With play suspended in the second round for darkness, the projected cut is to-under, and Sabbatini sits and waits at one-under.
Christiaan Bezuidenhout just never got going, and his two birdies in the second round were offset by five bogeys. His three-over 73 left him at seven-over for the tournament and way down in 140th.
