Two six-time winners on the PGA Tour will go for trophy No. 7 in Sunday’s final round of the 2024 Sony Open. Keegan Bradley holds a share of the lead with Grayson Murray at 14 under heading into the last day at Waialae Country Club as he searches for his third victory in the last 14 months. Bradley tied for the lowest round of the day with his 7-under 63 to usurp a trio of 36-hole leaders on a Moving Day that saw 11 different players touch the lead at one point.
“Today was one of those days where just like I had great numbers,” Bradley said. “I could see every shot. I wasn’t very anxious on that many shots, which is super rare for me. I just had a blast out there with Scotty, my caddie. We just did a great job together.”
Bradley has been wildly underrated during this second chapter of his career. Winning twice in 2023, one of which was a signature event, and finishing top 10 in the FedEx Cup, the world No. 16 can thank a vast improvement on the greens to his career resurgence.
Meanwhile, co-leader Murray is in the midst of a second chapter of his own as he stepped away from the game in 2021 due to personal reasons. Regaining full-time status via a couple wins on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2023, the 30-year-old looks renewed and rejuvenated as he eyes his second victory on the PGA Tour.
Hoping to beat Bradley and Murray is Chris Kirk, who won his sixth tournament last week. The Sentry champion began the day just one shot off the pace, but a sluggish start put Kirk behind the eight ball early. He bounced back with a birdie barrage, but he will start the final round three shots behind Bradley and Murray at 11 under.
The leader
T1. Keegan Bradley, Grayson Murray (-14)
Bradley did not necessarily have his best game across the first two rounds as he pieced together scores without the entirety of his bag cooperating. Everything was in sync Saturday as he drove the ball beautifully, struck his irons with fervor and stood confident over putts. Bradley mentioned he feels as if his putting has surpassed that from his belly-putting days. The numbers are trending in that direction, and Sunday, he could take another massive leap.
“I’m trying to just worry about myself,” Bradley said. “If I go out and shoot a good round tomorrow it’s going to be tough to beat. There is a lot of great players and a lot of players within a handful of shots of the lead, so be difficult as usual.”
Other contenders
3. Sam Stevens (-13)
T4. Byeong Hun An, Chris Kirk, Ben Silverman, Taiga Semikawa, Matthieu Pavon (-11)
T9. Emiliano Grillo, Kurt Kitayama, Troy Merritt (-10)
For the second straight day, Kirk got off to an inauspicious start with a pair of early bogeys to begin his round. He bounced back with four birdies to close out his outer half, but he will not have that luxury Sunday if he intends to win for the second consecutive week. With a victory, the world No. 21 would become the third man to claim the “Hawaii Double” in the same year and the seventh man to accomplish the feat in his career.
“It’s going to take a lower round than what I was hoping it would take going into today,” Kirk said. “Yeah, definitely tough start and then bounced back. Really nice to shoot a couple under on the front, and then just couldn’t quite get anything going on the back. I was hitting a lot of the really nice shots. Hit a lot of iron shots and wedge shots right at it and just kind of kept being 15 feet long, 15 feet short, and couldn’t really get any of those putts to drop. That’s the way it goes. Happy with the way I’m playing. Hope I can go catch fire tomorrow.”
The game within the game
This week kicked off the PGA Tour’s inaugural Swing 5 series in which those players not otherwise qualified for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am have an opportunity to play themselves into the year’s first signature event. The top-five FedEx Cup points getters between the Sony Open, The American Express and the Farmers Insurance Open will play at Pebble Beach in a few weeks’ time. Here is a list of players who look to be in solid shape so far.
- Grayson Murray
- Sam Stevens
- Ben Silverman
- Taiga Semikawa
- Matthieu Pavon
2024 Sony Open updated odds and picks
- Keegan Bradley: 33/20
- Grayson Murray: 5-1
- Sam Stevens: 8-1
- Chris Kirk: 10-1
- Byeong Hun An: 12-1
Bradley was one of our plays at the beginning of the week and our selection to win after Friday’s round and that will not be changing heading into the final round. He has improved each day around Waialae CC with rounds of 67-66-63 and looks as confident as I can remember. On Saturday, Bradley ranked second in strokes gained ball striking and was a perfect 17-for-17 inside 13 feet. If both of those persist, Bradley should raise another trophy.
