PGA Tour: Hayden Buckley leads Sony Open in Hawaii with England's Ben Taylor in contention
American Hayden Buckley holds a two-shot lead on 15 under after three rounds in Hawaii, with Ben Taylor tied-second with David Lipsky and Chris Kirk; Watch the final round live on Sunday from 6pm on Sky Sports Golf
Last Updated: 15/01/23 7:34am
England’s Ben Taylor is in contention to win a maiden PGA Tour title after moving within two strokes of the lead heading into the final round of the Sony Open in Hawaii.
The world No 137 birdied four of his last seven holes to post a five-under 65 at Waialea Country Club in Honolulu and jump into a three-way share of second on 13 under, as American Hayden Buckley grabbed top spot after a second successive 64.
Taylor was three shots off the halfway lead and slipped further behind with an opening-hole bogey on Saturday, with the 30-year-old getting up and down from the sand to save par at the second and fourth before picking up shots at the sixth and ninth to turn in 34.
A 10-foot birdie at the 11th was followed by a 25-footer to save par at the next after a wayward tee shot, with Taylor then following back-to-back gains from the 13th by taking advantage of the par-five last.
"I'm no stranger to this position [being in contention] anymore, which is obviously a good thing," Taylor said. "It's very exciting and this is what we've worked for. We've worked to put ourselves in these positions, and hopefully tomorrow we can go and have a solid last round.
"I failed multiple times on Sundays. And it's all experience at the end of the day. This is my third season on the PGA Tour. I think I certainly feel like I have the experience now. I don't feel like I'm inexperienced in these positions. I certainly have that going for me in my back pocket."
Buckley holds top spot after following three birdies in a four-hole stretch from the seventh with two eagles on his back nine, with the American holing from 133 yards at the tenth and responding to a bogey at the next with a stunning approach to leave a close-range eagle at the last.
"I think I've done the hard work of just getting here," Buckley said about being in contention. "I had a good fall and feel very comfortable. Our game plan stays the same. If we play well enough, that's great. If not, we just deal with it."
Taylor is joined tied-second by David Lipsky and halfway leader Chris Kirk, a two-time Sony Open runner-up, who double-bogey his opening hole before bouncing back to card a third-round 68.
Andrew Putnam birdied each of his last five holes to card a eight-under 62 and jump to tied-fifth with Si Woo Kim, with Will Gordon and Nate Lashley four shots back in a share of seventh after rounds of 63 and 65 respectively.
Who will win the Sony Open in Hawaii? Watch the final round live on Sky Sports. Live coverage begins on Sunday with Featured Groups from 6pm on Sky Sports Golf, ahead of full coverage from 9pm.
