Matsuyama charges into halfway lead Bhatia Theegala way back

Kapalua (Hawaii), Jan 4 (PTI) Japanese star Hideki Matsuyama charged into a one-stroke lead through 36-holes at The Sentry as he kept up his bold chase to begin his 2025 PGA TOUR campaign on a winning note.
     The 32-year-old had plenty of reasons to be happy at the Plantation Course on Friday as he snared eighth birdies for a bogey-free second round of 65 and 16-under total to lead from fellow major champion, Collin Morikawa (65) in the season-opening USD 20 million Signature event.
     Four players -- Corey Conners (66), Maverick McNealy (64), Tom Hoge (68) and Thomas Detry (65) -- were tied third at 14-under.
     Matsuyama was however disappointed he didn't go lower as he made pars on three of the par-5s, including a frustrating three-putt on the 18th hole.
     Matsuyama's trusty iron play saw him convert six birdies from inside of eighth feet while he drained a 35-footer on the par-3 11th hole with the new putter.
     The tenacious Japanese has established himself as the most successful Asian golfer on the PGA TOUR with 10 career titles, which included two victories last season, and he will be keen to add to his tally on the famous holiday isle.
     Matsuyama's back-to-back 65s also saw him equal his second-lowest 36-hole score on TOUR, and was one shy of his career-best 129 he opened with en route to victory at the 2024 FedEx St. Jude Championship last August.
     After starting his second round with two bogeys in his first three holes, Korea's Sungjae Im fought back with eight birdies to post a 67 and will enter the weekend rounds six off the pace.
     The two-time PGA TOUR winner has three top-10s in four starts at The Sentry, and is ready to add another top finish this week.
     Indian Americans Akshay Bhatia (71-72) and Sahith Theegala (76-68) were T-49 and T-51, while Aaron Rai (68-71) was T-29.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)