Brandt Snedeker sets the target at Waialae

Zac Blair missed a 2-foot birdie putt on his final hole Saturday and had to settle for a share of the lead with Brandt Snedeker.

Snedeker, playing Waialae for the first time in eight years, was at 12-under 128. I never want to be the guy that people say, ‘Well, he’s gone to the other side where he doesn’t appreciate playing the PGA Tour.

It could be fun for a lot of players.

There will be a 54-hole cut on Saturday after 87 players from the 144-man field made the halfway cut. He rolled in a 15-footer at his opening hole, the 10th and picked up another birdie at the par-five 18th.

Kisner kept his wits even as his putts kept missing. Snedeker faded late and missed birdie putts on each of the past two holes.

Vijay Singh, who turns 53 next month and can become the oldest PGA Tour victor in history, shot 69 and was four back. He still made up two strokes with a six-under outing to tie Snedeker, who was perched atop the leaderboard after the first two rounds.

Si Woo Kim, the 20-year-old from South Korea, finished strong with birdie and eagle for 65 that put him two back. He went to the Australian PGA Championship and opened with an 84.

“Now I feel more comfortable with how I’m supposed to swing”, said Snedeker. “And then I realized this week … how it feels, what should happen, and when I do hit a bad shot, I kind of know where it comes from”. He will be in the final group for the third time in his last four PGA Tour events. And here he is again, contending on the weekend after a year in which he had four runner-up finishes.

“I didn’t hit the best putt and it didn’t go in”. After starting on the back nine and turning in 2 under, Kuchar closed his round with six straight birdies on Nos. 4-9. He finished the day in a five-way tie along with Americans Ricky Barnes Morgan Hoffmann Kevin Kisner and Brandt Snedeker.

Kisner started his round of 66 with consecutive birdies at the fourth and fifth before picking up a further shot at the ninth.

“‘I’ve always struggled at this course” said Kisner who credited his improvement to having had a chance to shake off the rust at last week’s Tournament of Champions on nearby Maui. He earned $100,000. Rhoden, 62, who has played on the Champions Tour, had a 21-point round to finish 14 points back.