A windy day in Honolulu saw Waialae Country Club show some teeth in Friday’s second round of the Sony Open, with tougher scoring conditions condensing the top of the leaderboard and sending some big names home early. 

After yielding a pair of 62s on Thursday, the best anyone could do on Friday was a 64, with Davis Riley firing a 6-under second round to surge into a share of the lead and Ryan Gerard matched him for low round of the day to climb into the top 10. Riley credited a hot putter and an improved ball-striking day for moving him into a tie on top of the leaderboard, even with a penalty stroke in his round. 

“Today I putted really well, but I definitely hit the ball a little bit better today,” Riley said. “It maybe wasn’t even better, I just didn’t have as many crazy shots as yesterday. I had a penalty stroke off the tee yesterday, which really cost me and felt like I lost a lot of momentum there. Overall the ball striking was a little cleaner and continued some of that good putting.” 

On the other end of the spectrum was Collin Morikawa, as the No. 17 player in the Official World Golf Rankings could only manage a 68 on Friday to finish at even par for the week, one shot short of the cut line. As so often happens with Morikawa, it was the putter that let him down. Morikawa missed a few short putts on his back nine, including a 6-footer for birdie on No. 18 to make the cut. 

A missed cut in the season opener that doesn’t feature many of the game’s elite is an extremely difficult way for Morikawa to begin what he hopes is a bounce-back season after a tough second half of 2025. He still appears to be searching for the form that made him a two-time major champion and won’t get the kind of confidence boost expected from a Sony Open start. 

Morikawa wasn’t alone in struggling with the wind on Friday, and will find some company from a few other notable names who will also be looking for an early flight home — most notably Keegan Bradley, who also finished his week at even par. 

Jordan Spieth did make the cut, as he aims for a rebound season himself, and he highlighted the challenge of the conditions on Friday after his round, a second consecutive 68 that moves him comfortably into the weekend at 4 under. 

“I hit a 7-iron into that 15th hole. I had maybe 158 hole and I think it went 120 yards and I played it like 175,” Spieth explained. “So it was just very challenging at times. And on the greens it just becomes really hard to make putts when it’s that windy.”

Thanks to those conditions, things bunched up considerably and when the third round gets underway, plenty of players will believe they’re still in contention to win the opening event of the 2026 PGA Tour season. 

Leaders

T1. Nick Taylor, Davis Riley, S.H. Kim, Adrien Dumont de Chassart, Kevin Roy (-9)

While Taylor and Roy couldn’t replicate their 62s from Thursday, the first round co-leaders remain in a share of the lead heading into the weekend — with Taylor aiming to go back-to-back in Honolulu. Riley’s low round of the day vaults him into first as well, with Kim (68), Parry (67) and Dumont de Chassart (67) climbing to the top of the leaderboard as well. 

Those five players will tee it up late in the afternoon for Saturday’s third round, and they’ll hope that it’s similar to Friday when the winds got going in the morning and made it tough on the early wave. Taylor is the favorite of this group to maintain his spot given his ranking and history of success at Waialae.

Contenders

T5. Maverick McNealy, Chris Gotterup, John Parry, Takumi Kanaya (-8)
T10. Ryan Gerard, Vince Whaley, Patrick Rodgers (-7)
T13. Ben Griffin, Jake Knapp and six others (-6)

There are some extremely notable names in the chase pack entering the weekend, and given we know there are low scores that can be produced at Waialae when the conditions present themselves, everyone in this group — and even some behind — will feel like they’re very much in the hunt for a win. 

McNealy, Gotterup and Griffin pick up where they left off in 2025, as all three enjoyed career years on Tour and are off to a quality start to their 2026 campaign. Griffin stumbled on Friday to a 71, falling a bit off the pace after a hot first round, but he’ll be a serious threat on the weekend right alongside McNealy and Gotterup. 

Ryan Gerard is a popular pick as a breakout star for the 2026 season, as he also closed 2025 strong, and he’s making those projections look smart with his start in Hawaii. 

Notable players who missed the cut

• Collin Morikawa (E)
• Keegan Bradley (E)
• Luke Clanton (+1)
• Chris Kirk (+1)
• Cam Davis (+3)
• Gary Woodland (+3)
• Tony Finau (+6)

2026 Sony Open updated picks, odds

Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook

• Nick Taylor (11/2)
• Maverick McNealy (17/2)
• Chris Gotterup (11-1)
• Takumi Kanaya (13-1)
• Adrien Dumont de Chassart (13-1)
• S.H. Kim (13-1)
• Kevin Roy (14-1)
• John Parry (16-1)
• Davis Riley (16-1)
• Ben Griffin (17-1)
• Ryan Gerard (17-1)

The odds sheet going into the weekend has gotten extremely tight and that does present some opportunity to identify some value. Griffin, just three shots off the pace, at 17-1 seems to provide some value, especially after proving he can go low with his Thursday 63. Gotterup at 11-1 also seems solid, especially if winds stay up as he’s proven in the past to be able to handle those conditions — albeit on a very different kind of course in Scotland. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — The season is more than half over, and amid a sluggish stretch, the Washington Capitals are still hoping to make a successful push for the postseason.

The bigger question — will Alex Ovechkin be back next season? — still looms in the background.

“He seems very focused on kind of the short term here, and this team trying to get into the playoffs and having another shot at winning the Stanley Cup,” general manager Chris Patrick said. “So yeah, you guys are going to continue to have to wait.”

Ovechkin is in the final year of his contract, and at age 40, he has managed to reach 20 goals again — just as he did in each of his previous 20 NHL seasons. Whether he’s ready to wrap up his career with the Capitals remains just as unclear as it was back at the beginning of the season.

Patrick spoke with reporters Friday and said when he has talked to Ovechkin, it hasn’t really been about the Russian star’s plans beyond 2025-26.

“Haven’t really had that conversation,” Patrick said. “We talked a little bit just about where the team is and what he feels we need and what I feel we need. But it didn’t really get too much into his future outside of this year.”

The Capitals have managed to stay competitive as Ovechkin has aged, missing the playoffs just once in the past 11 seasons and avoiding a full rebuild. That’s in part because Ovechkin himself has remained a productive goal scorer, tallying 44 last season while breaking Wayne Gretzky’s career record.

Ovechkin is now up to 917 for his career, but after a strong start, the Capitals haven’t won back-to-back games since the first few days of December. They’re very much on the playoff bubble right now, and Patrick made it clear Washington is looking for help before the March 6 trade deadline.

“Definitely actively pursuing an addition,” Patrick said. “With as many teams in the mix right now playoffwise as there are, I think teams are very much trying to figure out their timing and what they need to do and when they want to do it.”

On Friday, the New York Rangers made it clear they are open to being moving players when they posted a letter to that effect from GM Chris Drury on social media. New York is in last place in the Eastern Conference.

The Capitals, on the other hand, are tied for third in the Metropolitan Division despite injuries to some key players. Pierre-Luc Dubois hasn’t played since Oct. 31 but is back skating again. Tom Wilson hasn’t played since Jan. 3.

“We view our biggest need as kind of a higher-end, skilled winger. Those aren’t always available at the deadline,” Patrick said. “We’re going to keep trying to pursue those guys if they’re out there.”

And while Ovechkin’s future remains uncertain, it doesn’t sound like that will impact Washington’s deadline plans much. The Capitals are in playoff contention and were the top seed in the East last season, so it makes sense for them to be buyers. But even if Ovechkin’s retirement is imminent, they have plenty of key players signed long term, so there’s no reason to mortgage their future too much.

“I hope that whatever we do kind of fits both,” Patrick said. “I hope we can do something that helps us short term, for this team getting in the playoffs again, for Alex to have another run at the playoffs, and also helps long term for whenever it is he’s not on the team.”