On the night of Friday to Saturday, the second round of the Sony Open ended in Honolulu, Hawaii. Having a bad start, Matthieu Pavon turned everything around thanks to a great finish and finished 4th, just behind the three leaders, Carl Yuan, Austin Eckroat and Byeong Hun An. For his part, Martin Trainer also managed to make the cut.
A jet-powered Matthieu Pavon. The Frenchman had a difficult start to the second round in the Hawaiian wind, conceding three bogeys on his first six holes. The 31-year-old then figured for time beyond the cut. Then, the Toulouse native began his comeback by stringing together two birdies at 9 and 10. A comeback then resoundingly confirmed by the winner of the Acciona Open de España 2023, driven by the precision of his iron shots, thanks to with five birdies on his last five holes.
“Again, a bit of a two-part game, I had trouble getting into it, a little nervous, we know there is the cut on Friday. I was inside and I woke up little by little. I was able to bounce back very well after this delicate start, this birdie at 9 did me a lot of good. And then I played the last six holes very well. It’s true that halfway through today I didn’t really think I was close to the lead. But I worked very seriously, I am mentally proud to have bounced back,” reacted the rookie on the American circuit, author of a second consecutive card of 66.
Alongside nine other golfers, including Chris Kirk, winner last week, Ben Griffin, Stewart Cink and Cam Davis, leader after 18 holes, Matthieu Pavon occupies 4th place (-8 total), a short distance from the trio of lead composed of Austin Eckroat, Carl Yuan and Byeong Hun An (-9). The latter signed a nice score of 64 (six birdies, no errors) to climb to the top of the leaderboard. In ambush, Ludvig Aberg is currently in 26th position. The Swede recorded a score of 65 (five birdies, one eagle, two bogeys) and gained 42 places in the rankings during this second round. At -5 total, he is notably accompanied by Tyrrell Hatton.
