Nick Taylor remains tied atop 2026 Sony Open leaderboard eyeing defense of title entering weekend in Hawai’i

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. 

Article Originally Posted Here.