HONOLULU (AP) Chris Kirk finished a strong opening round at the Sony Open with a birdie for a 7-under 63.

Jordan Spieth wasn’t quite so fortunate.

Spieth hit four trees with four shots on the par-4 eighth, starting with a tee shot that caromed off the trunk into a ditch. He made a quadruple-bogey 8 on his 17th hole of the round and even a birdie at his final hole was only good for a 69.

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Kirk played bogey-free on a gorgeous day along the shores just down from Waikiki Beach and had a one-shot lead among the early starters.

Defending champion Justin Thomas, who opened the Sony Open last year with a 59 and went on to a record performance at Waialae Country Club, was among those playing in the afternoon.

HONOLULU (AP) Zach Johnson and Chris Kirk each made seven birdies and shared the lead in the Sony Open.

Jordan Spieth made eight birdies and for the second straight year walked away from Waialae Country Club amazed that he could be six shots behind.

A year ago, it was because Justin Thomas shot 59 playing in the same group.

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On Thursday, it was one hole.

Spieth hit four trees with four shots on the par-4 eighth hole – his 17th of the opening round – starting with a tough break when his tee shot caromed off the trunk of a tree and down an 8-foot deep ditch that left him no good options. He wound up with a quadruple-bogey 8 and had to settle for a 69.

He signed his card, signed autographs and declined requests to speak to the media.

Johnson and Kirk kept clean cards playing on opposite sides of the draw and closed with different brands of birdies on the par-5 18th hole – Kirk two-putted from about 10 feet, while Johnson found a bunker, laid up and ..

HONOLULU (AP) Chris Kirk finished strong at the Sony Open, making three birdies over his last four holes for a 7-under 63 and a one-shot lead.

Jordan Spieth wasn’t quite so fortunate.

Spieth hit four trees with four shots on the par-4 eighth hole – his 17th of the round – an episode that began with his tee shot caroming off a trunk and into a ditch. He wound up with a quadruple-bogey 8, and even a pitch from the rough short of the ninth green that stopped inches away for birdie wasn’t enough to appease him.

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He made eight birdies and shot 69.

That was even more surprising than Thursday a year ago, when he had a 65 and was six shots behind Justin Thomas, who shot 59 in the same group.

Spieth declined media requests after he signed his card, instead taking 15 minutes to sign autographs.

Kirk played bogey-free on a gorgeous day along the shores just up the road from Waikiki Beach and had a one-shot lead over Vaughn Taylor, Kyle Stanley and Talor Goo..

It's not easy for a film to achieve universal love in the present cinematic landscape. There are too many niches and every possible plot has been done before, to say nothing of the general cynicism that permeates our culture. So when a film is liked, you know it's got to be good. A bill that fits Guardians of the Galaxy. (It's sequel, not so much.)
But, because the Internet gonna Internet, a Reddit thread wondered if a stripe on Rocket's (a.k.a the talking raccoon voiced by Bradley Cooper) prison suit signified indecent exposure, which of course correlated to a civil discussion on the matter. (Just kidding; things went south immediately.)
FacebookPinterestIt got so bad that James Gunn, the director of GOTG, had to come to the defense of Rocket, a fictional character, on Facebook.
Props to Gunn for his meticulous memory, and for taking the time to put out a fire that should have never been lit in the first place. Perhaps we shouldn't be celebrating an artist def..

Calling Bill, Ted, Harold, Kumar, and definitely Snoop. We have some potentially really exciting news for you: Southmoor Golf Club in beautiful Burton, Michigan may be getting its own $59-million marijuana farm.
FacebookPinterestYep, you read that right. On January 9th, planning commission members voted 5-2 to allow Southmoor to rezone 37 of their 95 acres in order to accommodate multiple grow houses, a processing center, a biomass power plant, and apparently whatever else you need to run a commercial medical marijuana facility. But what's the motivation behind this veritable Pizza Hut-Taco Bell of golf? According to owner David Boji, it's a simple one:
Baby boomers are getting older, millennials aren't interested, and he's just really tired of losing money on a golf course (stop us if you've heard this one before).
FacebookPinterestAfter years of paying $33,000 in taxes to the city of Burton, there was no longer enough to go around, and Boji began looking for ..

Kevin Hall, 35, still dreams of joining PGA Tour despite toiling in pro golf's minors for 15 years. But conditional status on the Web.com Tour gives him hope

Ross Kinnaird/R&ATROON, SCOTLAND – JULY 12: Dustin Johnson of the United States looks at his phone during previews ahead of the 145th Open Championship at Royal Troon on July 12, 2016 in Troon, Scotland. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)There are two types of iPhone users: Those who talk to Siri and those who don’t. Now don’t get us wrong, she’s always good for knowing the weather or a quick joke, but there’s never been anything too indispensable about the robotic voice—until now. A recent Apple update has made Siri a golf expert.
Siri can now tell you PGA and LPGA tournament results, individual scores and player bios. If you’re trying to remember exactly which major Tiger won last, Siri has historical stats back to 2007, but just for the majors. Tournament information for all PGA and LPGA events from 2017 through 2018 is also available, with stats updated during rounds.
The information was engineered into what Apple calls the “Siri Knowledge Base,” so you don’t have to..

No course has debuted higher on a Golf Digest course ranking than this little-known New Zealand destination. One visit there explains why

GAUTENG, South Africa (AP) Branden Grace and Chase Koepka shot 7-under 65s to share the first-round lead at the SA Open on Thursday.

Koepka, the younger brother of U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka, was among the morning starters and set the clubhouse target by hitting an eagle and seven birdies in his third tournament of his debut season on the European Tour.

Grace had three eagles – at Nos. 2, 8 and 15 – as he bids for a ninth European Tour title and to complete the set of wins at his native South Africa’s three most prestigious events. He has already won the Alfred Dunhill Championship in 2014 and the Nedbank Golf Challenge last year, as well as the Joburg Open in 2012.

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England’s Chris Paisley was alone in third place after shooting 66.

Golfers all over the world talk to their golf balls on the course. Just usually, not very kindly. Instead, there's a lot of shouting demands and plenty of begging (We're looking at you, Jordan Spieth). But one tour pro takes a different, more delicate approach.
Introducing Mexican tour pro Jose de Jesus Rodriguez, a rookie on the Web.com Tour in 2018 after being the leading money on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica last year. Jose doesn't just talk to his golf balls, he sweet talks them, gently coaxing these spheres to do as he pleases through friendly conversation and flattery. Check out this funny video:
https://twitter.com/WebDotComTour/status/951219971287171072
Hey, whatever works.
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