Davis Riley takes two-shot lead into final round of wind-swept Sony Open

The American survived the quality field and the high winds to post a three under 67 at the Waialae Country Club, enough to move to 12 under for the tournament. The chasing pack has Chris Gotterup, Harry Hall and Kevin Hall locked on ten under.

Riley did his best work on the back nine, rolling in three birdies. He bounced back from a bogey on the par-3 11th with a birdie on the par-4 12th.

The American then hit a wedge inside two feet on the par-4 14th and made a 15-footer on the par-4 15th. On the par-5 18th, he ran his 60-footer well past the hole, but made the return putt.

"You got to make some gritty pars in these conditions and just try to make some putts on these fast greens in crosswinds in tough putting conditions when you have a chance," he told ESPN after the round.

"I just started feeling really good with the swing and I was hitting my start lines. That's the biggest thing in this wind, is hit your start lines and control the curvature, and I felt like I was hitting some really good hold shots against the wind and hitting my start lines."

There wer 40kph gusts recorded at the course, so blustery that it was affected Gotterup's putting.

"I would say putting today was probably the toughest," said the American.

"I think late in the day some of the greens get a little tough after everyone has walked on them. Not that they're in bad shape, but when it's blowing off your left and you got a left-to-righter, it's not easy to make anywhere, and especially here."

Further down the leaderboard, Jordan Spieth birdied the 18th for his third 68 to reach six under, while Hideki Matsuyama is also six under after a 65. The Japanese star won at Waialae in a playoff in 2022.