Kensei Hirata was crestfallen after missing out on a PGA TOUR card by two strokes at Qualifying School last month. A win at the Sony Open in Hawaii this weekend may well be the perfect cure for his hangover.
The 24-year-old rising star from Japan fired himself into contention in the US$8.7 million tournament at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu following a superb 7-under 63 in the second round to jump into tied third position on 9-under, one shot back of co-leaders Patrick Fishburn (65) and Denny McCarthy (66).
Hirata’s charge comes a week after illustrious compatriot Hideki Matsuyama won the 2025 season-opening event, The Sentry. Matsuyama, the winner of the Sony Open in 2022, fired a 69 and will enter the weekend on 4-under.
Over the past two seasons, Hirata has established himself as one of the stars to watch in Japan following two wins in 2023 and four more victories last season. He shot eight birdies against a lone bogey on Friday as he chases a dream victory.
“Yeah, definitely tough missing out (at Qualifying School), but again, I was able to learn from that experience. Just playing different places around the world, learning different grasses, different conditions, have really helped me today, so I was able to take that and put it into play this week and have a good result,” said Hirata.
Playing on a sponsor’s exemption this week, he began his second round with four consecutive birdies, highlighted by a 26-foot conversion on the fourth hole and traded three more birdies against a lone bogey on his homeward stretch. Hirata was all smiles on Hole No. 12 after a monstrous 34-foot putt found the bottom of the cup for birdie.
“Definitely got off to a great start and was able to connect that to the round today. So definitely happy with my play so far,” said Hirata, who ranked in the top-5 for Strokes Gained: Putting for the round.
In the Q-school Final Stage at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida last month, the baby-faced Japanese fired a closing 64 to finish tied eighth to agonizingly miss out on a top-5 finish required to secure a PGA TOUR card for 2025. Compatriot Takumi Kanaya, who finished as the Japan Golf Tour No. 1 ahead of Hirata last season, came in solo third in the Final Stage.
Hailing from Osaka, Hirata learned the game when he was seven years old and like so many others from Japan, he has dreamt of playing on the PGA TOUR. He showed his promise with a tied sixth finish at the Baycurrent Classic in 2023, the PGA TOUR’s lone tournament in Japan and his high finish at Q-School has guaranteed him starts for the first 12 events of the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour season.
He intends to keep his head down over the next two days and enjoy the rare opportunity to challenge for what could be a dream win.
“Yeah, definitely my first time making the cut (in Hawaii) so just looking forward to the weekend and having fun,” said Hirata, who shot 70 and 69 at Waialae last year to miss the weekend play.
Filipino Rico Hoey (64) and Korea’s Tom Kim (65) are joint 11th through 36 holes on 7-under while Chinese Taipei’s C.T. Pan sits in T18 following a 64.
Second-Round Notes – Friday, January 10, 2025
Weather: Partly cloudy. High of 82. Winds E/NE at 15-25 mph.
36-hole cut: 76 professionals at 3-under 137 from a field of 140 professionals and three amateurs.
Second-Round Leaderboard
Pos. Player R1 R2 Total
T1 Patrick Fishburn 65 65 130 (-10)
T1 Denny McCarthy 64 66 130 (-10)
T3 Kensei Hirata 68 63 131 (-9)
T3 Eric Cole 64 67 131 (-9)
T3 Paul Peterson 64 67 131 (-9)
Leading Asian Scores
T11 Rico Hoey 69 64 133 (-7)
T11 Tom Kim 68 65 133 (-7)
T18 C.T. Pan 70 64 134 (-6)
T42 Hideki Matsuyama 67 69 136 (-4)
