Jerry Kelly has been in Darren Clarke’s shoes before.
In 2018, Jerry Kelly won in his debut at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai, finishing 18-under to become the fifth player since 1997 to win in their first try.
Clarke, one of the tournament’s newcomers this year, is looking to become the sixth Hualalai rookie to hold the makau hook trophy when he tees off Saturday morning with Kelly as both golfers finished Friday’s second round tied for first place.
Kelly birdied the 18th hole to finish the tournament’s second round Friday with 5-under 67 and Clarke birdied five of the back nine for a 4-under 68 as both head into the final round at 13-under 131.
“Man, you strive to be in the last group,” Kelly said. “That’s what we’re out here for, no doubt.”
Kelly said he felt the wind pick up while putting on the 14th green, but his familiarity with the course allowed him to adjust to the changing breeze and take him to the top of the leaderboard.
“I’ve played every one these holes from every direction you can possibly imagine,” Kelly said. “I’ve been coming here for a really long time — longer than I’ve been 50, let’s put it that way. I’m very comfortable with this golf course. Hey, they play tougher when it’s windy, but there’s still ways to play them.”
Clarke said the front nine was “a grind.” He hit a bogey on the second hole, and only shot one birdie, on the seventh. But his momentum shifted in the back nine. After a bogey on the 11th hole to be even par, he hit four straight birdies.
“It was off to a tough start. I got a wrong number on the second hole — we miscalculated by 12 yards — so I got that wrong and made a bogey there,” Clarke said. “But I’ve been around long enough to know you’ve just got to hang in there. When the wind got up a little bit on the back nine there, it definitely got a lot more tricky, but I don’t mind that, that’s what I’ve been doing down in Abaco (Bahamas) for two and a half months.”
Clarke won the TimberTech Championship in November, and a victory Saturday would make him the third player to win back-to-back starts in the 2020-2021 season after Phil Mickelson and Jim Furyk.
“I will go out there tomorrow and play as best I can,” Clarke said. “If that’s good enough to win, then there will be a few alcoholic beverages again tomorrow night.”
Retief Goosen, who finished the first round with the sole lead, bogeyed the 17th and 18th to finish Friday’s round in third place and 11-under.
“I lost sort of my speed on the greens quite badly today, and if you have the wrong speed you can’t make anything,” Goosen said. “I’m going to go and do a bit of work now and hopefully tomorrow I’ll get a low round in. Have to shoot another low one tomorrow to have a chance.”
While Kelly, Clarke and Goosen dominated late in the afternoon, the morning saw former World No. 1 Fred Couples card a day’s best of 9-under 63 to rise up 20 spots on the leaderboard to tie for fourth with Kevin Sutherland at 10-under.
“I didn’t putt well yesterday. I didn’t hit the ball that well and I didn’t hit it very close, and today when I hit it close, I made the putts,” Couples said. “But yesterday was maybe a 69 round, but I slopped it around a little bit to shoot 1-under.”
Couples has never won at Hualalai. He finished last year’s tournament tied for second with Ernie Els at 14-under after both Couples and Els battled winner Miguel Angel Jimenez in a playoff. Couples has finished in the top 10 for eight straight years.
“It’s a course I love,” he said. “I was disappointed with yesterday’s round. Obviously today is a heck of a round. I was hoping to shoot 66 or 67 just to keep moving up.”