There are few sights in golf more beautiful than the Plantation Course at Kapalua, but the play of a locked-in Hideki Matsuyama may give it a run for its money. Matching his opening 8-under 65 on Thursday with another on Friday, Matsuyama surged to the top of the leaderboard at the 2025 Sentry and reached 16 under to command a one-stroke lead over Collin Morikawa after Round 2 in Hawaii.
"Obviously the views are beautiful here," Matsuyama said. "I haven't played well here in awhile, so it's good to get off to a good start here."
Coming off a stellar season that was perhaps overlooked due to those of Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele, Matsuyama has made his presence known early in 2025. While his opening 65 showed off a brand-new putter, his follow-up act was all about his typically reliable tee-to-green game.
Carding eight birdies against no bogeys, the man from Japan leapfrogged first-round leader Tom Hoge and grabbed the top spot on the leaderboard all to himself. Matsuyama's 130 total at the halfway point equals the second-lowest 36-hole score of his PGA Tour career and falls just short of the 129 mark he opened with at this summer's St. Jude Championship.
Matsuyama went on to win at TPC Southwind in the first event of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, but if the Olympic bronze medalist expects to pull off the same in Maui, he will have to fend off a chasing pack that is spearheaded by a man who has done just about everything but win at this golf course -- Morikawa.
Earning the lowest scoring average in the history of the Plantation Course, Morikawa made mincemeat of his final 12 holes on Friday. After getting off to a pedestrian start and exchanging a birdie for a bogey on Nos. 5-6, the two-time major champion kicked it into overdrive for the final two-thirds of his round.
Eight birdies came flying onto his scorecard including a run of five straight on the back nine from Nos. 13-17 to pull him within one of Matsuyama. A par on the par-5 18th put the finishing touches on Morikawa's 65 and secured his place in a position he is all too familiar with at the PGA Tour's season opener: in contention and with a chance to win heading into the weekend.
The leader
1. Hideki Matsuyama (-16)
While Matsuyama was magnificent on Friday, there was an opportunity for the frontman to push the margin out even wider. Getting to 15 under for the tournament with a birdie on No. 13, Matsuyama missed three birdie chances from inside 5 feet over his closing five holes. Playing the par 5s in just 1 under on his round, he has let plenty of players remain in contention with 36 holes remaining. If he were to fall short this weekend, Matsuyama may look back at that closing stretch on Friday as one of the reasons why.
Other contenders
2. Collin Morikawa (-15)
T3. Maverick McNealy, Tom Hoge, Corey Conners, Thomas Detry (-14)
T7. Wyndham Clark, Keegan Bradley, Cameron Young, Harry Hall (-13)
11. Sepp Straka (-12)
12. Will Zalatoris (-11)
The last champion in the field via his win at the RSM Classic, McNealy looks to go back-to-back on the PGA Tour with a short, two-month gap in between victories. Known more so for his prowess on the greens, McNealy has leaned on his iron play through two rounds as he leads the field in strokes gained approach. He hit all 18 greens in regulation on Friday, and should that continue into the weekend, the right hander may be right in the mix come crunch time on Sunday.
"I've been doing the same stuff I've been doing the last six months that's been working and just feel like it's getting better and better," McNealy said. "It's the same swing key, take it back outside and swing left, hit down, take a divot. It's coming out nicely. I'm really excited about my play on the uneven lies on this golf course because that's something I've struggled with over the past couple years. And really, I think the answer to that is just getting steeper, so swinging more left and hitting down."
Nearly a perfect nine
Straka's second round got off to a rather mundane start as he turned in 1 under thanks to two birdies against just one bogey on his front nine. Needing something to happen to push his name back into contention, the Austrian got just that on the back nine as he rattled off seven straight birdies from holes Nos. 10-16.
"I love a turkey, so I made three in a row on 12 and was pretty happy about that," Straka said. "Then birdied 13, 14, 15, which were pretty gettable, so I was thinking about six in a row. I never got to seven, but yeah, I got kind of hot there with the irons and hit some nice shots and was able to make the putts."
Straka's seven birdies in a row made for a new career high and clipped his previous best of five. While his streak came to an end on the par-4 17th, Straka wasn't the most disappointed one in his group; that honor went to his good friend Patton Kizzire.
"Patton [Kizzire] is more disappointed than I am," Straka said with a smile. "I had a putt on 17 and missed it, and he immediately told me that he was pissed at me. So, yeah, no, a little disappointed with that."
2025 Sentry updated odds and picks
- Hideki Matsuyama: 5/2
- Collin Morikawa: 3-1
- Corey Conners: 8-1
- Wyndham Clark: 10-1
- Maverick McNealy: 11-1
- Tom Hoge: 18-1
- Cameron Young: 18-1
- Keegan Bradley: 18-1
- Thomas Detry: 18-1
Sign me up for a Morikawa vs. Matsuyama duel over the weekend as a golf fan, but as a betting man it may be best to look outside the final twosome. If forced to choose one, Morikawa is the man for me; his game looks a bit more sustainable -- especially with the putter in hand -- and his price is slightly longer. That being said, McNealy's number at 11-1 is more than fair. He's still riding the high from his first win to polish off the 2024 season and has been hitting the cover off the golf ball this week.
