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Kapalua - An eagle and five birdies helped Rory Sabbatini salvage his round at the US PGA Tour Tournament of Champions, where he was penalised two strokes for arriving late to the first tee.
"It's the first time ever for me on tour," said the South African, who played the par-four opening hole in five, plus the two penalty strokes for a triple-bogey seven.
He said he and caddie Mick Doran failed to keep a close eye on the group teeing off before them.
"I guess neither of us were really paying attention," Sabbatini said. "We were just getting prepared for the round, and it was just one of those goofy moments."
Sabbatini settled down with an eagle at the par-five fifth, followed by a birdie at six.
He had four more birdies and a bogey for a three-under 70 on the par-73 Plantation Course.
His three-under total of 143 left him 12 adrift of 36-hole leader Steve Stricker.
"You know, it's just a matter of going out there and trying to get the shots back," Sabbatini said of his mindset after the first hole. "I know the course is going to give you some shots back, and just try and make the most of it."
At the fifth, he landed his six-iron second shot within 15 feet of the pin.
"Hit a good putt, went in the middle of the hole... that kind of eliminated the first tee box," Sabbatini said. "Then we had to eliminate the first green, and that happened on the next hole.
"So from there it was just a bonus."
Second-round scores here on Saturday in the $5.6 million US PGA Tour Hyundai Tournament of Champions (USA unless noted, par-73):
131 - Steve Stricker 68-63
136 - Webb Simpson 68-68
137 - Kevin Na 73-64
138 - Martin Laird (GBR) 68-70, Jonathan Byrd 67-71
140 - D.A. Points 71-69
141 - Chris Kirk 75-66, Bryce Molder 71-70, Keegan Bradley 69-72
143 - Aaron Baddeley (AUS) 75-68, Scott Stallings 74-69, Bubba Watson 74-69, Harrison Frazar 74-69, Sean O'Hair 73-70, Rory Sabbatini (RSA) 73-70, Mark Wilson 72-71, Scott Piercy 72-71, Ben Crane 72-71, KJ Choi (KOR) 70-73, Michael Bradley 68-75
144 - Gary Woodland 73-71, Nick Watney 73-71, Johnson Wagner 72-72
146 - Bill Haas 73-73
148 - Jhonattan Vegas (VEN) 75-73
150 - David Toms 76-74
152 - Brendan Steele 76-76
Lucas Glover DNS
