Buckley makes a pair of eagles and leads the Sony Open

HONOLULU: Two swings were all it took for Hayden Buckley to become another face in a large crowd of contenders to a two-shot lead Saturday in the Sony Open.

On a day when there was an eight-way tie for the lead at one point, Buckley made a pair of eagles on the back nine at Waialae that carried him to a second straight 6-under 64 and allowed him at least a little separation.

One of them was a wedge from 133 yards that he thought he tugged to a left pin at No. 10, the third-easiest hole on the course. Instead, it turned out perfectly.

“It was nice to see that,” Buckley said. “I did pull it a little bit and wasn’t sure where it was going to land.”

The other was among his best swings of the day, a 5-iron from 221 yards that rolled up to 2 feet to the front left pin on the par-5 18th hole.

Otherwise, it was a steady diet of pars and the occasional birdie on a course where the fairways are running fast.

“We did exactly what we were trying to do and got away with two shots, had two big eagles,” Buckley said. “Our game plan stays the same. If we play well enough, that’s great. If not, we just deal with it.”

He was at 15-under 195 as Buckley goes for his first PGA Tour title in his second full year, and he’s not alone in that regard.

He will be in the final group with David Lipsky (66) and Ben Taylor (65), neither of whom have won on the PGA Tour. Lipsky has won on the Asian Tour, the Sunshine Tour, the European tour and the Korn Ferry Tour.

Nine of the leading 15 players at Waialae are going for their first PGA Tour win.

Chris Kirk also was two shots behind. He began the third round with a one-shot lead and good vibes because of his runner-up finish two years ago that enabled him to keep full status on tour. His