Late eagle earns Pernice share of Waialae lead

HONOLULU (Reuters) - American Tom Pernice junior spectacularly holed out with a pitching wedge from 92 yards to eagle the par-five last and grab a share of the lead in the Sony Open second round on Friday.

On a grueling day of gusting winds and intermittent rain, Pernice struck his third shot at the 18th from the first cut of rough and watched as his ball landed on the green and bounced twice before spinning back into the cup.

His dramatic eagle capped a sparkling seven-under-par 63 at Waialae Country Club, earning him a tie for the lead at eight-under 132 with Australian Nathan Green (66).

First-round leader Shigeki Maruyama of Japan fired a 68 to lie joint third with American Brian Gay (67) at seven under, a stroke in front of 2007 Masters champion Zach Johnson (65) and PGA Tour rookie Webb Simpson (68).

Pernice, who won the most recent of his two PGA Tour titles at the 2001 International, was delighted with his rousing finish.

"Obviously the eagle at the last was quite exciting," the 49-year-old told reporters. "It''s always a surprise because you''re not thinking about holing it from the fairway.

"It was tough out there today. If you get into the rough, things become a little more difficult.

"Luckily I scraped it around when I needed to and didn''t make any bogeys and just kind of hung in there," added Pernice, whose flawless round also featured five birdies.

"And when I hit some good shots, I made some putts, so very fortunate that it all worked out."

EARLY LEAD

Green, among the day''s early starters, held the outright lead before being caught late in the afternoon by Pernice.

"I hit some good shots, putted well and made a couple of decent saves," the 33-year-old from New South Wales said. "And playing with Shigeki, playing well, definitely helps. We sort of traded birdies for a while."

Although schools on the island of Oahu were closed on Friday because of winds expected to peak at around 90 kph, the gusts never exceeded 40 kph.

"It wasn''t too bad," said Green, who is seeking his maiden PGA Tour title. "The first nine was probably a little windier than the back but I controlled the ball pretty well, especially the holes into the breeze."

Maruyama, a three-times winner on the PGA Tour who ended last season a career-low 205th in the money list, was also happy with his round.

"My goal this week, especially in these conditions, is if I can shoot two under I''m going to be happy every day," he said with his trademark smile. "So to be able to shoot two under today, I''m real satisfied."  Continued...