UC Davis coach Tom Johnson makes triumphant return to Sony Open

Tom Johnson took a break from coaching and found a measure of redemption in a return to Waialae Country Club.

Johnson, a first-year assistant coach at UC Davis, decided to take another swing inside the ropes and earned a spot in the Sony Open in Hawaii by shooting a 66 in the Monday qualifier at Turtle Bay. He made the cut and ended the third round tied for 33rd at 7 under, giving him quite a bit to share when he returns to the Aggies.

"While this is all fresh in my mind I want to sit down and talk to them about the experiences I've had because I know they're going to eat it up," Johnson said. "Just having lunch with Camillo Villegas, playing with Zach Johnson, a practice round with Luke Donald, the guys are going to be so curious."

Related: Jimmy Walker takes Sony Open lead | Full scores

Johnson had a short stay in his previous Sony Open appearance. He shot a 67 in the first round in 2007, but was disqualified after the second round for signing an incorrect scorecard. He was assessed a two-stroke penalty on No. 15 but didn't check his card before signing it.

"I had a pretty sour taste in my mouth that just lingered," Johnson said. "I really beat myself up over that, not knowing the rules well enough, just being sloppy about my scorecard. I feel like a new person compared to that guy."

Living on the cutline

Punahou's Kyle Suppa wasn't the only one living on the secondary cutline during Saturday's third round of the Sony Open.

Before David Hearn's birdie putt at the par-5 ninth, he was among six golfers tied for 70th and poised to play in the final round. If Hearn pars, he and former Sony Open champ Mark Wilson, George McNeill, William McGirt, Tom Hoge and Fabian Gomez are in at 2 under for the tournament.

Instead, Hearn rams in the birdie putt from nearly 11 feet to move the cutline to 3 under and leaves that fivesome with the unfortunate label of made cut did not finish. The 85 who did make the 36-hole cut will still get a check, sans Suppa. Hearn shot a 69 to join nine other golfers at 3-under 207, including Chris Kirk (74), Justin Leonard (72) and Sang-Moon Bae (70).

Suppa had a 25-foot chip for birdie at his closing hole that would have put him in had he made it. He missed a 10-footer for par that left him 1 under for the tournament, two shots shy of the cutline.

Inside the numbers

Jimmy Walker's 11 consecutive one-putts to close his Saturday round is one reason the defending champion sits atop the leaderboard at 16-under 194. His winning score in 2014 was 17 under, but because of the ideal conditions at this week's first full-field event of 2015, look for that number to be eclipsed in Sunday's final round.

The scoring average for the third round was a stellar 68.847. Of the 70 golfers who survived the secondary cut, 12 of them shot over par on Saturday.

There were five bogey-free rounds, ranging from Brian Harman's 64 to Chad Collins' 69. The cumulative scoring average through 54 holes is 68.906.

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This article was written by Paul Arnett from The Honolulu Star-Advertiser and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.