Americans Peter Malnati and Jason Kokrak, and Chile’s Joaquin Niemann shot rounds of eight-under 62 to share the lead after day one of the Sony Open in Hawaii on Thursday.
Malnati grabbed five birdies to one bogey to turn at four-under, before birdying four of his last seven holes in a flawless homeward nine.
Kokrak played very steady golf, with four birdies on each nine in a blemish-free round.
Niemann was a touch more spectacular, birdying four of his last five holes on the front nine, then three of his next seven to compensate for a bogey five on the 12th, before sinking a 50-foot putt for an eagle three at the 18th.
The trio ended the day two shots ahead of six players sharing fourth place, including Australian Aaron Baddeley and Si Woo Jim of South Korea.
The sole Irish representative in the field, Séamus Power, opened with a level par round of 70 which included two birdies, three bogeys and an eagle three on the ninth.
Sweden’s Henrik Norlander and Taiwan’s Cheng Tsung Pan were among a large group a further shot back after five-under 65s.
Sole Englishman Ben Taylor shot a 68 to be six shots off the pace, while Scotland’s Russell Knox opened with a 70.
Collated first round scores in the USPGA Tour Sony Open in Hawaii, Waialae CC, Honolulu (USA unless stated, par 70):
62 Jason Kokrak, Peter Malnati, Joaquin Niemann (Chi),
64 Aaron Baddeley (Aus), Daniel Berger, Jim Herman, Svn-Woo Kim (Kor), Patton Kizzire, Vaughn Taylor
65 David Hearn (Can), Harry Higgs, Tom Hoge, Billy Horschel, Mackenzie Hughes (Can), Chris Kirk, Henrik Norlander (Swe), Chengtsung Pan (Tai), J. T. Poston, Chase Seiffert, Webb Simpson, Brendan Steele, Hudson Swafford,
66 Brice Garnett, Emiliano Grillo (Arg), Brian Harman, Russell Henley, Charley Hoffman, Mark Hubbard, Sung-Hoon Kang (Kor), Marc Leishman (Aus), Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn), Troy Merritt, Collin Morikawa, Sebastian Munoz (Col), Carlos Ortiz (Mex), Robby Shelton, Brian Stuard, Nick Taylor (Can), Michael Thompson
67 K. J. Choi (Kor), Stewart Cink, Matthew Every, Brian Gay, Kramer Hickok, Charles Howell III, Michael Kim, Nelson Ledesma (Arg), Grayson Murray, Kevin Na, Roger Sloan (Can), Cameron Smith (Aus), Kyle Stanley, Erik van Rooyen (Rsa), M. J. Daffue (Rsa)
68 Wesley Bryan, Austin Cook, Cameron Davis (Aus), Will Gordon, Lanto Griffin, James Hahn, Sung-Jae Imn (Kor), Jerry Kelly, Ryosuke Kinoshita (Jpn), Jamie Lovemark, William McGirt, Pat Perez, Ted Potter Jr., Chez Reavie, Sam Ryder, Ben Taylor (Eng), Mike Weir (Can)
69 Abraham Ancer (Mex), Mark Anderson, Ryan Armour, Chris Baker, Rafael Campos (Pur), Jim Furyk, Rhein Gibson (Aus), Branden Grace (Rsa), Matt Jones (Aus), Kevin Kisner, Satoshi Kodaira (Jpn), Jinichiro Kozuma (Jpn), Anirban Lahiri (Ind), Danny Lee (Nzl), Kyoung-Hoon Lee (Kor), Davis Love III, Matthew NeSmith, Rob Oppenheim, Adam Scott (Aus), Vijay Singh (Fij), Sepp Straka (Aut), Robert Streb, Bo Van Pelt, Tim Wilkinson (Nzl), Yong-Eun Yang (Kor), Xinjun Zhang (Chn), Nick Hardy,
70 Keegan Bradley, Scott Brown, Harris English, Sergio Garcia (Spa), Talor Gooch, Ryo Ishikawa (Jpn), Takumi Kanaya (Jpn), Russell Knox (Sco), Matt Kuchar, Andrew Landry, Parker McLachlin, Ryan Palmer, Brendon Todd, Martin Trainer, Kevin Tway, Seamus Power (Irl)
71 Shane Bertsch, Bronson Burgoon, Eric Dugas, Fabian Gomez (Arg), Bo Hoag, Zach Johnson, Keith Mitchell, Scott Piercy, Andrew Putnam, Adam Schenk, J. J. Spaun, D. J. Trahan, Nick Watney, Ind-Hoi Hur (Kor)
72 Doug Ghim, Michael Gligic (Can), Hank Lebioda, Luke List, Tyler McCumber, Rory Sabbatini (Svk), Richy Werenski, Michael Gellerman, Andres Gonzales
73 Brandon Hagy, Hunter Mahan, Brandt Snedeker, Jimmy Walker
74 Evan Kawai, Nate Lashley
75 Bill Haas
