Ricky Barnes of Stockton carded a 7-under-par 63 and was tied for the lead with Vijay Singh, Kevin Kisner, Morgan Hoffman and Brandt Snedeker after the first round of the Sony Open in Hawaii at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu.
Barnes, the 2002 U.S. Amateur champion who is winless in 205 starts on the PGA Tour, birdied four consecutive holes through No. 10 and then sank a 24-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to earn his share of the lead.
“If you’re in the fairway out here and there’s not much wind, there’s not much guessing when you get to a shot,” said the 34-year-old Barnes, who had to play in the Web.com Tour Finals late last year to regain his PGA Tour card. “You’re not playing a lot of crosswinds. And the greens aren’t too slopey. When in doubt, be under the pin, and you can hit an aggressive point. And case in point, I did that on 18.
“I’ve been close (to winning) and gotten to that point in majors and golf tournaments and stuff like that, but for me it’s more getting toward the mental side of the game and trusting the stuff that I’ve been working on.
” … I benefited from the last probably three events on the PGA Tour last year, the four Web.com events, and then the first five events of the 2015-16 season.”
Singh, 52, who would best Sam Snead as the oldest winner in PGA Tour history with a victory, birdied his last two holes while finishing on the front nine, while Hoffman sank a 26-foot eagle putt while also finishing at No. 9.
Kisner, the early FedEx Cup points leader, had five birdies on the front nine and holed a six-foot birdie putt at No. 18, while Snedeker, coming off a solo third finish in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions last week, chipped in from 45 yards for an eagle at No. 10 en route to his 63.
Zach Johnson, who won at Waialae on 2009, sank a 10-foot birdie putt on the last hole to shoot 64 and was tied for sixth with Charles Howell III and Si Woo Kim of South Korea.
Luke Donald of England, trying to regain the form that made him No. 1 in the World Golf Rankings for 56 weeks in 2011 and 2012, holed a 38-foot eagle putt while finishing on the ninth hole to post a 65 that left him in a tie for ninth with Jerry Kelly, Shane Bertsch, Sean O’Hair, David Hearn of Canada, Zac Blair, Scott Piercy, David Lingmerth of Sweden, Fred Funk, Colt Knost and Tony Finau.
Adam Scott of Australia, the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 11 in the world, was tied for 52nd after a 68, while two-time defending champion Jimmy Walker was tied for 68th following a 69.
