Zach Johnson seizes share of Sony Open lead

LOS ANGELES—Twotime major winner Zach Johnson rolled in a five-foot birdie putt at the 18th on Thursday to seize a share of the first-round lead at the US PGA Tour Sony Open in Hawaii.

Johnson, the 2009 winner at Waialae in Honolulu, had seven birdies in his seven-under 63, joining early pace-setter Chris Kirk atop the leaderboard in the US PGA Tour's first full-field event of 2018.

Kirk, a four-time winner on the US tour, nabbed five of his seven birdies on the back nine. He had a look at eagle on the par-five 18th, where he holed a two-footer for birdie.

Johnson got off to a hot start in his pursuit of Kirk, with birdies at the first three holes. He added another birdie at the ninth, and after a near-miss at the 12th rolled in birdie putts of 24 feet and 21 feet at 13 and 14 to move within a stroke of the lead.

Johnson, winner of the 2007 Masters and the 2015 Open championship, broke away from the second-placed bunch at the final hole, despite finding a fairway bunker off the tee.

Johnson admitted his round was a pleasant surprise, after a bout of flu cost him some pre-season practice time.

"I came here later than I anticipated – like four or five days later and I had zero expectations on my game," the 41-year-old said.

"That being said, sometimes it's nice, you just kind of go out there, find a rhythm and then just stick with it."