Johnson and Kirk in lead in Hawaii
Zach Johnson and Chris Kirk each made seven birdies and shared the lead at 7-under-par 63 at the Sony Open in Honolulu.
Jordan Spieth made eight birdies and for the second straight year walked away from Waialae Country Club amazed that he could be six shots behind.
A year ago, it was because Justin Thomas shot 59 playing in the same group.
On Thursday, it was one hole.
Spieth hit four trees with four shots on the par-4 eighth hole — his 17th of the opening round — starting with a tough break when his tee shot caromed off the trunk of a tree and down an 8-foot deep ditch that left him no good options. He wound up with a quadruple-bogey 8 and had to settle for a 69.
He signed his card, signed autographs and declined requests to speak to the media.
Johnson and Kirk kept clean cards playing on opposite sides of the draw and closed with different brands of birdies on the par-5 18th hole — Kirk two-putted from about 10 feet and Johnson found a bunker, laid up and hit a wedge to 5 feet.
They were a shot ahead of Brian Harman, Vaughn Taylor, Kyle Stanley and PGA Tour rookie Talor Gooch.
More than half of the field — 77 players — broke par in the mild trade wind and relentless sunshine down the road from Waikiki Beach.
Dry weather, a fast course and the trades allowed a rarity for Johnson, who hit wedge into the green on the 480-yard opening hole. That was first of three straight birdies, and he had ample more opportunities, including a shot that hit the pin on No. 10 and settled 3 feet away. He missed that, though the two-time major champion wasn’t too discouraged. He picked up an unlikely birdie on the 13th from the fairway bunker by making a 25-foot putt, and he made a 20-foot birdie on the next hole.
“Just kept the course in front of me and played solid golf,” said Johnson, who is winless since the 2015 British Open at St. Andrews. “Made a few putts, missed a few putts. But I’m very encouraged with the direction.”
Because of the chilly weather in the South, Kirk brought his family out to Oahu a week ago Monday. He realized how little golf he had played during the short offseason when he reached into his bag and found golf balls that he had marked for the final round of his final tournament last season.
“I’ve probably been off long enough now that you never know what’s going to happen,” he said. “I really had no expectations whether I was going to play good or bad after having some time off. But this is a golf course that I’ve traditionally done pretty well on, and a place that I really love. So you always feel like it’s possible.”
European Tour: In Gauteng, South Africa, Branden Grace and Chase Koepka shot 7under 65s to share the firstround lead at the SA Open.
Koepka, the younger brother of U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka, was among the morning starters and set the clubhouse target by hitting an eagle and seven birdies in his third tournament of his debut season on the European Tour.
Grace had three eagles — at Nos. 2, 8 and 15 — as he bids for a ninth European Tour title and to complete the set of wins at his native South Africa’s three most prestigious events. He won the Alfred Dunhill Championship in 2014 and the Nedbank Golf Challenge last year, as well as the Joburg Open in 2012.
England’s Chris Paisley was in third place after shooting 66.