Perry & Goosen lead with 64's

Kenny Perry's position atop the leaderboard at the Sony Open is nothing new. What shocked him Thursday was the game he was playing.

A one-dimensional player throughout his career, Perry brought a new style to the new year and got instant gratification - a 6-under 64 for a share of the lead with Retief Goosen.

He hit knockdown shots.

He hit cut shots into the wind.

Perry has always hit the ball from right to left. On Thursday, he worked it both ways.

"I've been working on some new shots, and my caddie said this would be a practice-round week," he said. "All of a sudden, I started executing some flawless shots."

Both Perry and Goosen finished strong in their own way for the one-stroke lead on a breezy day at Waialae Country Club.

Goosen was plodding along the back nine with pars, then turned a steady performance into a great round with one shot - a 3-iron into 12 feet for eagle on the final hole for the best score among the early starters.

Perry, who shared the first-round lead at Waialae Country Club last year, had no reason to believe he would be in the same position again. He three-putted from 12 feet on the opening hole, followed with seven pars and then made a long eagle putt on No. 9.

"That opened up the hole," he said.

The 42-year-old Perry followed with a 30 on the back to complete what he called one of the easiest rounds in his life.

"Maybe it's something new," he said. "It might not work any more, but it worked today."

Chris Riley missed a 12-foot eagle putt on his final hole but still wound up at 65. It was the third straight time he opened with a 65 at a PGA Tour event in Hawaii, and it left him in a tie for third with Chris DiMarco.

Ernie Els, coming off a record score in relation to par (31 under) and an eight-stroke victory at Kapalua, was in a large group at 66.

It took him a while to realize it was a good score.

"I can't get last week out of mind totally," Els said.

Indeed, for the 25 players who started their season last week in the winners-only Mercedes Championships, some adjustments were in order.

Goosen watched the palm fronds waving in the ocean breeze as he tried to gauge the strength and direction of the wind. That was rarely an issue last week, when there was hardly any wind over four days.

There are only two par 5s at the par-70 Waialae Country Club, which features tight landing areas and small greens. That's a big change from the par-73 Plantation Course with its spacious fairways and massive greens.

"Par is a good score, and a bogey doesn't kill you," Charles Howell III said after opening with a 70. "Last week, a bogey felt like a triple bogey."

Blame that on the wind, the best defense at Kapalua. It began to kick up just north of Waikiki Beach, and it made players work for their scores.

Goosen was steady throughout the round, plodding along with pars except for a few spurts that made all the difference - birdie putts of 10 and 12 feet on Nos. 6 and 7, a two-putt birdie on the ninth, and then the great finish.

"Just a soft 3-iron," he said of his 248-yard approach to the 551-yard closing hole. The ball landed just as softly, about 12 feet from the cup.

"It's definitely a tougher course because last week the wind didn't blow," Goosen said. "When it blows around here, it's a tricky course. The greens are small, and I understand the rough is probably as thick as it's been."

It was especially difficult for Els, at least in his head.

Just four days ago, he finished off a record performance that included 28 birdies and four eagles. Through five holes, Els was at 2 over and must have felt like he was a sure bet to miss the cut.

"I had to find my bearings again," Els said. "It was a tough mental battle, but once I got over that, I thought about playing my game. It was a good round to establish a good score and get stuck into the week."

The Big Easy recovered quickly.

After catching a flyer lie in the rough on No. 5 for bogey to go 2 over, he answered with three straight birdies inside 10 feet, then an eagle on par-5 ninth to briefly share the lead.

The first full-field event on the PGA Tour was also a little tighter.

Eight players joined Els at 66, including Shigeki Maruyama and 21-year-old Aaron Baddeley, the two-time Australian Open champion playing for the first time without a sponsor's exemption.

Andy Miller, the 23-year-old son of Johnny Miller, also made a strong debut by opening with a 67.

Email this page to a friend | Return to top of page