Some courses just fit your eye. For Nick Taylor, Waialae Country Club might as well have been designed specifically for him.
The defending champion fired an 8-under 62 Thursday to share the first-round lead with Kevin Roy at the Sony Open in Hawaii, and he made it look almost routine. Three birdies on the par 3s. Not a single bogey. Just pure, efficient golf on a layout he’s come to know intimately.
“This course fits my eye,” Taylor said after his round, and the numbers back him up. The Canadian has now played 17 consecutive par-or-better rounds at Waialae, going 68-under during that stretch. Even more impressive: 12 straight rounds in the 60s.
That’s not luck. That’s mastery.
Morning Calm, Afternoon Struggle
Taylor and the early starters caught a significant break on Thursday. The forecast called for wind, but it didn’t arrive until the afternoon wave teed off. Only four players from the top 16 on the leaderboard played late, a telling sign of how much easier the course played in calmer conditions.
“I think we got lucky with the forecast this morning. I expected some more wind,” Taylor admitted. “A lot of the wind is going with the dogleg, so it felt like some of the tee shots maybe weren’t as challenging. I hit it great, but this course fits my eye.”
The one par 3 Taylor didn’t birdie actually produced what he considered his best swing of the day. On the difficult fourth hole, he striped a 4-iron to the top shelf, leaving himself a 25-footer that just missed. It was the kind of shot that keeps you in rhythm even when the putt doesn’t drop.
Roy Matches Taylor’s Brilliance
Kevin Roy wasn’t about to let Taylor have all the fun. The 35-year-old matched Taylor’s 62 with a bogey-free round of his own, making seven birdies in his first 11 holes before capping things off with another birdie on the par-5 18th.
Roy led the field in Strokes Gained: Around the Green and scrambled perfectly, saving par all seven times he missed a green. It was his third career 18-hole lead or co-lead on Tour, though he’s still searching for that elusive first victory.
The Contenders Line Up
Ben Griffin and Chris Gotterup, both coming off strong 2025 seasons, sit just one shot back at 7-under 63. Griffin won three times last season and made his Ryder Cup debut. Gotterup captured the Genesis Scottish Open. These aren’t guys who will fade quietly.
S.H. Kim also posted 63, birdieing his final three holes in a bogey-free round despite playing in the tougher afternoon conditions.
Jordan Spieth shot 68 but left strokes on the course after a late equipment change that he estimated cost him two and a half shots. He’d swapped his hybrid for a 3-iron and immediately regretted it.
“The problem is I had four months to get ready for this week and I dug five 3-irons out and hit them the day before I came here and then I brought them all here and then I was trying to figure out which one I liked here and they were all good,” Spieth explained. “So then I got to pick one and it just … I just haven’t been playing with it, so I think I’m going to go back to the hybrid.”
Singh Turns Back the Clock
The feel-good story of the day belonged to 62-year-old Vijay Singh, who posted a 2-under 68 despite two double bogeys. The Hall of Famer and 2005 Sony Open champion was playing his first Tour round in a non-major since 2021, using a one-time career money exemption.
If Singh can clean up the big mistakes, he could be a factor this week.
Looking Ahead
Taylor’s quest to become the first back-to-back Sony Open champion since Jimmy Walker in 2015 is off to the perfect start. He’s comfortable, confident and playing a course that seems tailor-made for his game.
But with Roy matching him shot for shot and a loaded leaderboard lurking just behind, nothing is guaranteed. That’s what makes golf beautiful.