Sawt Falasteen - Defending champ Nick Taylor tied for lead at Sony Open

Canada's Taylor, who topped Colombian Nico Echavarria in a playoff last year at Waialae Country Club, birdied three of the four par-threes, crediting sharp iron play after some effective off-season practice and a start in the Nedbank Challenge in December.

"Felt like my game was sharp coming over here," Taylor said. "Coming to a course I'm comfortable with definitely helps."

Taylor teed off on 10 and birdied 11 and 12 before stringing together three straight birdies at 15, 16 and 17. He picked up strokes at the second and seventh before a two-putt birdie at the par-five ninth for his share of the lead.

Like Taylor, Roy was among the early starters greeted by benign conditions and piled up seven birdies in the first 11 holes. That included four in a row from the eighth through the 11th. He closed with a birdie at the par-five 18th.

Roy said he settled in after a "squirrely" start that saw him having to make a couple of testing par putts at the first two holes.

"It's huge to see those putts go in," he said. "Just carried that momentum the rest of the round."

The tournament is the season-opener only because The Sentry, the former Tournament of Champions that usually opens the year at Kapalua on Maui, was cancelled due to drought and water use restrictions affecting the course.

Taylor and Roy were a stroke clear of a group on 63, headlined by American Ben Griffin.

Griffin, who won three titles last year and made his Ryder Cup debut, had seven birdies without a bogey.

He was tied with Scottish Open champion Chris Gotterup, Jon VanDerLaan and South Korean Kim Seong-hyeon.

Y.AlMasri--SF-PST