Nick Taylor and Kevin Roy start with perfect rounds in a tight field at the PGA Tour Sony Open. Matti Schmid has a mixed round.
Nick Taylor’s Mission to Defend PGA Tour Title
The first round of the PGA Tour Sony Open in Honolulu, Hawaii at the Waialae Country Club was dominated by the defending champion. Nick Taylor continues his strong performance from last year and is well on his way to defending his title after day one. The Canadian knows the course very well. With a perfect day and eight birdies, Taylor shot a flawless 8-under round to take the lead on the leaderboard.
The weather was particularly favorable: \”I think we got lucky with the weather this morning. I expected more wind,\” Taylor said after his round. Last year at the Waialae Country Club, he also won the Sony Open Hawaii. He finished the tournament at 16-under, playing all four rounds under par and hitting his best rounds of 5-under on days three and four while only making five bogeys throughout the event.
Tight Chase Pack at the Top
Kevin Roy also got off to a perfect start, carding a 62 (8-under). He laid the foundation for his successful opening round with five birdies on the front nine.
Nick Taylor and Kevin Roy are being pursued by Ben Griffin. The American player also went bogey-free and recorded seven birdies. He started with a birdie and improved his score to 4-under after the first nine holes. With two more birdies on the last two holes, he finished at 7-under. Alongside Griffin, S.H. Kim joined the chase group after a birdie streak on holes 16-18, totaling seven birdies. Nearly 80 players managed rounds under par in total.
Highlight Shots from Matti Schmid and J.J. Spaun
The German presence in Hawaii is limited to Matti Schmid. He began with a mixed first round consisting of five birdies, three bogeys, and a double bogey. Schmid produced a highlight on hole 11 with a perfect bunker shot that spectacularly dropped in for birdie. Despite this highlight, his even-par round places him tied for 80th given the many low scores.
Bunker game strong 💪
Matti Schmid playing in the sand early @SonyOpenHawaii
📺PGA TOUR LIVE pic.twitter.com/Ao7txqGLm2
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 15, 2026
J.J. Spaun also delivered highlights: after a shot that hit the grandstand near the green and deflected into the greenside bunker, he made