Sony Open 2021: Joaquin Niemann, Jason Kokrak Among Co-Leaders After Round 1

Peter Malnati, Jason Kokrak and Joaquin Niemann are three rounds away from an early victory in 2021.

The trio paced the field in the opening round of the 2021 Sony Open in Honolulu, Hawaii, on Thursday with an eight-under 62. They were the best golfers on a day filled with low scores, as even par was only good enough for a tie for 98th place.

Here is a look at the top of the leaderboard, which can be found in full at PGATour.com.

T1. Peter Malnati, -8

T1. Jason Kokrak, -8

T1. Joaquin Niemann, -8

T4. Vaughn Taylor, -6

T4. Jim Herman, -6

T4. Aaron Baddeley, -6

T4. Patton Kizzire, -6

T4. Daniel Berger, -6

T4. Si Woo Kim, -6

Malnati was the biggest story in the early going with nothing but steady play.

He finished with nine birdies and a single bogey and created some separation atop the leaderboard with birdies on Nos. 17 and 18 to finish his impressive round. He birdied both of the par-five holes (Nos. 9 and 18) and took advantage of the scoring opportunities like he will have to throughout the weekend if he is going to parlay his strong start into a tournament victory.

It was more of the same for Malnati, who finished in the top five twice in his first seven starts of the 2020-21 season.

Adam Schupak of Golfweek noted Thursday's 62 tied a career low even though Malnati shot at least one round of 63 or better in three straight tournaments at one point.

"I soaked up the time at home," he said. "That was really nice. I was playing great obviously last fall and kind of just tried to keep the momentum going over the little break and do just enough work to stay sharp and to come out and play well here today."

Malnati wasn't the only one to pick up where he left off, as Niemann finished in second place in last week's Sentry Tournament of Champions. That tournament was also in Hawaii, and Niemann lost to Harris English in a playoff.

He was much better than his playoff counterpart in Thursday's opening round, as English finished with an even-par 70 and likely won't be adding another victory to his resume.

Niemann pulled into a tie for first place in dramatic fashion with a chip-in eagle on the 18th hole, capping off a round that saw him notch four straight birdies on Nos. 7-10 and another on 13 and 16 to make up for a bogey on No. 12.

Perhaps nobody was as steady as Kokrak, who finished with eight birdies and zero bogeys.

He cruised through many of the same stretches as Niemann and Malnati, notching birdies on Nos. 8 and 9 and then closing his round with birdies on the final two holes. It was surely a welcome development for Kokrak, who tied for 35th place at the Sentry Tournament of Champions after missing the cut at both the Masters and RSM Classic.

The trio of leaders will look to separate themselves even further from the rest of the field during Friday's second round.