Perry, Riley Tied in Hawaii

Kenny Perry birdied two of his last three holes Thursday for a five-under-par 65 and a share of the lead with Chris Riley in the Sony Open at Honolulu, the first full-field PGA Tour event this year.

Jerry Kelly, Jesper Parnevik and John Cook were another stroke back, while Cameron Beckman was among those at 67 as the trade winds gusted to 30 mph on the Waialae Country Club course.

PGA champion David Toms, a playoff loser last week in the Mercedes Championships, Mark O’Meara, Scott Hoch and defending champion Brad Faxon were at 68.

Sergio Garcia, coming off his victory over Toms last week at Kapalua, opened with a 71.

Perry played in the winners-only Mercedes on Maui last week and finished one stroke out of the playoff. Before that was the season-ending Tour Championship in Houston for the top 30 on the money list. He finished one out of the playoff there too.

“I don’t have any expectations,” said Perry, a four-time winner on the PGA Tour. “I’m trying to enjoy my last few years out here and I’m very comfortable.”

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Tiger Woods had trouble dealing with the wind he wanted in the New Zealand Open.

Woods, who said he’d welcome a healthy breeze so that the Paraparaumu Beach course would play like a traditional links layout, had three consecutive bogeys in a round of two-over 73 that left him closer to the cut than the leaders.

Woods was at one-over 143 to fall eight strokes behind second-round leaders James McLean and Stephen Leaney, both from Australia. McLean, the 1998 NCAA champion for Minnesota, shot a 70, and Leaney had a 67.

With the gusty southerlies affecting play, Woods, who opened with a 70 on Thursday, got off to a slow start and was in danger of missing the cut after the bogey run on Nos. 13-15. He rebounded with a birdie on No. 18 to make the cut by two strokes.

Woods reportedly was paid $2million to play in the event.

Jae An, the 13-year-old South Korean who qualified for the tournament Monday, shot a 74 to make the cut by a stroke with a 145 total.

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The U.S. Golf Assn. changed its proposal to limit golf club size to allow larger club heads.

The group, which sets the game’s rules in the U.S., Mexico and Puerto Rico, increased the size of club heads allowed under its proposal to 460 cubic centimeters from 385 cubic centimeters.

USGA Senior Technical Director Dick Rugge said the group hasn’t approved any of the less than one dozen club heads larger than 460 cubic centimeters that have been submitted.