Perry, Goosen Breeze Through Honolulu With 64s

Kenny Perry’s position atop the leaderboard at the Sony Open is nothing new. What shocked him Thursday was the game he was playing.

A one-dimensional player throughout his career, Perry brought a new style to the new year and got instant gratification -- a six-under-par 64 for a share of the lead with Retief Goosen.

He hit knockdown shots. He hit cut shots into the wind.

Perry has always hit the ball from right to left. On Thursday, he worked it both ways.

“I’ve been working on some new shots, and my caddie said this would be a practice-round week,” he said. “All of a sudden, I started executing some flawless shots.”

Perry and Goosen finished strong in their own way for the one-stroke lead on a breezy day at Waialae Country Club.

Goosen was plodding along the back nine with pars, then turned a steady performance into a great round with one shot -- a three-iron into 12 feet for eagle on the final hole for the best score among the early starters.

Perry, 42, who shared the first-round lead at Waialae Country Club last year, had no reason to believe he would be in the same position again. He three-putted from 12 feet on the opening hole, followed with seven pars and then made a long eagle putt on No. 9.

“That opened up the hole,” he said.

Perry followed with a 30 on the back to complete what he called one of the easiest rounds in his life.

“Maybe it’s something new,” he said. “It might not work anymore, but it worked today.”

Chris Riley missed a 12-foot eagle putt on his final hole but still wound up at 65. It was the third consecutive time he opened with a 65 at a PGA Tour event in Hawaii, and it left him in a tie for third with Chris DiMarco.

Ernie Els, coming off a record score in relation to par (31 under) and an eight-stroke victory at Kapalua, was in a large group at 66. It took him a while to realize it was a good score.

“I can’t get last week out of mind totally,” Els said.

Indeed, for the 25 players who started their season last week in the winners-only Mercedes Championships, some adjustments were in order.

Goosen watched the palm fronds waving in the ocean breeze as he tried to gauge the strength and direction of the wind. That was rarely an issue last week, when there was hardly any wind over four days.

There are only two par-fives at the par-70 Waialae Country Club, which features tight landing areas and small greens. That’s a big change from the par-73 Plantation Course with its spacious fairways and massive greens.