Four tied for lead at Sony

HONOLULU (AP) — Davis Love III went two months without competing, the last month without even feeling grass under his feet. He played Thursday at the Sony Open like he had never been away from the game.

Love played bogey-free in more wind than he was expecting at Waialae, making birdie on his last hole for a 5-under 65 that put him into a four-way tie for the lead among early starters with defending champion Zach Johnson, Ryan Palmer and PGA Tour rookie Troy Merritt.

“It’s a nice way to start the year,” Love said.

The relative calm on Oahu during practice rounds gave way to swaying of palm trees at sunrise along the shores of Waikiki, providing tough conditions for the morning.

Johnson, playing in the same group with Love, made seven birdies over his final 11 holes to join him atop the leaderboard.

The biggest surprise was Merritt, the wire-to-wire winner of Q-school last month who had never played in a PGA Tour event. Merritt felt the butterflies on the first tee, then played like a veteran.

“Things went way better than I thought,” Merritt said.

Johnson had no idea that he inspired another player to get off to a calm start. Palmer was looking for something to read earlier in the week when he came across an article about Johnson that dealt with taking golf one day at a time. He didn’t look at leaderboards or worry about the weekend until he signed for his 65.

“Best start in my seven-year career,” Palmer said.

Johnson followed his own advice. Asked if this was the start of an encore from a year ago, he quickly replied, “No.”

“I’m trying to forget about those results from last year, but I’m trying to remember the positive vibes ... some of the feelings that I had with my shots,” Johnson said. “But if I dwell in the past too much, I usually start backing up in the wrong direction.”

Merritt is one of four players at the Sony Open who had never teed it up on the PGA Tour. He played alongside 21-year-old Rickie Fowler, who brought loads of expectations into his rookie season. But it was Merritt who shined, plodding his way along and finishing with a birdie on the par-5 18th to join the leaders.

Fowler opened with a three-putt double bogey from 8 feet and wound up with a 75.