Theegala tops pack in first round of season-opening Sentry

Sahith Theegala made his 10th birdie of the day at the par-5 18th hole to inch ahead of a star-studded pack at the last moment, taking sole possession of the first-round lead at The Sentry on Thursday in Maui, Hawaii.

Theegala shot a 9-under-par 64 to move in front of Collin Morikawa, Colombia's Camilo Villegas, Australia's Jason Day, South Korea's Sungjae Im and Norway's Viktor Hovland at the PGA Tour's 2024 season opener at the Plantation Course at Kapalua.

Theegala, a 26-year-old who earned his first tour victory last September at the Fortinet Championship, rang up six straight birdies at Nos. 10-15 on Thursday.

Theegala said the third birdie of that run was probably his favorite.

"Just because I hit a great drive, almost got -- just hit it in the greenside bunker there. Didn't hit a great bunker shot and I had a really gnarly 8- or 9-footer that I didn't know which way it was going to break, grain was going all over the place. I just aimed it dead center and tried to hit it hard and hearted that putt, and that settled me down a little bit more, because I knew 13, 14, 15 were very gettable too, so to make that putt was nice," Theegala said.

After that run came his only bogey of the round after he found sand off the tee at No. 16. But he smashed two long shots at the 684-yard final hole to set him up for a short pitch shot, which he nestled inside 6 feet for the go-ahead birdie putt.

Morikawa and Villegas were the early-afternoon leaders in the clubhouse. Morikawa eagled the par-5 ninth amid a bogey-free performance, and the 41-year-old Villegas had seven birdies and a bogey on his back nine.

Hovland, the defending FedEx Cup champion, heated up late by going 5 under for his final seven holes.

Hovland called his round "pretty scrappy from a swing standpoint, but I'm very happy with the score. Managed to make some putts and kept it really relatively stress-free."

Even more stars are lurking two shots back at 7-under 66: world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth, Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele and Argentina's Emiliano Grillo.

The PGA Tour has moved back to a season contained within the same calendar year, leaving its former "wraparound" schedule that started its season in the fall and proceeded through the next summer.

The event was previously known as the Sentry Tournament of Champions and was only available to players who had won on tour the previous season. Going forward, it's open to the top 50 finishers in the previous year's FedEx Cup standings, along with anyone who won a tournament that year. The field features a record 59 participants, with no cut.

Notably absent: 2023 Sentry champion Jon Rahm. The Spanish two-time major winner sent shock waves through the sport when he changed allegiances from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf last month, for a contract reportedly in excess of $300 million.

Rahm won this event last year with Morikawa as the runner-up.

Canadian Mackenzie Hughes only made the Sentry field because his FedEx Cup finish was bumped up from No. 51 to No. 50 after the PGA Tour suspended Rahm. Hughes opened with a 5-under 68.