He opened with a 6-under 64 and shared the lead with five others after the first round on Thursday, a pleasant day in Waialae.
Harry Hall, Denny McCarthy and Eric Cole, who started early last week for Hawaii at Kapalua, also opened at 64 along with Adam Schenk.
Cam Davis was the leading Australian in the large group, sharing 26th place at 3 under pace and three shots off after making a double-bogey six on the penultimate hole.
Tom Hoge, who finished eighth at Kapalua, had the only 64 in the afternoon in a round that included two eagles. The second was one that Hoge described as a gift – a 189-yard uncut eight that hit the pin and went into the cup.
Hideki Matsuyama, who posted the record score at Kapalua, birdied two of the final three holes for a 67. He is trying to become the third player to top the Hawaii Swing.
Peterson is no ordinary rookie.
The lefty has cards from six world tours in his hand, which doesn’t include mini-tours in Arizona and the Dakotas when he was just starting out.
“It doesn’t matter if I feel like a rookie, no,” Peterson said. “I traveled a lot. I saw a lot of golf in many places. I feel like all of this helped me prepare for coming here.
“Do I wish I had been here a little sooner? Yes. But do I regret any of the experiences I had along the way? NO.”
The Sony Open is the first full-field PGA Tour tournament of the year and attracts a large group of Korn Ferry Tour newcomers and alumni.
Peterson eventually returned home with a top-30 finish on the Korn Ferry Tour, which included a victory in Tennessee.
Waiting didn’t hurt him. He was riding along with three birdies in eight holes when he laid his 7-wood in the soft, tropical breeze on the par-5 9th hole to 5 feet for eagle. With a birdie and two of the next three holes – six straight three-pointers on his card – he was the first player to reach 7 under.
A couple of soft bogeys followed, and Peterson followed it up with another birdie from a 7-wood to two-putt on the closing par-5 hole to join the others.
Cole, McCarthy and Schenk all played bogey-free. Hall had a more stressful stretch, at least when he missed 10 birdies.
The 27-year-old from England, who now lives in Las Vegas, made two shots to get out of bunker No. 8 and made a double bogey that slowed his momentum, but he soon recovered.
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