Sahith Theegala leads by 1 shot after the first round of The Sentry on Maui

KAPALUA, Maui >> Sahith Theegala says he never had a sophomore slump on the PGA Tour in 2023, no matter what it might have looked like to others. Today, he can’t afford a second-day letdown, as a huge pack of the PGA’s best is within two shots of his perch atop The Sentry leaderboard at Kapalua’s Plantation Course.

Theegala had put himself in position to win more often as a rookie in 2022 than last year, but it just didn’t happen. The 26-year-old from Orange, Calif., said patience was the key in 2023, and that led to many good things, including his first Tour victory, at the Fortinet Championship. That earned him his spot here, where he leads five players by one shot and five more by two after shooting 9-under 64 in Thursday’s first round.

Theegala did play The Sentry for the first time last year, by virtue of his 28th place on the FedEx points list. He finished 33rd.

“It really wasn’t that hard being patient (for the first Tour win) because I knew, even though the results weren’t incredible, I still had a really nice summer and played really well last year,” Theegala said after his round Thursday. “I knew if I just keep doing that and keep getting better in the little parts of the game, not to worry about the whole thing, I knew eventually I will be in that position that I’m in contention come Sunday. I just kept reminding myself, this is only my second year.”

In the first round of his third year, Theegala made six birdies in a row en route to shooting 31 on the back nine. Choosing favorite birdies can be like picking favorites among offspring, but he said the 12th hole was the key to his day.

“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,” Theegala said. “I just aimed it dead center and tried to hit it hard and hearted that putt, and that settled me down a little bit.”

The logjam a stroke behind Theegala includes Collin Morikawa, who has family ties to Maui and said he was honored when asked to take the first tee shot of the PGA Tour’s 2024 season-opening event here.

“It got a little bit emotional,” said Morikawa, whose grandparents once owned a restaurant in Lahaina, the town 11 miles south of the course that was ravaged by wildfires last Aug. 8. “I think just because I know what everyone has gone through, you hear it from these families, and you meet everyone out here on the island that knows someone or has been affected firsthand. Maui’s small. Hawaii’s very, very small. People know everyone.”

This year’s exclusive field of 59 players all won at least one PGA tournament last season, or finished in the top 50 of the FedEx Cup points list.

Morikawa’s bogey-free round featured an eagle on the par-5 No. 9 hole and six birdies. He led by five strokes here after three rounds last year, but finished tied for second.

Camilo Villegas also shot 8 under today, crushing the back nine with seven birdies after shooting 2 under on the front. His lone bogey came on No. 14. Jason Day, Viktor Hovland and Sungjae Im also shot 65 to start today’s second round one shot off the pace set by Theegala.

“You kind of have to get 2- to 3-under on the front side, and the back side you can get yourself into positions,” Day said. “You can get a few more birdies on the back side.”

And, there’s the occasional eagle, too, like the one Day carded on No. 15 to go with his four birdies after the turn.

Scottie Scheffler, the newly crowned 2023 PGA Player of the Year, was among five more stars tied for seventh, just two shots back at 7 under.

“Even though the scores are low, I still feel like you’re challenged a lot,” Sheffler said. “Because you got to keep the pedal down the whole time.”

For the first time in a decade, this tournament is the first of the new season after a significant break for most players.

“I much rather prefer this,” Morikawa said. “It felt like this offseason, even though you could go play, it felt like you weren’t falling behind. There’s something to … everyone’s starting at zero here. I think in the offseason the past few years for me I’ve played maybe two to three times, but even when you’re not playing your mind’s feeling like, OK, like I want to get back out there. This year I was able to take a few weeks and just be, like, I’m checking out. That’s been nice.”

And, the venue?

“Not a bad place to start,” Morikawa said.