KAPALUA, Hawaii – Gary Woodland is among the normal handful of players who began the year with new clubs in the bag, and the switch paid off on Day 1 at the Sentry Tournament of Champions.
Woodland began his day with back-to-back birdies, and and he finished his day with a perfect 4 under closing nine for a 67 and a share of second place.
Even more encouraging for Woodland was his ball-striking on a windswept day on the Plantation Course after signing an endorsement deal with Wilson Golf this week. Woodland hit 15 of 18 greens in regulation and ranked seventh in the field in strokes gained: tee to green on Thursday.