Honolulu (Hawaii), Jan 15 (IANS): India's Anirban Lahiri carded one-under 69 to end the first day of the Sony Open in Hawaii tied 72nd. Lahiri started his first tournament of the year on the back nine with two birdies on the 12th and 18th holes and one bogey in the 16th at the Waialae Country Club.

USA's Peter Malnatim and Jason Kokrak and Chile's Joaquin Niemann share the first-round lead after rounds of 8-under 62. Defending champion Cameron Smith, meanwhile, opened with a 3-under 67 in his bid to become the fifth player to win back-to-back titles at the Sony Open.

Lahiri arrives at the famous holiday isle after a welcome break at home following a series of decent run of form in the fall, which included his first top-10 finish on the PGA Tour in nearly two years.

In recent months, Lahiri has performed well on the Islands -- he was T6 at the Dominican Republic and T11 in Bermuda. The strong run towards the end of 2020 has also meant an improvement in his rankings which has translated into at least three or four straight weeks of competition to begin the New Year.