Langley leads by 1 at Waialae
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Scott Langley fired a bogey-free, 8-under 62 on Thursday to grab a 1-stroke lead with the opening round of the Sony Open in Hawaii suspended due to darkness.
Langley, who got his card through Q School, was pushed throughout the round by his playing partner, Russell Henley.
Henley, a 3-time winner on the Web.com Tour, carded a 7-under 63 and is alone in second place at Waialae Country Club.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Tim Clark and Scott Piercy posted matching rounds of 64. Stephen Ames and Jeff Overton were one stroke back at minus-5.
Matt Kuchar, U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson and Tim Herron are among 10 players tied for seventh at 4-under 66.
Just one group did not finish their first round. Scott Gardiner was closest to the leaders as he was at 2-under and was looking at a 23-foot birdie putt on the ninth green.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Langley's putter was hot throughout his round as he made several long putts to keep his round going. He started with a 14-footer for birdie at No. 2.
The 23-year-old came right back with birdie putts of 23 and 25 feet at the third and fourth to quickly move to 3-under. After four pars in a row, Langley poured in a 56-foot eagle effort to make the turn at minus-5.
Langley followed with a 4-foot birdie putt at 10. That gave him a share of the lead and he remained there with five consecutive pars from the 11th.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}At the par-4 16th, Langley rolled in a 29-foot birdie try to move into the lead. After Henley joined him at minus-7, Langley got up and down for birdie at the last to finish one clear of the field.
"To go bogey free the first event as a full member of the tour, you know, I was pretty nervous starting out, and kind of settled down after three or four holes, made some nice birdies early, and kind of got me in a nice rhythm for the day," Langley stated. "Yeah, just looking back at all my rounds professionally thus far, this might be the best one."
Henley matched Langley's birdie on the second to start his round. Henley drained a 24-foot birdie chance at four. He got to 3-under with a birdie effort from just inside 11 feet on No. 8.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Around the turn, Henley birdied the 10th from 13th feet out, but gave that shot right back when he failed to save par from a bunker on the 11th.
Henley, who won twice on the Web.com Tour last year, atoned for that mistake with a birdie on the 12th. He converted back-to-back birdie chances at 14 and 15 to gain a piece of the lead.
Langley moved one ahead with a birdie on 16 and Henley responded with a 9-foot birdie putt at 17. Henley could not get up and down for birdie at the last as he ended one back.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I was just trying to keep up. He got off to a hot start, we both did. It was just fun to compete out there. I was very comfortable playing with Scott," Henley said in a televised interview.
NOTES: Last week's winner Dustin Johnson bogeyed his final two holes for a round of even-par 70 ... Reigning champion Johnson Wagner mixed four bogeys and three birdies in a round of 71 ... Charles Howell III, who is in the group at 4-under, has been the runner-up twice in the last six years and has five top-5 finishes in the last eight years at this event.