Thomas shares 1st-round lead in title defense at Tournament of Champions

Justin Thomas and Harris English share a two-shot lead at 8-under par following Round 1 of the Tournament of Champions.

Thomas, the defending champion, birdied his final hole to match the number set by English earlier on Thursday to get off to a great start in pursuit of his third victory at Kapalua in Maui, Hawaii.

"It was a good opening round," Thomas said afterward. "It was solid. I didn't do anything great, didn't do anything bad, just kind of made my way around the course."

To Thomas, making his "way around the course" equated to an eight-birdie, bogey-free performance for his 14th opening round of 65 or better on the PGA Tour. He has gone on to win five of the previous 13 instances, according to the 15th Club's Justin Ray.

Meanwhile, English mixed in one eagle and a single bogey to continue his strong play from 2020.

"The wind wasn't pumping like it normally does out here and (I) got on a roll, hit the ball really well," English said. "I think I only missed maybe two or three greens out there and it was fun to make that many birdies."

Here's how the top of the leaderboard stands following Round 1:

Adam Scott, Patrick Cantlay, and Brendon Todd round out the top 10 at 5-under.

Dustin Johnson and Jon Rahm, the top two players in the world, relatively struggled. Johnson posted 2-under to sit tied for 30th in the 42-man field. Rahm was only one stroke better to grab a share of 22nd.

Round 2 of the 2021 opener begins Friday at 2:20 p.m. ET.