KAPALUA, Maui » The leaderboard at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions is as crowded as Times Square on New Year’s Eve.

During Saturday’s second round six different golfers either led outright or shared the lead in this winners-only PGA Tour event played in calm conditions on the Plantation Course.

When Sang-Moon Bae’s par putt dropped into the cup at 18, he and past Sony Open in Hawaii champions Russell Henley (2013), Jimmy Walker (2014) and Zach Johnson (2009) were tied for the lead at 11-under 135.

That foursome was only one shot clear of Hideki Matsuyama (66), Charley Hoffman (66), Brendon Todd (67), Patrick Reed (69) and Robert Streb (69). Had Scott Stallings not finished bogey-bogey — he was in a hurry to watch the New England Patriots by round’s end — nearly one-third of this elite field would have been within one shot of the lead.

As it stands, 17 golfers are within five shots with at least 36 holes to play. It sets up for an exciting finish for the first tour event of 2015. When asked what it would take to separate from the pack, first-round leader Henley thought about it for a moment before offering his opinion.

"I think putting will separate it and I think good course management," Henley said.

"I feel like if you hit the ball on the correct side of the hole out here, you put yourself in position to make a lot of birdies and at the worst, par. So I think just course management over the course of four days is going to be probably the biggest factor."

The 25-year-old Georgia graduate struggled on the front nine with a couple of errant shots that led to an even-par 36 at the turn. But he came home in 3 under and said he was proud of himself for keeping a positive attitude to avoid dropping out of contention.

Had Walker not closed bogey-par, the lanky Texan would have been alone at the top. He lamented that fact in the media room afterward, but overall was pleased with his 5-under performance. Walker was at 12 under before carding his first bogey at the difficult 17th.

"I played good all day," Walker said. "I hit some really good shots, flighting the ball well and made some good putts. It was pretty solid all around all day. I would have liked to birdie 18 (he missed a 5-footer), but that’s the way it goes."

Johnson did birdie the final hole to move into a tie. The defending champion had a lone bogey at the difficult par-3 eighth, but shot 5 under over his last 10 holes. He was 18-for-18 in greens in regulation, landed in every fairway and believes putting himself in a position to win will serve him well over the next two days.

"My round was solid," Johnson said. "I hit every green in regulation and obviously, that’s a good thing. I was trying to go the week without a three-putt, but I failed on that one. I gave myself some opportunities. I gave myself some putts that didn’t go and I made some and that’s really what you’ve got to do."

Bae was one of five golfers to play a bogey-free second round. His 69 wasn’t spectacular, but it served well enough to put him in a tie for first. He said he was looking forward to the next two rounds and like a lot of golfers out here, believes he has a chance to win.

"I had a pretty solid round," Bae said. "Actually, I played really good in the first round, but I missed a lot of putts on the back nine today. I think I misread a couple of times, but I’m OK. I didn’t make a bogey, and that was a really good thing."