With the vog up and the winds down, Waialae Country Club was easy pickings in Thursday’s opening round of the Sony Open in Hawaii.

Past U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson and Paul Casey shot 8-under 62s in the morning to share the clubhouse lead at the first full-field event of the 2015 PGA Tour season. Camlio Villegas missed a 10-footer for birdie at 18 or he would have joined them. Instead, he settled for a 7-under 63 and is tied for third with Robert Streb, who had the best round among those who teed off in the afternoon.

Tim Clark, who has two runner-up finishes here, had the second-best round of the afternoon at 5-under 65. He is among 11 golfers within three shots of the lead. Defending champion Jimmy Walker overcame a bogey at 17 to shoot a 4-under 66

Simpson, using a short putter for the first time since 2004, got off to a slow start, going only 1 under on the back nine (he teed off at 10). But he went low on the more difficult front side. He was 8 under over his last 10 holes en route to tying a course-record 28 on the first nine.

“The putts started falling,” Simpson explained. “Today was a big one for me. I was extremely nervous, first round on the PGA Tour with a short putter. Today was a hurdle I felt like I needed to get over and just feel thankful.”

Casey continues his comeback from a long list of injuries that have slowed him through the years. His 8 under was a little more conventional than Simpson’s, shooting 4-under 31s on both sides. His one tour victory came in a playoff in 2009 at the Houston Shell Open. Many feel he has the kind of game that could lead to a major championship one day.

“I don’t know what to say,” Casey said. “I’m ecstatic. First, I loving being in Hawaii. I have not been here for a long time. The last time I was here (in the island chain) was 2010, when I played in Maui, and it’s just great to be back.

“I’ve been in the Middle East for so long, and I chose to come over here. I had no idea what to expect today, so I’m over the moon with that. I can’t explain it. I just felt very, very comfortable with the putter, considering I have not done a massive amount of practice, and it’s nice to see them going in the middle.”

Casey has played Waialae only once, missing the cut in 2005. This is Simpson’s fifth appearance in six years. His best finish is a tie for ninth in his rookie year in 2009.

Local amateur Kyle Suppa was in the last group to tee off. The Punahou School junior finished 1 under for his round and is among 69 golfers who landed in red numbers. Some 92 golfers out of 144 entered shot even par or better.