Kyle Stanley opens 2012 season with 66 for fifth-place tie at Sony Open

Kyle Stanley shot a four-under par 66 in the opening round of the PGA Tour’s Sony Open to lead a trio of former Tigers in the tournament – the season-opener for most of the field.

The event is being played at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Stanley, who earned more than $1.5 million in his rookie season, played his round bogey-free, with birdies at No. 14, 17, 2 and 9 and stands in a tie for fifth place headed into the second round.

He trails leader Graham DeLaet by three shots, but is just one stroke out of second place.

In his debut as a PGA Tour regular, Tommy Biershenk shot a one-over 71. He birdied his opening hole, bogeyed No. 5 to go back to even-par, and then recorded 11 straight pars before bogeying No. 17.

Jonathan Byrd, who is coming off a third-place finish in last week’s Tournament of Champions, shot a four-over 74 in the opening round. He had no birdies, and took bogeys at No. 14, 17, 2 and 5.

Stanley will tee at off at 12:30 p.m. (Eastern Time, 7:30 a.m. local time) on Friday, and is playing with Ryuji Imada and John Mallinger.

Byrd plays at 12:50 (ET), and is grouped with Chris Kirk and Robert Allenby; and Biershenk will tee off at 1:50, along with Richard Lee and Tadd Fujikawa.

Lucas Glover was forced to withdraw from the two Hawaii events because of a sprained knee he suffered by paddle-boarding, while D.J. Trahan, who grabbed the final automatic 2012 tour card with a No. 125 finish on last season’s money list, is sitting out the season opener.