HONOLULU — Joaquin Niemann had no regrets about the 18th hole at the Sony Open.

Four days after a pair of pars on the final hole at Kapalua led to a playoff loss, Niemann holed a 50-foot chip for eagle on the 18th hole Thursday for an 8-under 62 and a share of the lead with Jason Kokrak and Peter Malnati.

“It was a good way to finish,” Niemann said. “Spent a few days thinking about that last hole, but taking all the positives from the week and pull it out for this week.”

They weren’t easy days for Niemann. The 22-year-old from Chile is still too young to have experienced the inevitable losses that pile up in this sport. He played Sunday at Kapalua with Sergio Garcia, who has experienced plenty of failure, and who told him to think about what all went right.

So much did on a breezy afternoon at Waialae on a course with dry fairways and smooth greens and low scoring. Niemann’s only bogey was when he fell asleep on a 25-foot birdie putt above the hole at No. 12, ran it 10 feet by the hole and three-putted. The finish was exquisite.

Kokrak played bogey-free, and he was as pleased with a 15-foot par putt on No. 1 — his 10th hole of the round — than any of his nine birdies. He had a 25-foot eagle putt for 61 on his closing hole that narrowly missed.

Malnati was the only one at 62 who played in the morning, though conditions were similar for much of the day.

The group at 64 included Daniel Berger, among the 31 players in the Sentry Tournament of Champion last week on Maui, and Jim Herman, who should have been there.

Herman made it to Hawaii a week later than he had hoped and was happier than ever. He recovered from the coronavirus and had his lowest score in his 10th appearance at the Sony Open to get his year off to a good start.

He qualified for Kapalua the Sentry Tournament of Champions by winning the Wyndham Championship, his third career victory. But his COVID-19 test came back positive as he prepared to go to Maui, and self-isolation for 10 days left him no time to get to Kapalua.

“I feel pretty good,” Herman said. “Obviously, the low score today helps you feel a little bit better. Didn’t know what to expect coming out this week.”

Two Canadians were in the group at 65. David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., and Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., were bunched in a 13-way tie for 10th place, three points back of the lead. Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., trails one point behind them after shooting 4-under 66.

Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C shot a 67, trailed by Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., at 69. Michael Gligic of Burlington, Ont., ended the first round at 2 over.

Scoring was ideal for different reasons than Kapalua on a very different course. The wind off the Pacific shores on the edge of the course is normal. But it’s been dry enough for the ball to roll, helpful on tee shots in the fairway, not so much when it’s off line and head into the rough.

There was one other twist at Waialae — out-of-bounds stakes for about 350 yards down the left side of the 18th fairway. The tour erected them this year out of safety to those coming down the 10th fairway, and without the tents and bleachers because of no spectators, it might have been tempting for more players to take their tee shot on 18 down the 10th.

That never crossed Niemann’s mind. He hit a high draw that still tumbled through the fairway into the rough, came up just short and finished on a good note.

It sure was different from last week. Niemann missed a 6-foot birdie in regulation (and shot 64), and then in a playoff on the par-5 18th, he pulled it slightly and went down a slope left of the green, leaving a tough chip and a par. Harris English won with a birdie putt.

“It was the first time that it really hurt me, like finishing a golf tournament,” he said. “Probably one or two days I just keep thinking on how I couldn’t make birdie on 18 and get it done. I was talking with my coach, with my psychologist. We talked for an hour about the whole tournament, not for that 18th hole. It was a good way to take all the positives from that week.”

English, hopeful of being only the third player to sweep the Hawaii swing, had three bogeys in a four-hole stretch on his second nine and had to birdie two of the last three holes for an even-par 70.

Scoring was so low that only 30 players from the 144-man field were over par.

“They have it playing fantastic,” said Webb Simpson, one of 22 players at 65 or better. “I think all us golfers love it for the most part when we see a good drive and the ball bounce 10 feet in the air, it’s a good feeling.”

KAPALUA, Hawaii — Harris English went more than seven years without winning on the PGA Tour, and he didn’t mind going one extra hole to win the Sentry Tournament of Champions on Sunday.

English missed a 10-foot eagle putt in regulation on the par-5 18th hole at Kapalua for a 4-under 69 to force a playoff with Joaquin Niemann, and he ended it on the 18th with a 6-foot birdie.

Niemann, who closed with a 64, pulled his approach enough to tumble down the steep, shaggy hill. His full swing from thick grass got him to the fringe, but he missed the birdie putt.

English capped off his remarkable turnaround at a tournament he ordinarily wouldn’t be allowed to play. The Tournament of Champions is for winners only from the previous year, but the field was expanded to include anyone who reached the Tour Championship because of the COVID-19 pandemic that shut down the PGA Tour for three months.

Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C. finished in a tie for 29th with American Brian Gay at 13-under par. Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., finished in a tie for last with Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama at 4-under par.

The fact English made it to the Tour Championship was proof of turning around his game. He ended the previous season without a full card and mired in a slump that dropped him to No. 369 in the world. He did everything last year but win, and he took care of that in the first event of the new year.

Now the 31-year-old from Georgia is among the top 20 in the world, and guaranteed a return to Kapalua next year.

Niemann had eight birdies through 14 holes and matched the low score of the tournament. His regret might be a 6-foot birdie putt he missed in regulation. All he could do was wait, and he spent most of that hour at a picnic table with Sergio Garcia and their wives, heading to the practice green as English was coming up the 18th.

English won for the third time in his career, and his first title since the OHL Classic at Mayakoba at the end of 2013, his second victory of that year.

Justin Thomas stayed in the mix one day after he was heard uttering a homophobic slur under his breath after missing a short putt. Thomas apologized, and did so again after a 66 left him one shot out of the playoff.

He missed an 8-foot birdie chance on the 16th, and then three-putted from long range on the 17th for bogey. A birdie on the final hole wasn’t enough.

Dustin Johnson, in his first start since winning the Masters on Nov. 15, made an early run until he lost a tee shot in the native grass on No. 12 and made double bogey. He shot 69 and tied for 11th, ending his streak of seven consecutive top 10s dating to the first week in August.

Ryan Palmer, who shared the 54-hole lead with English, had an early lead with an eagle on the fifth hole. His hopes came undone when his tee shot on the par-3 11th turned left with the wind into the shin-high grass. It took him two to get out and he made double bogey. Palmer rallied with four birdies on his last five holes but shot 71 to finish two back.

The most significant wind of the week eventually allowed for some separation, and it came down to English, Niemann and Thomas over the final hour.

English got back in the game by running off four birdies in a five-hole stretch starting at No. 11, and he appeared to be in control until attacking a back pin on the 16th, going just over the green and making bogey.

He bounced back, first with a birdie on the 18th to catch Niemann at 25-under 267, and then with a birdie to win.

KAPALUA, Hawaii — Ryan Palmer went through a range of emotions over the final 15 minutes Saturday that ended with him posting a 9-under 64 for the best round of the week and a share of the lead with Harris English in the Sentry Tournament of Champions.

Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., is tied for 21st going into the final round after a 4-under 69. Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., is in 40th place after a 1-under 72 in his third round.

Palmer thought he might have been in trouble with a thin fairway metal approaching the green on the par-5 18th. It narrowly cleared native grass left of the green and rolled out to 12 feet, and he two-putted for birdie.

His score stood when rules officials determined there was no intent, and no penalty, when he tamped down a divot a few paces away from where his golf ball was rolling after a muffed chip on the ninth hole.

English wasn’t so fortunate with his second shot to the 18th. He was left and came up some 15 feet short of clearing the hazard. His only good break was that a marshal somehow spotted it. Instead of a third shot from 200-plus yards away, he hacked out to 80 feet away and took two tough putts for par and a 66.

They were tied at 21-under 198, one shot ahead of Collin Morikawa, who also flirted with trouble on the closing hole at the Plantation, finished with a birdie and shot 65.

Until the final hole, the third round at Kapalua was all about making birdies to keep from losing ground. Scoring has been exceptionally low, not just by one player but several of them, because of a soft course and little wind.

The top three began to pull away.

Daniel Berger, playing in the final group with English, had a long eagle putt hang on the lip at the 18th and had to settle for birdie and a 67 that left him three shots behind, still in the mix.

Defending champion Justin Thomas finally hit a shot he couldn’t find. Three times this week, he hit it into knee-high native grass and managed to locate the ball and twice saved par. He wasn’t so lucky on the sixth hole, sending it well right and into a deep gorge for a double bogey. Thomas recovered for a 68 and was four back, along with Sungjae Im (67).

Masters champion Dustin Johnson was doing his best to keep pace until his drive on the par-5 15th sailed too far right and into the hazard, leading to a bogey that felt even worse considering it’s a par 5 he can reach in two with an iron. He missed birdie chances coming in and shot 69, seven shots out of the lead.

Xander Schauffele two years ago shot a 62 on the final day to rally from five behind, and such a score is possible in these ideal conditions. But there’s a lot of players to climb, and Englishhasn’t shown any signs of backing off as he goes for his first victory in just over seven years.

Palmer has gone even longer — 11 years since his last individual title on the PGA Tour — and played his best on Saturday. His only big miscue was on the par-5 ninth when he put his second shot in rough left of the green and used the wrong club for a pitch that came up short and rolled down the slope back into the fairway.

He knew where it was headed and began walking, and stepped down a divot a few paces short of where the ball was rolling. That was the violation that led to disqualification for Camilo Villegas from this tournament 10 years ago on the 15th hole. Palmer met with the rules staff and was cleared because there was no intent to improve his lie.

Palmer said when he watched the video, he wasn’t sure what concerned officials. He later added the ball was 5 feet away and “not even close to where I was at.”

So his score was upheld and he now is part of a two-way tie for the lead, a final group between two players who are trying to end a drought a tournament they are fortunate to be playing.

The field for the Tournament of Champions was expanded this year for 2020 winners and anyone who reached the Tour Championship, all because of the COVID-19 pandemic that shut the tour down for three months. Both Palmer and English made it to East Lake. Both would like to make their next victory one that assures them a return to Maui.

Right behind them is the PGA champion, Morikawa, going for his third victory in his last 14 tournaments worldwide.

KAPALUA, Hawaii — A new year, and Harris English keeps right on rolling.

English finished with a 10-foot birdie to cap off an ideal Friday at the Sentry Tournament of Champions with a 6-under 67, giving him a two-shot lead over a quartet of players that includes defending champion Justin Thomas.

Even with a lead, it feels as though the first PGA Tour event of the year is wide open. With virtually no wind, rare for the Plantation Course at Kapalua, scores remained low and several players were stacked up behind him. That includes Masters champion Dustin Johnson, who hit it close enough all round to make a few putts in his round of 65.

“Felt like I got back in the tournament a little bit,” said Johnson, playing for the first time since his Nov. 15 victory at Augusta National.

English is among 16 players at the winners-only event who didn’t win last year. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic that wiped out three months on the tour schedule, anyone who reached the Tour Championship qualified this year. English did everything but win, going from No. 369 in the world to among the top 30.

And he’s playing like it. He was bogey-free and rarely faced any stress. It’s hard to feel that on the western edge of Maui, and English was entertained by a pair of humpback whales splashing their fins in the Pacific below the course.

He was at 14-under 132, two shots ahead of Thomas, PGA champion Collin Morikawa (65), Daniel Berger (65) and Ryan Palmer (67), another player who didn’t win in 2020 and was happy to be here.

Thomas lost some of his Aloha spirit on the back nine. He had a one-shot lead at the turn, missed a short birdie chance on the par-3 11th and then struggled to keep it in play. A drive to the left in the native grass kept him from a good birdie opportunity on the short 12th. He hit another one to the left into high grass on the 13th and made his first bogey.

Thomas also failed to convert chances on the next four holes, and the 18th was looking grim when he missed a long iron and came up 40 yards short, a perilous spot with a front pin and the grain running hard toward the back. He clipped a sand wedge and it was about to go too far when it hit the pin and dropped 3 feet away. He made that for his only birdie on the back nine and shot 69.

He was among 16 players separated by four shots going into the final two days.

Xander Schauffele holed an 80-foot eagle putt on the 18th for a 66 and was in the group at 11-under 135 that included Patrick Reed, who had a 68. Another shot behind was the group that included Johnson, Jon Rahm (66) and U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau (67).

Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., (71) is the top Canadian going into the weekend with a total of 8-under 138. He shares 22nd place with four other golfers, including Sergio Garcia of Spain (71). Fellow Canadian Mackenzie Hughes (Dundas, Ont.,) has a score of 144 after a round of 71 on Friday.

KAPALUA, Hawaii — Justin Thomas kept bogeys off his card, thanks in part of Dustin Johnson’s caddie, and birdied three of his last five holes Thursday for an 8-under 65 to share the lead with Harris English in the Sentry Tournament of Champions.

Thomas couldn’t have asked for a better start in his bid to become the first back-to-back winner at Kapalua since 2010. On a gorgeous afternoon on the western edge of Maui, he birdied three straight holes to finish the front nine and took advantage of the scoring holes on the back nine.

But it was the 13th hole where Thomas got his biggest break.

He sent his drive well to the right into the deep native grasses, expecting it never to be found. He hit a provisional, and the group made a cursory search when Austin Johnson found it by stepping on it.

The ball was replaced to its original spot — only about a half-turn — and Thomas hacked out sideways, put it on the green and rolled in a par putt from just inside 40 feet.

A two-putt birdie on the par-5 18th tied him with English, whose 65 was highlighted by pitching in for eagle on No. 9.

Unlike the wind that was ripping across the Plantation Course earlier in the week as the players arrived, it was relatively calm by Kapalua standards and it showed in the scoring. Only two players in the 42-man field were over par.

Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., is in the hunt. Taylor opened with a 6-under 67 in Hawaii to sit two strokes behind first-round leaders Harry English and Justin Thomas. Fellow Canadian Mackenzie Hughes (Dundas, Ont.,) fired a 73.

Sergio Garcia, playing at Kapalua for the first time in 15 years, and Patrick Reed were also among those at 6-under 67, with Adam Scott in the group at 68.

Johnson, making his first start since winning the Masters in November, showed some rust on the greens. He had good birdie looks on the final six holes and didn’t make any of them, settling for a 2-under 71.

The tournament features more than just PGA Tour winners for the first time. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic that shut down golf for three months, the field includes anyone who made it to the Tour Championship.

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico — Viktor Hovland of Norway holed a 12-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole Sunday for a 6-under 65 and a one-shot victory in the Mayakoba Golf Classic, his second PGA Tour victory this year.

It was the first time since the Mayakoba Classic began in 2007 that it was won with a birdie putt on the final hole. For the 23-year-old Hovland, it’s old hat. He made a 30-foot birdie putt on the last hole to win the Puerto Rico Open in February.

Aaron Wise closed with a 63 and did everything right over the last two holes except make the birdie putts. Tied for the lead, he missed birdie putts from 12 feet on each of the last two holes at El Camaleon Golf Club.

Corey Connors of Listowel, Ont., was the sole Canadian to play the final round, and shot 66 to finish tied for 17th at 13 under.

Hovland had four birdies in the opening six holes and built a two-shot lead going into the back nine on a course softened by rain that caused a two-hour delay in the morning.

But he made bogey on the 12th hole, and that seemed to create chances for a half-dozen players separated by one shot along the back nine.

Hovland responded with birdies on the next two holes, and he appeared to be in control with a tee shot to 4 feet on the par-3 15th. But he hit a tentative putt to remain tied with Wise, and Hovland thought he was in big trouble when his long iron on the 515-yard 16th hole sailed hard to the right toward the mangrove trees.

It came down in the waste area a few feet from the hazard, and he hit a splendid sand shot to 4 feet to save par.

Hovland, starting his second season on the PGA Tour after a stellar college career at Oklahoma State, finished at 20-under 264 and moved to No. 15 in the world.

That makes three players in the top 15 who were still in college a year ago in May. The others are PGA champion Collin Morikawa and Matthew Wolff, a teammate of Hovland’s at Oklahoma State.

Adam Long (67) and Tom Hoge (69) tied for third at 17-under 267. Hoge holed a 20-foot birdie putt from the fringe on the 15th hole to get within one shot, but he three-putted from some 70 feet on the tough 16th to fall back. Long lost hope when he sent his tee shot into the vegetation on the 17th hole and took bogey.

Emiliano Grillo, who led after the second and third rounds, closed with a 72 and tied for eighth, five shots behind. Justin Thomas got back to the fringe of contention with a 62 on Saturday, and the world’s No. 3 player followed that with a 69, making double bogey on No. 10 to end his chances.

This was the final PGA Tour event of the year, one last chance for players who either qualify for the Sentry Tournament of Champions at Kapalua or lock up a spot in the Masters next year. Neither was an issue for Hovland, who qualified for Maui with his win in Puerto Rico and was set for Augusta National by reaching the Tour Championship his rookie season.

Austin Eckroat of Oklahoma State had a 67-65 weekend and tied for 12th.

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico — Emiliano Grillo steadied himself with a pair of birdies over the last six holes Saturday for a 3-under 68, giving the Argentine a one-shot lead going into the final round of the Mayakoba Classic.

Tom Hoge, without a win in his PGA Tour career, birdied four of the last five holes at El Camaleon Golf Club for a 65 to get within one shot of the lead.

Corey Conners, a native of Listowel, Ont., is currently tied for 20th place after shooting a 3-under 68 Saturday. He is the lone Canadian in the field after Michael Gligic, Drew Nesbitt, Roger Sloan and Adam Hadwin all missed the cut.

After two days of rain, the course was soft and susceptible to low scores and quick movements, and there were plenty of both. Players were allowed to clean and place their golf balls in the fairway.

Adam Long ran off seven birdies on his opening nine holes before he slowed and had to settle for a 63. Justin Thomas, who started on the back nine, played bogey-free for a 62 to get back in the mix. He was four shots behind.

Tony Finau also got in on the action, but only briefly. Finau made a hole-in-one on the 103-yard fourth hole with a gap wedge. He followed with three more birdies on the front nine and got within one shot of Grillo at one point.

But he was wild with the driver, and it finally caught up with him. Finau bogeyed the 11th and 12th, and he failed to make birdie on the par-5 13th with an iron for his second shot. He had no birdies on the back nine, dropped another shot on the 18th and wound up with a 69, leaving him five shots behind.

Grillo was at 16-under 197.

His only victory was in the season-opening Safeway Open in 2015 in his debut as a PGA Tour rookie. He rallied that day at Silverado. Sunday will be the first time he takes a lead into the final round on the PGA Tour, but he should get some confidence from being at Mayakoba.

This was his 19th round at El Cameleon, all of them under par.

“Started in the lead, finished in the lead, that’s kind of the idea,” Grillo said. “Hopefully, one more of those.”

Even so, it figures to be a wild chase in the final official PGA Tour event of the year. Ten players were separated by five shots, and Saturday showed that ground can be made up quickly.

“Didn’t have it on the back nine for me. Luckily I’m still within reach,” Finau said. “A lot of guys scored today. Hopefully, I’m one of those guys tomorrow that takes it low. It’s going to take probably a low to mid-60s round for me tomorrow.”

Viktor Hovland, who won in Puerto Rico in one of the final events before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down golf for three months, put together a string of birdies of his own down the stretch for a 63 that left him alone in third, two shots behind.

Thomas didn’t feel as though he played that much differently from the second round, when he had a rough time on the greens in the afternoon and finished with two bogeys for a 67. He said he told his father it might have been the worst 67 ever shot.

“I felt like I could have shot 60, 61, 62 and shot that,” he said. “So I just really just tried to go out there and didn’t really have a game plan or mentality, just try to hit the fairways and, with the ball in hand, just attack and make a bunch of birdies. And we did.”

Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., played 68 during Saturday’s round for 8-under 205. The sole Canadian in the field after Friday’s cut, Conners is tied for 20th place going into the final day of the tournament.

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico — Emiliano Grillo made birdie on half of the holes Friday on his way to an 8-under 63 that gave him a three-shot lead going into the weekend at the Mayakoba Golf Classic.

The second round was delayed by one hour by heavy rain in the morning, and it was not completed before it was too dark to continue. No one was close enough to catch Grillo, who was at 12-under 130. It will be only the fifth time in 136 starts on the PGA Tour that he has a share of the lead after any round.

Tony Finau one-putted six consecutive holes in the middle of his round, four of them par saves and none tap-ins, and posted a 66. He was at 9-under 133, along with Tom Hoge, who had a 67.

Justin Thomas, at No. 3 the highest-ranked player in the field, was zooming into contention with five birdies and an eagle through 12 holes. His momentum stalled, however, particularly with bogeys on his last two holes. Thomas had to settle for a 67 and was nine shots behind.

But he’s still playing, which won’t be the case for Rickie Fowler and Brooks Koepka.

Fowler was in position for an easy birdie on the par-5 13th hole when he sent a long iron well to the right into the trees for a lost ball. That led to bogey, and he dropped another shot on the 17th that led to a 1-over 72. The cut would not be made until Saturday, though Fowler looked certain to miss by one shot.

With no events left this year, Fowler is likely to fall out of the top 50 in the world for the first time since 2010, his first full year on the PGA Tour. He still is not eligible for the Masters next April, though he would have three months at the start of next year to either win or get into the top 50 by the end of March.

Koepka, coming off a pair of top 10s in the Houston Open and the Masters, had another 71 and finished at even-par 142. He was in reasonable shape until three-putting from about 8 feet on the par-5 fifth hole for a bogey, his 14th of the round. He made birdie on the par-3 eighth, but will miss by one shot.

Among those still on the course was former U.S. Amateur champion Andy Ogletree, who turned pro after finishing low amateur at the Masters. Ogletree was at 7 under with three holes remaining.

Grillo made five birdies on the front nine to catch Finau and Hoge, who played in the morning. After a bogey at No. 10, the Argentine hit his stride with his great iron play and ran off three straight birdies.

As it began to get dark, Grillo stuffed a wedge into about 4 feet on the 17th for his ninth birdie of the round, and he elected to finish the 18th after the horn sounded to stop play because of darkness.

Russell Knox, who had the 18-hole lead after a 65, shot a 69 and was alone in fourth at 8-under 134. The group one shot further back included Kyle Stanley and Joel Dahmen, each with a 67, and Aaron Wise (68).

Finau has been among the top 20 in the world dating to August 2018, even though his lone victory on the PGA Tour remains the Puerto Rico Open in 2016.

“I learned this game doesn’t owe you anything. You’ve got too earn everything you have, earn all your wins,” Finau said. “It’s been a long time coming I feel like for (win) No. 2. Hopefully, it happens here in a couple of days.

Steve Stricker, the 53-year-old Ryder Cup captain, shot 70 and was at 3-under 139. It was the sixth time in 12 starts on the PGA Tour that he made the cut.

Carlos Ortiz, playing for the first time since the Mexican earned his first PGA Tour title in the Houston Open last month, had a 68 and was six shots behind.

Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., was the lone Canadian to sit over the projected cut line of 1 under. He shot 66 Friday and is tied for 18th at 5 under.

Michael Gligic of Burlington, Ont., who was two shots off the lead after the first round, shot 75 Friday to fall to even par.

Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C, (70) was at 3 over and Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., (74) was at 4 over. Monday qualifier Drew Nesbitt of Shanty Bay, Ont., was at 3 over through 33 holes.

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico — Russell Knox shot a 6-under 65 on Thursday at breezy and wet El Camaleon Golf Club to take the first-round lead in the PGA Tour’s Mayakoba Golf Classic.

The 35-year-old Scot birdied five of the last six holes on his opening nine, then played the final nine in 1 under with a bogey on the par-4 second and birdies on the par-5 fifth and par-4 sixth.

“Took me a few holes to kind of settle into my round, but when I did, I had six or seven very good holes,” Knox said. “I hit the ball well, drove it in the fairway, and with lift, clean and place, I could be fairly aggressive. Par was good today.”

Chile’s Joaquin Niemann was a stroke back with Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo and American Tom Hoge. Niemann is donating his entire prize money and $5,000 for every birdie and $10,000 for an eagle to help pay for a drug for his 2-month-old relative in Chile.

“I’m playing for Rafita, that is one of my cousins that was diagnosed a couple days ago with a really rare disease,” the 22-year-old Niemann said. “All the guys here on tour are being really nice, using the little ribbons we’re having to support Rafita. He’s fighting now in Chile, so we’ve got to work our way to help him.”

Niemann also finished on the front nine, making birdies on Nos. 3, 5, 6 and 7.

“It was tough,” Niemann said. “It was hard to adjust myself into the wind early, but I’m really happy the way I played. Took me a couple holes to like figure it out a little bit with the wind. I’m really happy the way I played and the way I finished.”

Knox has two victories on the PGA Tour and one on the European Tour. He lost in a playoff at Mayakoba in 2016.

“I guess it’s the tequila and tacos,” Knox said. “Obviously, I love the course. It sets up well for me. I mean, historically, my driving accuracy and iron play’s been my strength, so that’s kind of the key things that this course brings out in you.”

He liked the wind better than the rain-softened turf.

“I always kind of want it to be a little windy,” Knox said. “I feel like I can flight my ball well at times. But it’s so soft out here, it’s the opposite of like links golf. No, I’m thrilled with that and look forward to trying again tomorrow.”

Carlos Ortiz, the Mexican star playing for the first time as a PGA Tour winner, was two strokes back at 67. He won the Houston Open a week before the Masters and did not play at Sea Island.

“When I made like a 60-footer for eagle on 5, I knew it was going to be a pretty good day,” Ortiz said. “I was in control of my game. It’s one of those where you hit a good drive, it kind of sits down in the fairway and you feel like you’re going to get a flyer and it’s going to come out soft, but I’m really happy the way I played.”

Michael Gligic of Burlington, Ont. ended his first round as the top ranked Canadian after scoring a 67, coming into a tie for fifth place alongside defending champion Brendon Todd as well as Tony Finau, Viktor Hovland, Aaron Wise, Nate Lashley and Akshay Bhatia.

Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., shot an even round of 71. Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C. (71), Monday qualifier Drew Nesbitt of Shanty Bay, Ont. (73) and Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C. (75) rounded out the Canadians.

Former U.S. Amateur champion Andy Ogletree, the low amateur at the Masters, had a 69 in his pro debut. Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker also shot 69.

Rickie Fowler had a wild round of 70 with eight birdies and quadruple and double bogeys. He played the final six holes in 4 under to get under par.

“This has to be the lowest I’ve shot with a quad,” Fowler said. “That doesn’t happen a whole lot.”

Four-time major champion Brooks Koepka had a 71. Justin Thomas shot 72. At No. 3, he’s the only player from the top 10 in the world in the field.

The PGA Tour has acquired a minority stake in the European Tour’s media production company as part of an alliance announced Friday, a big first step toward developing a more unified golf schedule around the world.

The deal effectively makes the two leading tours more partners than rivals. The tours said in a statement the alliance would allow them to collaborate on commercial opportunities and global media rights in certain territories.

“The PGA Tour moves from a competitor to a partner,” Keith Pelley, chief executive for the European Tour, said on a conference call.

While seen as a pivotal first step, any notion of a world tour _ which golf executives have contemplated for more than a decade _ remains some years away. The immediate goal is to figure out a schedule that keeps the tours from competing against each other and strengthening events on both sides of the Atlantic and beyond.

Pelley offered few details on scheduling, access to tours or even negotiating media rights.

As part of the agreement, PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan will join the European Tour board as a non-executive member who would have a vote. “They have a monetary investment in our business,” he said of the PGA Tour.

Pelley said the board’s approval of the partnership was unanimous.

The announcement is likely to put an end to the Premier Golf League, which a year ago was courting the world’s best players for a team-based circuit and funded in part by Saudi money. Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka rejected the idea right before the pandemic.

Pelley said The Raine Group, a private equity firm behind the Premier Golf League, presented a “compelling offer to take the European Tour to another level but in a different direction.”

“We felt partnering with the PGA Tour was the best option,” he said.

Pelley said the partnership grew out of golf organizations having to work together at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to rearrange the major championship season for men and women.

“We shared the challenges of working through a year neither of us could have ever imagined and we found definite synergies in many areas of our respective tours,” Pelley said.

The announcement comes toward the end of a devastating year financially for both tours. The PGA Tour has lost more money than the European one because of its size, though it had more in reserve to handle the crisis.

The PGA Tour shut down for three months, and then resumed June 8 and played a tournament every week except for this one, with no reduction in prize money. Two of its Asia tournaments, in South Korean and Japan, moved to the western U.S. with a purse of $9.75 million (CJ Cup at Shadow Creek) and $8 million (Zozo Championship at Sherwood).

The European Tour resumed in July with a series of new tournaments geared toward giving its members events to play while maintaining a strict bubble to protect against the spread of the coronavirus. Players would stay in regions such as the Iberian peninsula and the U.K., though the total purse was rarely more than 1 million euros.

The exceptions were the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, the flagship event at its headquarters, the Scottish Open and the DP World Tour Championship next month in Dubai.

The gap between the tours has grown so much in the last decade there have been rumblings of a merger of the tours, or even a takeover, given the PGA Tour’s wealth. Monahan referred only to a partnership, and said “we look forward to working together for the benefit of the men’s professional game and for golf fans around the world.”

Pelley strongly disputed the notion of a merger, suggesting that would happen only if the tour had financial difficulties or there were significant benefits for the players. He said the European Tour had a strong balance sheet, which allowed it to create 15 new events during the pandemic and spend $3 million on a health and safety plan.

“This is not a merger,” he said.

A week before the pandemic, the PGA Tour announced a new media rights deal that starts in 2022 and is said to be worth $7 billion over nine years, which includes digital. The tour also has a 12-year deal with Discovery, which owns Golf TV.

London-based Discovery also is a rights holder for the European Tour, which has various contracts with TV companies, given its schedule that plays in more countries than any tour.

The PGA Tour has become so lucrative that Europe’s best players have taken up membership on both tours. Of the 20 Europeans among the top 75 in the world, only four are not PGA Tour members.