Defending champion Viktor Hovland carded a 3-under 69 and is tied for the lead after the first round of the Hero World Challenge with Joohyung Kim, Collin Morikawa and Sepp Straka.
Straka got into the field when tournament host Tiger Woods withdrew on Monday.
Four players tied for the lead is the most after any round in tournament history.
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No 18-hole leader/co-leader has won the Hero World Challenge since it moved to Albany in 2015.
Hovland won the 2021 Hero World Challenge by one stroke over Scottie Scheffler.
He has never held the 18-hole lead/co-lead in an official stroke-play event on the PGA TOUR.
His one successful title defence on the PGA TOUR was the 2021 World Wide Technology Championship.
Only one player has successfully defended the Hero World Challenge title: Tiger Woods, 2007 (at Sherwood Country Club) in the 22nd edition of the tournament.
Kim (T1/-3) is the only player in the field that did not record a bogey in the first round.
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He has never held the 18-hole lead/co-lead in an official stroke-play event on the PGA TOUR.
Is one of seven players in the field making tournament debut.
Kim earned his second PGA TOUR title at the Shriners Children’s Open during the fall portion of the 2022-23 season, becoming the first player since Tiger Woods to win twice on TOUR before turning 21.
Morikawa (T1/-3) has held the 18-hole lead/co-lead in three official stroke-play events on the PGA TOUR (1-for-3): 2020 Sony Open in Hawaii (T21), 2020 Workday Charity Open (P1), 2021 Memorial Tournament presented by Workday (P2).
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He held a five-stroke lead entering the final round in 2021 and recorded a 4-over 76 to finish T5 (would have moved to No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time in his career with a victory).
Made three starts during the fall portion of the 2022-23 season (best result: T15, World Wide Technology Championship).
Straka (T1/-3) has held the 18-hole lead/co-lead in three official stroke-play events on the PGA TOUR (0-for-3): 2018 Fortinet Championship (T46), 2019 Valspar Championship (T46), 2020 Corales Puntacana Championship (T33).
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Is one of seven players in the field making tournament debut.
He lost in a playoff twice in his last nine starts on TOUR: FedEx St. Jude Championship, Sanderson Farms Championship.
Earned his first PGA TOUR title at the 2022 Honda Classic.
