Golf: Danny Lee makes strong start in Hawaii

Danny Lee of New Zealand. Photo / Getty Images.

Danny Lee has taken his impressive 2015 form into this year, with a strong start to the opening tournament of 2016 in Hawaii.

The Kiwi golfer produced a bogey-free six-under par 67 to sit in a three-way tie for third after the first round, two shots off the lead of American Patrick Reed.

Reed eagled the last hole of the day to be eight-under par, one shot clear of world No 1 Jordan Spieth.

Lee's round included six birdies - three on the front nine and three after the turn - and saw him carry the sort of form that saw him record eight top 10s in 2015 and a maiden tour win at The Greenbrier Classic in July.

He finished last year ranked ninth in the FedEx Championship and currently sits 47th in the world, two numbers he hopes to improve on over the next 12 months.

"My goal this year is to finish a little bit better than I did last year. I think it's a tough one but I think it's a great goal to set," he told Radio Sport.

Lee played an impressive 36 events last year, making the cut in 24 of them, but plans on reducing the number of tournaments he enters with the added luxury of automatic entries to the biggest events of the year.

Spieth and Reed were part of a five-way tie for the lead on the par-5 18th on the Plantation Course when Reed drilled a 3-wood onto the green and let the grain take it to 15 feet. He made the putt to cap off a 31 on the back nine.Lee was joined by Brandt Snedeker and JB Holmes on 67.