For the next two months, Kyle Suppa can live the dream. Must be sweet to be 16 and on top of the Hawaii golf world.

The Punahou sophomore ran away from his Governor’s Cup teammates Monday to earn the amateur exemption into January’s Sony Open in Hawaii. Suppa shot a bogey-free, 6-under-par 66 at Waialae Country Club, where he took up the game at age 7.

Come Jan. 15, Suppa will be teeing it up in the first full-field PGA Tour event of 2015. While the pros play for $5.6 million, Suppa will be playing for fun — tons of fun.

"This was my goal growing up as a kid," said Suppa, who has made a verbal commitment to play for USC. "Watching everyone play and watching Tadd (Fujikawa) play and Lorens (Chan) when they qualified … this is the biggest thing in Hawaii golf."

At 5-foot-7, 130 pounds, Suppa might not be the biggest thing — "I’d like to play with Steve Stricker because maybe he won’t hit the ball too much farther than me," Suppa grinned — but he has been among golf’s elite all year.

He won the State Stroke Play Championship in March and was low amateur at the Mid-Pacific Open. He has two state high school team championships in as many tries at Punahou, along with a runner-up individual finish. This summer, Suppa, Moanalua juniors Shawn Lu and Kyosuke Hara, and Kamehameha’s Spencer Dunaway won Hawaii’s first Junior America’s Cup in 18 years.

Last month, he fired a career-low 64 at Waialae. Suppa characterized Monday’s 66, which included just 27 putts and a missed 6-footer on the final hole, as the best round of his life.

"These were probably the hardest conditions I’ve ever played this course," he said. "With this wind, and it was a little different direction, it made a lot of holes play harder. This is definitely my best competitive round."

Sophomore teammate Andrew Chin was even with Suppa as they made the turn at 33, but he could only manage even par on the back and finished second, three strokes back. Corey Kozuma and Tyler Ota (71) were the only others to break par in 20-mph gusts.

The amateurs played Waialae at 7,000-plus yards, but with the members’ par-72 layout — not 70 as the pros play it. Still, Suppa’s 66 was superb. Last January, 2009 Sony champ Zach Johnson and Adam Scott tied for eighth, and 66 was their lowest round.

Suppa felt his Sony Open grip tightening Monday when he flushed a 5-iron to 9 feet on the 14th.

"That was big," he said. "That was the only thing not working to that point."

From there, it was just a matter of how many, not how. Suppa missed the fairway on three of the last four holes, but drained a 9-foot par putt on the 15th, blasted his approach to the green from 220 yards out after his tee shot on the 17th hit a tree, and calmly zeroed in on his third shot after hooking his drive at the final hole.

"He was a pleasure to watch," said playing partner Nainoa Calip, the Manoa Cup champion, as the group closed in on the final green.

Suppa hopes he can hear some of the same in January.

"All I can do is realize there is really nothing to lose," he says. "I am playing in a professional event. There has to be a lot more positives than negatives.

"The most exciting part would be being on the 18th hole with all those people in the grandstand. Hopefully I can make it to Sunday."

Garrett Okamura earned the Aloha Section PGA’s Sony exemption when he captured the pros’ Stroke Play Championship.

Sony Open tickets are available at sonyopeninhawaii.com or by calling 523-7888. They are $15 daily in advance ($20 daily at the gate), with season badges $50 for tournament week.