Kyle Suppa was right at home.

The 16-year-old Punahou junior and only amateur in the 2015 Sony Open in Hawaii played with a veteran’s poise in shooting a 1-under 69 in his opening round at intimately familiar Waialae Country Club on Thursday. 

He had one of seven bogey-free rounds on the day, placing him in contention to become the first amateur to make the cut at the Sony since Tadd Fujikawa electrified the field in 2007 and finished tied for 20th.

"Yeah, I’m excited for tomorrow," Suppa said. "If I can go out there and play a round similar to this, maybe make a couple more birdie putts. … It’s a great opportunity to make yourself known."

His lone birdie came on the par-3 17 when he converted a 21-footer. It came on the heels of getting out of a sand trap and making a par save on the iconic No. 16, one of a few instances he got up and down.

Suppa lives right down the street from Waialae. He’s played the course most of his life; his father, who was among a gallery of about 50 watching Kyle, is a member.

"I walked here," Suppa said with a quiet laugh.

He earned his way in as the Governor’s Cup champion, then had the best round among players emerging from that annual amateur qualifier since T.J. Kua’s 69 in 2010.

While PGA playing partners Scott Pinckney (71) and Sam Saunders (72) had trouble at times negotiating the course — Pinckney lost a ball high in a palm tree and Saunders hit into a water hazard — Suppa ably handled the few instances he hit into potential trouble.

The USC verbal commit got out of bunkers to save par twice after making the turn, on Nos. 4 and 6, and nearly did so again for a birdie on his final hole, the par-5 No. 9, but missed a curving 3-footer as the gallery groaned.

But Suppa and his caddie and swing coach, Jason Deigert, were upbeat after exiting the scorer’s booth.

Suppa is one of 69 golfers under par, placing him right around the cut line. He tees off his second round at 8:50 a.m. Friday on the No. 1 hole.

"This is a great opportunity," Deigert said. "Sixteen year-old kid and playing (with PGA pros). And then first round, to keep it together like he did and pull off shots, yeah, it was awesome."

Suppa regularly matched drives with his partners, even going beyond them at times. He said he normally averages 280 yards off the tee, but was tracked at 308.5 on Thursday.

"I thought they were going to be outdriving me by a lot more than they did," Suppa said, attributing the numbers to adrenaline and hard fairways.

Steady Suppa set himself up for a handful of birdie opportunities early in his round, but was not discouraged when they did not drop.

"On the 15th hole I thought I figured out my tempo was a little off. I hit good putts after that," he said.

Deigert is anxious to see if Suppa can build off what he showed Thursday.

"He’s comfortable shooting 3, 4, 5, 6 under on this golf course," the caddie said. "He’s got it in him, for sure."

Garrett Okamura of Maui, the other local player in the field, shot a 73 and is tied for 126th.