KAPALUA, Maui >> For most of the first round of the Sentry Tournament of Champions, the leaderboard was as crowded as downtown Las Vegas on New Years’ Eve.

Part of the problem was the wind that often blew at 25 mph, leaving the golfers of this elite champions-only event shaking their heads as they tried to get something going on this Thursday afternoon.

Midway through the opening 18, there were a half-dozen players at 3 under and another 10 just a shot back, leaving local golf fans wondering who to follow next. Si Woo Kim was the first to go to 4 under with a birdie at 17, but you had to figure sooner or later someone would break from the pack.

No one really did.

Australian Marc Leishman is alone at the top with a 6-under 67, but he didn’t exactly run away and hide. Brian Harman and Jhonattan Vegas share second among the 34 golfers playing this week at 5-under 68, with Kim, world No. 1 Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler sitting pretty at 4-under 69.

Johnson had a half-dozen putts lip out, Fowler went into the weeds at No. 13 for a double bogey and Leishman hit out of somebody’s backyard on No. 14 to save par on what was an adventurous round of golf for many.

In all, there are 15 golfers within four shots of the lead, including defending champion Justin Thomas, who is tied for 12th at 2-under 71. Noticeably absent from the scene is Jordan Spieth, who struggled to a 2-over 75 and is tied for 30th. It was his worst round here in 13. Coming in, he was 64 under in three appearances.

He was battling an illness that struck him late Wednesday night.

There are 24 golfers who shot even par or better, but Leishman was clearly in command of his game. He had one stretch where he birdied five of six holes to drop to 5 under after 10, but he bogeyed 11 and remained at 4 under before birdies at 15 and 17 put him atop the leaderboard. He carded eight birdies for the day to go with two bogeys. Leishman doesn’t mind if the wind blows for the rest of the tournament.

“Yeah, I grew up in it and I enjoy playing in it, which is helpful,” Leishman said. “When you enjoy playing on certain golf courses or certain conditions it’s easy to play well. So I played well in the wind before and I think growing up in it certainly helps. It just takes a little imagination, I think. … Yo;veu got to trust what the wind’s going to do to your ball and deal with it if it doesn’t do that or hope you get a birdie chance if it works out.”

Harman and Vegas didn’t mind the brisk breezes that continued to blow throughout the round either. Harman, who spent the offseason doing a little hunting and practicing, in that order, believes an equipment and ball switch midway through last year was a key reason for his recent success.

Harman was playing with past Sony Open in Hawaii champion Johnson Wagner at the Zurich in New Orleans. It was an alternate-shot format where both decided to use Wagner’s Titleist.

“And it really, really clicked with me,” Harman said. “It kind of made me feel like a kid again. I was able to hit some flighted shots, especially in the wind, and I switched to it (the) next week and won. I’ve got new Titleist woods in the bag this week; (Titleist) through the bag. The course is a little tougher this week than it normally is. The wind was blowing. A little different challenge out there for sure.”

Johnson and Fowler were up to the challenges of the famed Plantation Course as they looked ahead to today’s second round two shots off the lead. Fowler went 3 under on the front without a blemish on his card. A bogey at 11 and the double at 13 dropped him back in the pack before he closed with back-to-back birdies at 14 and 15 and an eagle at the last.

“I had it going nicely, turned at 3 under and just a bad golf swing on 13, but rebounded nicely. Made two birdies and a little bonus to finish with an eagle on the last. But made some good swings coming in, so off to a nice start.”

Johnson had a similar sentiment about his round. He managed an eagle at No. 5 to complement three birdies and a bogey, but the greens gave him some problems that he addressed after signing his scorecard.

“It was a really solid round, I thought I played really well,” Johnson said. “Definitely missed some putts, but I felt like I hit good putts, just didn’t have quite enough speed and lipped out a few on the low side. But other than that, yeah, it was really solid. Had a lot of good looks at birdies and only the one bogey, which I shouldn’t have made. But other than that it was a pretty good day.”