AUGUSTA, Ga. >> The Hawaii connections to this year’s Masters were something akin to six degrees of separation.

By the time the last group went off at 2 p.m., past Sony Open in Hawaii champion Patton Kizzire was tied for first at 3 under for his round through nine holes. Gary Woodland, who finished second to Xander Schauffele at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, was tied for fourth at 2 under through 11.

And if Woodland needed any reminder of how he got caught and passed by Schauffele in Sunday’s final round on Maui three months ago, all he had to do was look over at him from time to time, because they are playing partners for the first two rounds.

Current Sony Open in Hawaii champion Matt Kuchar was among those who went off late, but was 1 under early in his search of his first green jacket. Charles Howell III, who has won more money at the Sony Open than anyone else who has never won the event, was 1 under late in his round and tied with Tony Finau, who’s married to a local girl from Kahuku.

Even three-time Mitsubishi Electric at Hualalai winner Bernhard Langer got in the act. The 61-year-old made the turn at 2 under early on to give all three events in the island chain some representation at this famed event.

As you might expect, things changed quite a bit over the next four hours, as the opening round of the Masters ended on a somewhat hot and humid day on the border of Georgia and South Carolina. It was fun following these different groups, wondering if any of these lads who have had success in the island chain could put themselves in position to hoist the famed trophy on Sunday.

While Maui and Oahu have hosted several past Masters champions, the last time somebody won at Waialae and Augusta National in their career was Zach Johnson in 2009. At the TOC, the last guy to put both of these events on his winning resume was Dustin Johnson in 2018.

As you would expect, Langer was the last to accomplish that feat on the senior circuit with a win at Hualalai in 2017. Since this winners-only event moved to the Big Island in 1997, only three golfers have won both — Langer, Fuzzy Zoeller and Tom Watson.

Langer fell off the pace a bit as the day moved along, but Woodland and Kizzire hung around near the top of the leaderboard with the likes of Jon Rahm, Adam Scott and Tiger Woods in the morning and world No. 2 Dustin Johnson, No. 4 Brooks Koepka and No. 6 Bryson DeChambeau in the late afternoon.

By the time ESPN turned off the cameras to signify the end of the opening round, DeChambeau and three-time major winner Koepka had surged to the top of the leaderboard with blistering 6-under 66s to take a one-shot advantage over Phil Mickelson and a two-shot lead over Johnson and Ian Poulter at 4-under 68s.

As for our “island gentlemen” who hung out with the big boys for a while, Kizzire and Woodland remained in the hunt at 2-under 70, tied for 11th. Finau, Langer and Kuchar are T-21 at 1-under 71, with Johnson the best of the bunch entering today’s second 18.

For local golf fans, seeing all these familiar names and faces who have made their way to the Hawaiian Islands through the years adds a little fun to the proceedings. Of course, it’s just the first round. There are many more swings before someone slips into that green jacket late Sunday evening.