Jordan Spieth is not used to playing poorly in Hawaii. Spieth led after the first round in his first Tournament of Champions appearance in 2014. He finished second that year to winner Zach Johnson. Last year, Spieth won going away by eight strokes over Patrick Reed.

This year, not so much.

Spieth shot a 1-under 72 in the first round at Kapalua on Thursday. He is currently tied for 22nd, seven strokes behind leader Jimmy Walker, who shot an 8-under 65. The winner at the last six Tournament of Champions events has been within two strokes of the lead after Round 1. That currently includes Walker, Jim Herman (6 under), Justin Thomas (6 under) and Ryan Moore (6 under).

Spieth flailed despite striking the ball quite well. It's a place where he feels extremely good about his game.

"I think this course, a lot like Augusta National, a few other ones, with the amount of slope and uneven lies and the amount of imagination you need in approach shots and on and around the greens, it brings out more the feel side of my game," Spieth said. "More kind of the quick-twitch, reactionary-type golf, that I just love playing and I feel like is my DNA, my golf DNA. So that's why I feel like I've had success."

He hit his irons quite well actually (this was a poor category for him in 2016) but was last in the field in shots around the green and nearly last in putting, two places he usually excels.

"The longest putt I made was the one on 18," said Spieth who birdied the last. "Wedge play [needs improvement, too]. Just distance control on my scoring clubs there, when I had anywhere from 120 yards and in. So stuff that normally comes around with enough work."

It will take an outrageous effort, but Spieth is certainly capable of bucking the trend and coming back to win. He shot 23 under in his final three rounds alone last year.

"Try and shoot 7 (under) each day," Spieth said. "It's certainly easier said than done, but we've also done it here before. And the course is gettable enough to do so. Going to need some putts to go and some closer wedge play. But our goal will be to try and shoot 7-under each day coming in to try to get to like 22 and see if it's good enough."

It might not be good enough to catch Walker, who was simply outstanding on Thursday. The Texan led the field in putting and made six birdies and an eagle on the day for his 8-under score. He also used a crazy-looking 42-inch driver that looked like it was sawed off for a junior player.

"I just kind of got to thinking," Walker said of the club, which he explained loses up to 20 yards of distance. "It was just kind of an experiment. I decided to cut one down and threw some tape on it liked it. It looks weird and sometimes it feels a little weird on the golf course, but I've been playing with it for about three weeks at home. I've since had Titleist make me a new one at that length, and I've been enjoying hitting it.

"I actually have a 3-wood that's cut down, too, now. The 5-wood is not yet. But I'm liking it. I didn't really see much. Lost a little bit of speed on the ball off the driver. But spin rates were great. And I just feel like I've got more control. I feel like the golf swing is better at that length for me, and that's where I've always struggled, the longer the club got. So that's the thinking. More fairways is what I'm looking for."

Walker was only 22nd in the field off the tee, but it's clear his confidence has increased.

He also loves Hawaii where he has won the Sony Open twice. His best finish at Kapalua was losing in a playoff to Patrick Reed in 2015. He'll try to do that one better this week.

"I enjoy being here," Walker said. "I love the scenery. I'm a very visual person, so I enjoy looking out and watching the whales when I'm walking around. Just a pretty place. The food's great. Everybody's in a good mood. I love stepping off the plane and the air is just awesome. There's just something -- something does it for me here."