Nick Taylor climbed into a two-stroke lead at the halfway mark of the Sony Open in Hawaii after carding an eight-under 62 on Friday.

The Canadian kick-started his second round with an eagle at the 18th hole – his ninth – before getting to 12 under at Waialae Country Club.

Taylor was one under through eight holes in his round before chipping in for the eagle, and he picked up another five shots on the back nine.

A two-time winner on the PGA Tour, Taylor is two shots clear of Stewart Cink (63), Webb Simpson (65), Russell Henley (64), Vaughn Taylor (66) and Chris Kirk (65).

Henley is a former champion of the event, lifting the trophy in 2013, while Kirk was runner-up a year later.

On what is a congested leaderboard, another eight players are just a shot further back.

Joaquin Niemann (69) and Peter Malnati (69), who shared the overnight lead with Jason Kokrak (71), are among them, alongside Charley Hoffman (65), Collin Morikawa (65), Marc Leishman (65), Hideki Matsuyama (65), Billy Horschel (66) and Brendan Steele (66).

Steele was runner-up last year and is again well-placed to contend after posting rounds of 65 and 66.

Horschel, meanwhile, is the only player in the field bogey-free through 36 holes. It is the third time in his PGA Tour career he has been bogey-free through two rounds.

Defending champion Cameron Smith carded a four-under 66 to sit at seven under – in a tie for 19th in a group that includes Kokrak.

Joaquin Niemann is part of a three-way tie for the lead after the opening round of the Sony Open in Hawaii.

The Chilean carded an eight-under 62 at the Waialae Country Club on Thursday to lead alongside Peter Malnati and Jason Kokrak.

Coming off a play-off loss to Harris English at the Tournament of Champions, Niemann's fine start to 2021 continued.

The 22-year-old made seven birdies, a bogey and an eagle, the latter coming with a chip in at the 18th.

Kokrak produced a bogey-free opening round, while Malnati mixed nine birdies with one bogey.

At the 17th, Kokrak almost produced a hole-in-one, only to see his shot lip out as he was forced to settle for a birdie.

Vaughn Taylor, Jim Herman, Aaron Baddeley, Patton Kizzire, Daniel Berger and Kim Si-woo are two shots adrift of the leaders.

The champion in 2018, Kizzire made a 45-foot eagle putt from off the green at the ninth, while Baddeley – runner-up in 2003 – is also in contention.

A group of 13 players are at five under, including last year's runner-up Brendan Steele, 2014 runner-up Chris Kirk and 2012 U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson.

Defending champion Cameron Smith opened with a three-under 67 to be in a tie for 40th.