Fred Couples and Mark O'Meara both shot opening rounds of six-under 66 to share the lead at the $4.1 million Williams World Challenge yesterday.
Tournament host Tiger Woods lurking just two shots back. Joining Woods at four-under-par 68 are Vijay Singh and Scott Verplank; Dubliner Padraig Harrington is a shot back on three-under with fellow Irishman Darren Clarke, level after the first round.
O'Meara and Couples, a pair of former Masters champions, have both slipped in recent years and did not gain entry into the Sherwood Country Club field based on their world ranking.
Yesterday, however, O'Meara showed signs of his top form as he took his score to seven-under until a bogey at 17 dropped him into a tie for the lead.
The 100th-ranked Couples, who also has not won since 1998, fired a 31 on the homeward half and finished his 66 by sinking a 30-foot par putt at the 18th.
Woods, who has shaved off his latest attempt at growing a goatee, birdied six of his first 12 holes, but struggled by pulling his tee shots and approaches.
"I feel like I putted pretty well - my short game was halfway decent," said Woods. "I didn't shoot myself out of the tournament".