Olin Browne actually complained to his wife about having to go back to work before carding a four-under-par 69 to take the lead after the first round of the Mercedes Championship in Hawaii.

Browne collected five birdies and had just one bogey to head the 28-man field in strong winds on Maui's Kapalua Plantation course.

The 46-year-old ended the day one stroke ahead of Vijay Singh, while defending champion Stuart Appleby was tied for third on 71 alongside Spain's Sergio Garcia, David Toms and Carl Pettersson of Sweden.

"I'm thrilled to be here, I came over on December 22 and dragged my family over at Christmas," Browne said after taking the first-round lead.

"The end of the year was kind of hysterical, I played 10 weeks in a row, but I have eased into the whole Hawaiian thing and I'm feeling pretty good right now.

"I was complaining a bit to my wife the other day about having to go back to work, but once you get in the first tee shot, you get back in the flow.

"I had three putts on the first three holes that were not easy. They were all for par and they were all five to eight feet.

"That narrowed my focus in a hurry, I was able to make them and it got me off to a good start."

Singh was not at the top of his game but, like the champion he is, he found a way to post a score better than all but one other player.

"I didn't play bad," he said. "I just missed one or two putts early and that kind of rattled me. I didn't putt as good as I wanted but I hit a lot of good shots. To get away with three-under, I'm really pleased."

Appleby, seeking to join Gene Littler as the second player to win the event formerly known as the Tournament of Champions three years in a row, had a tidy start.

"I would like to have shot lower, but it was pretty trying out there," Appleby said. "The wind was as strong as I've ever seen it. You just weren't going to see a low score."

Garcia, the 2002 champion, also started well, although his hair drew more questions than his game.

He is having a contest with Adam Scott and Tim Clark to go the longest without a haircut.

"It's fun to be able to hold on to something," he said. "Mine is quite curly, I straightened it about two weeks ago."