Darren Clarke's challenge at the Players Championship lasted just six holes today as he withdrew suffering from a recurrence of the hamstring injury he picked up recently.

Clarke had been hoping to put his recent run of poor form behind him at Sawgrass but, having started on the tenth tee,  was only able to reach the 15th before calling it a day.

At one over, Clarke was trailing clubhouse leaders Phil Mickelson and Rory Sabbatini by six shots at the time as the blustery conditions took their toll on the field. Padraig Harrington is currently two over after eight holes of his first round.

Mickelson, boosted by a 65-foot birdie putt on his penultimate hole, fired a five under-par 67 to set the pace with South Africa's Sabbatini.

Chris DiMarco opened with a six-birdie 68, two strokes better than PGA Tour veteran Tom Lehman and Rod Pampling of Australia.

Mickelson, playing his third tournament since switching allegiance to swing coach Butch Harmon, defied winds that gusted up to 65 kph with six birdies and a lone bogey.

"I made some good putts today and the ones that didn't go in were very close," the 36-year-old Californian told reporters after launching his round with consecutive birdies from the 10th. "Getting off to a good start was a big factor for me as it allowed me not to force birdie or press.

"I was able to play for par on some of the tougher holes and take advantage of some of the birdie holes where the pin was more susceptible.

"The greens were very, very fair and it was nice to see that one drop," the three-times major winner added, referring to his final birdie of the day at the par-three eighth.

Tiger Woods matched his highest score at the tournament by opening with a three over-par 75 in the difficult conditions.
 Fresh from victory at last week's Wachovia Championship, the world number one three-putted for bogey three times in his last six holes to finish eight strokes off the early pace.

Woods, whose only success here came in 2001, struggled on the greens in gusting winds at the Tournament Players Club but was happy with the rest of his game.

"I hit the ball pretty good today but had three three-putts and consequently was three over par," the 31-year-old said after finishing eight shots behind Sabbatini and Mickelson.

"The greens are a little bit tricky to read, different grain out there than we're used to, and I had a tougher time than the guys at the top of the leaderboard."

Luke Donald was left fuming after a nightmare finish to the opening round. Donald was within sight of the leaders until he dropped three shots in his final two holes.

"I had a great comeback in the middle there but to finish double bogey, bogey leaves a bitter taste," Donald said after posting a two-over-par 74 which.

Donald's tee shot at the par-three eighth, his 17th hole, finished so far wide of the target that he found a water hazard he barely knew existed.

He continued: "I didn't hit a bad shot — as soon as it got up past the trees the wind took it 40 yards right. I've never seen a ball move that fast for a straight shot."

World number two Jim Furyk, U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy and Vijay Singh, a double winner on the PGA Tour this season, were among the late starters.