Even with $5 million at stake, there was humour to match intent in the opening round of the American Express Championship here yesterday. First round leader, Nick Price, needed reminding of the special talents of Dave McNeilly on the way to a stunning 63, but for playing-partner Padraig Harrington, with a 66, his caddie's notoriously quirky wit has become a daily experience.

In fact the Zimbabwean, the two Irishmen and Price's caddie Ricky Roberts from Yorkshire, produced the story of the round, while delivering a scoring treat not previously witnessed at this illustrious venue. Between them, they carded a total of 18 birdies while their nett 58 better-ball would probably have won the monthly fourball, even in hot, handicap company.

But they did more. The pair totally overshadowed the holder, Tiger Woods, who made a decidedly low-key start to the defence of his title with an opening 71. It ended a remarkable sequence of 11 rounds in the 60s, dating back to the first round of the Canadian Open on September 7th.

In the process, there was an inescapable sense of deja vu for the world's number one as he came to grief at the treacherous 17th where he ran up a potentially disastrous eight in the final round last year. The water fronting the green again claimed his ball on this occasion, but he escaped with a bogey six.

As it happened, if Woods had managed to keep his six-iron approach shot in line with the flag, it would had landed safely on the deepest park of the sloping green. But he over-cut it onto a cross-wind, landing the ball on the shallow, right-hand side from where it rolled into the water. But typically, he responded with a birdie at the last.

"With the right wind on this course, you can shoot four or five under par and make up a lot of ground," he said afterwards. "Because it's playing extremely fast right now, and with the pins hidden around some of those cork trees, they're difficult to get at."

Paul McGinley was pleased with a 70 in this, his second successive World Championship event. "I surprised myself, having hit the ball so poorly in practice," he said after a round which contained three birdies and a lone bogey. In fact he was two-under par from the sixth to the finish.

Price has made something of a thing about shooting 63, going back to 1986 when he broke the course record in the US Masters at Augusta National. McNeilly was caddying for him then and for a further four years on the US Tour.

"It was great to be reminded today of the wonderful times we had together," said Price after a round which contained 11 birdies, all of them from single putts. "Dave always made me laugh and I can see that he and Padraig have a great relationship. Padraig is a strong player who has come out of his shell in the last year or so and some of the credit must go to McNeilly."

He went on: "When a player and a caddie split up, it's not always on good terms. But Dave and I remained the best of friends. He told me he wanted to leave the States and come home to Ireland and that was fine by me. But he became instrumental in recommending Squeeky." This was the late Jeff Medlen, who was Price's caddie when he won the USPGA Championship in 1992, and the British Open and USPGA of 1994.

Price and Harrington's performance was typical of two fine players driving each other towards great deeds. For Price, it involved four birdies in the opening five holes and a run of four more birdies from the long 11th. He also recovered from a bogey at the short 15th, where he was bunkered, to birdie the next from 14 feet and then the last from 22 feet below the hole.

"This is a game of surprises," he said. "You never actually expect anything like this, so it's wonderful when it happens. I don't know if I've ever had 11 birdies in a round before."

The contrast between the two players was fascinating. While Price was rifling glorious iron shots at the pins, Harrington was scrambling wonderfully. And not for the first time, he was saved by his trusty blade, which allowed him to take only 15 putts for the first 13 holes and 24 in all. During that stretch, he had six birdies. Even more fascinating, however, were his remarkable escapes with pars at the seventh, eighth and ninth, where his approach play was wayward. The 403-yard 13th was also a treat to behold. From a position behind an obtrusive cork tree, he cut a five-iron approach around the obstacle, eventually landing it within three feet of the pin.

Unfortunately, he ended with a bogey at the awkward 18th, where his three-wood tee-shot ran through the fairway from where he was forced to lay up. "That slightly tainted it, but I'm not going to let it take away from what is really a nice score," he said.

Harrington clearly enjoyed playing with Price. "It was nice to watch his steady golf play," he said. "Nick is one of the gentlemen of the game, so very easy to play with. And he seemed to enjoy Dave's stories, though I've heard them many times at this stage. It was a really nice day."