Two weeks before he plays the 75th major of his career Jose Maria Olazabal sprang back into life in windy Miami today.

The 41-year-old Spaniard, who missed the cut in last week's Arnold Palmer Invitational, raced to four under par on the opening day of the CA World Championship on Doral's Blue Monster course.

Olazabal, starting on the back nine, had four successive birdies from the 14th and after bogeying the difficult 18th picked up another shot when he hit a 100-yard pitch to four feet on the second.

The double Masters champion, who was joint third at Augusta last April and went on to return to Europe's Ryder Cup side after a gap of seven years, stood joint leader with Australian Robert Allenby.

One behind were Olazabal's cup team-mate Henrik Stenson and South African Ernie Els, while defending champion Tiger Woods topped the leaderboard after two birdies for openers, but with six to play was back to one under.

That was still obviously a distinct improvement by the number one on what happened at Bay Hill last Sunday.

Woods dropped six shots in the last three holes of the Arnold Palmer Invitational for the worst finish of his professional career, but returning to the course on which he has won on his last two visits he was off to a flying start.

Although the American's opening drive on the long 10th found a bunker his 148-yard third finished less than two feet from the flag and then Woods sank a 33-foot putt for another birdie at the next.

Defending the title he won by eight shots at The Grove near Watford last September, he paid the price for missing the fairway on the 18th and after a birdie at the long first dropped another shot on the third.

Dane Thomas Bjorn was going well at two under after 10, while Padraig Harrington and Paul Broadhurst were only one further back after seven holes.

The Dubliner's playing partner Phil Mickelson was all the way down on five over after a double bogey and three bogeys in the opening stretch, but he had company down there in England's John Bickerton and Anthony Wall, who both qualified by finishing in the top 20 of Europe's Order of Merit last season.

Paul Casey, fighting off 'flu symptoms which badly affected him after he had taken the lead at Bay Hill last weekend, was struggling again at four over and Colin Montgomerie was only one better than that after eight holes.

Luke Donald stood level par and both Ian Poulter and David Howell were one over.

One player not enjoying himself was world number four Adam Scott. He dumped three balls in the lake on the 10th for a quintuple bogey 10 and with three to play was four over along with Montgomerie and Casey.

Allenby, partnering Woods, went clear at five under, but then found two bunkers on the sixth, bogeyed and fell back alongside Olazabal and Stenson, who played a superb pitch to six feet on the seventh.  PA