World Golf Championship: Australian Adam Scott got his challenge for the Bridgestone Invitational World Golf Championships off to a flying start when an excellent seven-under-par 63 gave him the early clubhouse lead at the Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio.
Ironically, the 26-year-old started in the worst possible fashion, with a bogey five at the 10th, his opening hole, but that was one of the few mistakes the Australian had to endure on an excellent opening day.
Birdies at the 16th and 18th saw him to the turn in red figures and when he birdied the first three holes of the front nine, he elevated his name to the top of the giant leaderboards dotted all around the South Course.
A bogey five at the fourth stopped his momentum but it proved to be only a momentary blip as the winner of five titles on The European Tour quickly resumed his assault on the Firestone course.
He birdied the fifth before a superb approach shot to the sixth left him a four-foot putt for his seventh birdie of the day. The par three seventh hole was negotiated in regulation fashion before another birdie putt dropped into the cup on the eighth green, this time from 15 feet.
Just to prove he was not finished, Scott also produced a birdie three at the last, another superb approach shot finishing a mere two feet from the pin which left him the simplest of birdie tasks to give him a back nine of 29 and set the rest of the field an impressive target.
"It was disappointing to start the way I did, but after that I started hitting my wedges and my approaches really well which kind of left me no-brainers for birdies," he said.
Scott finished two clear of American Jason Gore (65), who unlike Paul McGinley (77) was inspired by partnering Tiger Woods (67).
Luke Donald, who finished on three under, had four birdies in the first seven holes and led on his own at that point, but he bogeyed the 18th, his ninth, after pulling his drive and came home in level par for a 67.
McGinley, ninth in the Ryder Cup standings after missing last week's event to attend the funeral of Darren Clarke's wife Heather, had bogeys at the first, fourth, 10th, 12th, 13th and 15th while Gore opened birdie-eagle-birdie.
As for defending champion Woods, he had three birdies and a bogey in his first six holes.
The bad news for McGinley was that 10th-placed Jose Maria Olazabal was three under after 17, but the good was that it takes two players to knock him out of the top 10 and no one else in the running was figuring prominently.
Padraig Harrington also struggled, dropping shots at the 12th and 18th on his first nine and another at the eighth on his back nine for a 73.
Lee Westwood, needing a high finish to boost his hopes was next-to-last at nine-over-par and Ian Poulter's one-over 71 put him in a tie for 40th spot.
Selected Tee times.
SECOND ROUND
(USA unless stated, times Irish, Irish players in bold)
Starting at hole one
1630 B Curtis, K Stadler, C Pettersson (Swe)
1640 P Harrington (Irl), C DiMarco, M Weir (Can)
1650 R Karlsson (Swe), S Garcia (Spa), K Perry
1700 P Lonard (Aus), D Howell (Eng), S Verplank
1720 M Hensby (Aus), S Ames (Can), P Mickelson
1730 C Campbell, R Allenby (Aus), F Couples
1740 A Scott (Aus), B Wetterich, V Singh (Fij)
1820 Z Johnson, L Donald (Eng), M Campbell (Nzl)
1830 G Ogilvy (Aus), P Casey (Eng), J Leonard
Starting at hole 10
1650 J Maggert, C Schwartzel (Rsa), S Cink
1720 T Woods, P McGinley (Irl), J Gore
1730 JM Olazabal (Spa), R Pampling (Aus), B Faxon
1750 C Pavin, JB Holmes, H Stenson (Swe)
1810 T Herron, J Edfors (Swe), J Furyk
1820 A Baddeley (Aus), R Sabbatini (Rsa), J J Henry
1830 N O'Hern (Aus), D Toms, R Goosen (Rsa)
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