Tiger Woods fired a fourunder par 66 at the Sahalee Country Club, Washington state, to grab the early lead in the 80th US PGA Championship. Woods, his brilliant aura fading slightly some 15 months after his stunning 1997 Masters victory, achieved his aim of keeping himself in contention early.

He opened his round with an inauspicious bogey, one of three, but bounced back immediately at the second with the first of seven birdies.

"From there I felt at ease with myself," Woods said of his birdie on two. He wasn't comfortable enough with his swing, though, to take his driver out of the bag once amid the towering trees that frame the 6,906yard Sahalee course. "I was going to hit it on seven, but I wasn't swinging well enough," he said.

As play came towards a close last night seven players, including Paul Azinger and Craig Stadler had shot 68s, two off Woods' score, but nobody had matches him.

Mark O'Meara did not get off to a good start in his quest for his third major championship of the year, but he steadied himself to shoot a oneunder-par 69. "It's nice to shoot in the red (under par) in any major championship," said O'Meara, who won the Masters in April and the British Open last month, giving himself a chance to match Ben Hogan's 45year-old record of three major titles in one season.

"Today I started off with a couple of bogeys on the first three holes but I tried to remain patient and started to hit better shots," said O'Meara, who did not make another bogey after the third hole.

"I really played well from the sixth hole and I was pleased with the way I played the back side," added the 41-year-old O'Meara, who has 14 tour victories on his resume, in addition to this year's two majors.

The quite, unassuming O'Meara birdied the eighth, 11th and 14th holes and just missed on a couple of other birdie chances.

"I hit some pretty good putts that could have gone in and didn't, he said. But I didn't let that bother me and I just looked to give myself another opportunity. I gave myself a lot of opportunities today."

On a course that demands accuracy over length, O'Meara, who is known for just that, hit every fairway and green coming home, except he left his approach at the difficult last hole just on the fringe.

"When you're playing this type of golf course, accuracy off the tee and solid iron shots into the green are what it takes to play well," O'Meara said. "Fortunately, that's what I was doing on the back side."

Overall, O'Meara hit 11 of 14 fairways and 15 of the 18 greens in regulation.

"I kept myself in the ball game," he admitted.

O'Meara, whose pudgy appearance and quiet demeanour belie his fierce competitiveness, said he was looking forward to the challenge of joining the legendary Hogan as the only players to win three of golf's four majors in one year. Hogan won the 1953 Masters and the US and British Opens, but did not play in the USPGA Championship.

"I think it's exciting," O'Meara said of his quest. "I have nothing to lose. But there's quite a bit of golf left for me and the other players on the leaderboard."

Australian Peter Lonard had moved to three under through 16, but fell off the leaderboard with a triple-bogey six at the 215-yard 17th. He was in the water with his tee shot, long with his third shot, putted pat the hole and missed coming back. Lonard then took double-bogey at 18 to finish at two-over 72.

He played in a group with 28-year-old Scot Andrew Coltart, the 1997 Australian PGA champion who carded a 70.

Coltart, playing his first US PGA Championship, said his main goal was to finish in the top 15 and earn a berth at the Masters.

David Jones of City of Derry was beaten in the quarter-final of the British boys' Championship at Ladybank in Fife yesterday by England's Oliver Wilson.