For one day at least Tiger Woods was not the man as Justin Leonard took the lead after the first round at the $3.5 million Mercedes Championship today.
Leonard compiled eight birdies and two bogeys for a six-under-par 67 in typically challenging trade winds at the Kapalua Plantation course on Maui.
He was one stroke ahead of South African Ernie Els while Woods was very much in the picture just three strokes behind, tied for eighth in the elite 33-man field restricted to last year's PGA Tour tournament winners.
Woods, in his first event of the year after a month off, surprised himself with the sharpness of his tee-to-green game, if not his putting.
"I hit the ball better than I expected," he said. "I probably shot the worst score I could have."
But the day belonged to Leonard, who picked up most of his birdies at the easier holes. "The holes I am supposed to score on, I did," he said.
Reuters