With Tiger Woods taking the week off after six straight wins, Paul Azinger began his bid for his first victory in nearly seven years as he grabbed a three-shot lead after the first round of the Sony Open.

A three-time runner-up at this event, Azinger capitalised on a strong front side to finish with a bogey-free seven-under-par 63 at the Waialae Country Club on Thursday.

Jim Furyk, the 1996 champion, Vijay Singh and 1992 winner John Cook were among a group of seven at four-under 66. Bray's Keith Nolan got off to a fine start on his return to the tour with an opening 70, but five dropped shots in his opening eight holes in yesterday's second round left him struggling to make the cut.

Azinger, who turned 40 last week, began on the 10th and birdied three par-fours in a span of four holes, beginning with a five-foot putt on the 13th, followed by a 45-footer on 15 and capped off by an 18-footer on 16.

But Azinger was not finished. He hit a seven-wood to three feet with his second shot on the 551-yard 18th and sank the putt for eagle.

"I played a lot more steady on my front nine," Azinger said. Azinger added two birdies on the back side as he tied the 18-hole record since the course changed to a par-70 last year.

Azinger, who battled cancer in 1994, has 11 career titles but none since claiming his only major title at the 1993 PGA Championship. He finished 73rd on the money list with $562,053 in 1999, but his season ended on a low note after his friend, US Open champion Payne Stewart, was killed in a plane crash.

"I had a pretty tough off-season," Azinger said. "I didn't play for a while and I just wanted to make sure I would come back focused.

"Today starting out I just wanted to make a good score. I just wanted to get focused on getting those distractions out of the way."

Furyk began on the 10th and made a six-foot birdie on his first hole. He added two long birdies on his front nine, draining a 25-footer on 15 before using a five-iron to set up a 50-foot birdie putt on the 189-yard 17th. Furyk closed out his bogey-free round by sinking a 30-footer for birdie on the 510-yard ninth.

"(The course) played slow, but it doesn't matter," Furyk said. "I like the course, regardless. The changes make the course look better and give it more definition."

Furyk, who lost in a play-off here in 1997, is coming off a fourth-place finish last week. He has four career titles, including three at the Las Vegas Invitational, and has amassed just under $4 million over the last two seasons.

Tom Lehman, still searching for his first victory since 1996, carded a 69. Jack Nicklaus' son Gary, competing in his first full season on the PGA Tour, shot a 69, and two-time champion Corey Pavin posted a 70.

Sluman shot a nine-under 271 last year to claim a two-shot win over five others. He went on to his most lucrative season on tour, finishing 17th on the money list with $1,621,491.