PGA Tour:Tiger Woods carded his best score of the year to tie for the clubhouse lead in the opening round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, Florida, yesterday.

Woods, a four-time winner of the event, compiled seven birdies in a six-under-par 64, a score matched by Vaughn Taylor and England's Paul Casey at Bay Hill.

They headed Sergio Garcia and Carl Pettersson by two strokes with half the field back in the clubhouse.

Woods was at the top of his game, missing only one green in regulation, at the par-four 18th, his ninth hole, where he had little choice but to take a penalty stroke after his second shot ended up in the rocks guarding the green.

Starting at the 10th, Woods birdied four of his first six holes in an outward half of 32 and covered the second nine also in 32 with birdies at the third, seventh and ninth.

He rated it his best ball-striking round of the year, not that he has played much, this being just his fourth tournament.

"It's definitely the best round of the year," he said.

"I hit the ball well, controlled my flight all day, even when the wind started picking up, and missed a couple of putts early, but after that I rolled the ball really well.

"I may have left one or two shots out there, but 64 around here is not too bad."

Casey's 64 saw him shoot halves of 31 and 33 in a flawless round.

A triple bogey eight at the par-five sixth hole didn't help Darren Clarke's cause in a first round of 73.

Out in 39, Clarke improved on the back nine with birdies at the 10th, 15th and 16th, with just two dropped shots at the 11th and 13th.

IRISH REGION:The cream of the crop of Irish professional golfers will play Warrenpoint in a £20,000 two-day pro-am on June 15th and 16th, reviving memories of days gone by.

It's 20 years since the last pros competed at the club on the shores of Strangford Lough and over 40 years since a pro-am, as we know it today, was staged at the "Point".

Three major pro-ams, with players from the European Tour, were held in 1984, '85 and '86, with the first being to celebrate Don Patterson's 25 years at the club. He actually retired that year with Nigel Shaw taking over. Sam Torrance won the first, with Paul Thomas from Wales and Des Smyth being the other winners.

The new event, sponsored by Iveagh Movie Studios Banbridge, will have up to 50 pros from the Irish Region with the likes of Simon Thornton heading the list.

The competition is in aid of the Southern Area Hospice Services that have the enormous task of raising £1.8 million annually to keep their good work going.

SA WOMEN'S TOUR:Spain's Tania Elosegui is within sight of her first victory on the Ladies African Tour as she takes a one-stroke lead into today's final round of the Telkom Women's Classic at the Benoni Lakes Golf Club.

Elosegui signed for a round of 65 to climb to 12-under-par 132 in yesterday's second round, which was interrupted by lightning delays.

First round leader Stacy Bregman is her nearest challenger on 11-under-par following a 68.

Ireland's Claire Coughlan is on 152 after a second round of 74.