Vegas winner Byrd soars in PGA opener

KAPALUA, Hawaii -- Jonathan Byrd and Carl Pettersson didn't miss a beat in the PGA Tour opener Thursday, both enjoying the views and surprisingly calm conditions in the Tournament of Champions to share the lead at 7-under-par 66.

That wasn't the case for others.

Kapalua was missing its two-time defending champion when Geoff Ogilvy had to withdraw because of 12 stitches in his right finger, making him the first defending champion in 50 years to miss the winners-only event.

Stuart Appleby was missing his putter. It wasn't in his bag when he showed up Thursday morning, and he sent caddie Scott Sajtinac to a nearby golf shop to get the closest he could find. With the price tag still glued to the shaft, Appleby opened with a 69.

Jim Furyk was missing a playing partner when Ogilvy withdrew, so he brought along Scott Carroll as a marker. The popular head pro at Kapalua got the loudest ovation of anyone on the first tee.

Above all, the Plantation Course was missing its notorious wind, which allowed for a gentle start to the PGA Tour season.

"It's quite an adjustment going out there with no wind," Byrd said.

The tournament was the former Clemson All-American's first since he qualified for the Tournament of Champions by winning in Las Vegas with the best finish of the year, a hole-in-one in a three-man playoff. After making five birdies on the front nine, Byrd holed out another shot. This was only a wedge from 111 yards that caught the grain and rolled sideways about 4 feet and into the cup.

If only the rest of his day could have gone as well.

"From there on, got a little shaky," Byrd said. "I didn't play great for about a three- or four-hole stretch."

Ben Crane was a stroke behind the leaders. He played bogey-free in the calm, overcast conditions with the sun trying to break through the clouds but never quite succeeding.

Furyk, one of three players to have won at Kapalua still in the field, also got off to a quick start before he stalled and had to settle for a 5-under 68, leaving him tied with Bill Haas and Charley Hoffman.

Joining Appleby in the group at 69 was Anthony Kim, determined to plot his way through each round at each tournament and doing a good job of it except for the par-3 eighth. He chose a 4-iron and then changed his shot at the top of his swing and pulled it into the high weeds to take a double bogey.

"All of a sudden, I decided to try to make birdie -- from 215 yards away," Kim said. "Mental error. I committed to every shot I hit today except for that one."

Bubba Watson hit the longest tee shot on the 18th in a long-drive competition Wednesday, and his driver again was the key club on the finishing hole Thursday -- only this one was a driver off the fairway, setting up a 10-foot eagle putt for a 70.

The conditions were so serene that a dozen players shot in the 60s, and only two players failed to break par. One of them was Rocco Mediate, who made the turn in 41 and shot 79. The other was Justin Rose at 75.

Ernie Els, who set the tournament record in 2003 with a 31-under 261, opened with back-to-back bogeys and rallied to get back into contention until a three-putt bogey on the final hole for a 1-under 72.