Tacoma’s Michael Putnam shared the lead with five other players with a 6-under-par 65 after the first round of the Web.com Tour Championship in McKinney, Texas.
Tag Ridings, Justin Bolli, Cliff Kresge, Brad Fritsch and Justin Hicks joined Putnam atop the leaderboard.
Luke Guthrie and Philip Pettitt Jr. were one stroke back.
The top 60 on the money list qualified for the season-ending event, and the final top 25 will earn 2013 PGA Tour cards.
Putnam, 30th on the money list, opened with a bogey but made the turn at 3 under after an eagle-3 at No. 9. He finished his round with back-to-back birdies at 17 and 18.
It was perfect for scoring early in the day when the warm winds came from the south. At midday a front blew in, dropping the temperature by 15 degrees and turning the wind 180 degrees.
“We hit it perfect,” said Putnam of the wind’s shift. “We were on the 16th fairway when it hit and we played the last three holes downwind. On 18 (par-5), I hit 9-iron. In the practice round, with the wind from the south, I couldn’t get there in two. I tried to hit 3-wood and still couldn’t make it.”
TIGER TRAILS BY 3
Tiger Woods birdied five holes on the back nine for a 5-under 66 in his first trip to Malaysia since winning the 1999 World Cup and was three strokes behind leader Troy Matteson after the first round of the CIMB Classic in Kuala Lumpur.
Matteson made eight birdies in a bogey-free 8-under 63 for a one-stroke lead over fellow Americans Jeff Overton, Brian Harman and Robert Garrigus.
PARK LEADS TSENG
Inbee Park of South Korea, leading the race for LPGA Tour player of the year, shot a 7-under 65 to take a two-stroke lead over local favorite and top-ranked Yani Tseng after the first round of the Taiwan Championship in Yang Mei.
Park had seven birdies, and defending champion Tseng had six birdies offset by a bogey on the 10th hole.
WELSHMAN SETS MARK
Jamie Donaldson of Wales needed just 24 putts to set a course record 10-under 62 en route to a four-stroke lead after the opening round of the BMW Masters in Shanghai.
JOIN THE DISCUSSION | Register here
We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service. If you have any questions, including why your comment may not be showing immediately after you submit it, be sure to visit the commenting FAQ.