THOUSAND OAKS, California: Tiger Woods put himself in position to end a forgettable year on a triumphant note by charging one shot clear in the Chevron World Challenge first round Thursday. Seeking his first victory of 2010 after becoming engulfed in a torrid sex scandal at the end of last season, tournament host Woods fired a sparkling seven-under-par 65 at Sherwood Country Club. Although he recorded his only bogey at the par-four last after pushing his tee shot behind a tree, he matched his lowest score of the year to finish one shot ahead of Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell. “To get the lead here, you've got to play the par-fives well and today I played them well,” Woods said. “I played solid all day. I didn't really make any putts. I made just one putt today. It's kind of interesting.” Playing in his own charity event for the first time in three years, world No. 2 Woods birdied four of the first nine holes in bright winter sunshine to reach the turn in four-under 32. He picked up further shots at the 10th, 11th, 13th and 16th to lead by one before his cushion was doubled when US Open champion McDowell bogeyed the tricky 18th. Woods then pushed his tee shot well right at the last, hacked out on to the fairway with his second and struck his third on to the bottom tier of the green before two-putting for a five. McDowell and McIlroy, the Northern Ireland duo who lost only one match at the Ryder Cup, would have been tough to beat in fourballs at Sherwood. They were paired together had would have had a best-ball score of 61. On their own, each settled for a 66. Dustin Johnson faltered on the back nine and shot a 69, along with Stewart Cink, who is trying out a new putter and a new putting grip with an eye toward 2011. Luke Donald and Camilo Villegas each had a 70, and no one else broke par. Yang, Lee share lead Amy Yang and Seon Hwa Lee carded 5-under par 67s Thursday to share the clubhouse lead when darkness halted play in the first round of the LPGA Tour Championship at Orlando. Paraguay's Julieta Granada was two strokes back on 69, with 27 players still to finish after a chilly day at Grand Cypress Golf Club. Neither Yang nor Lee seemed fazed by the unexpectedly cool temperatures, and they were happy to steal the spotlight from compatriots Jiyai Shin and Na Yeon Choi, who are vying to become the first South Korean to claim the LPGA's Player of the Year award. Neither got off to a rousing start, Shin carding a 77 and Choi a 73. Choi was four-under through 12 holes but dropped five shots in her next four holes. Choi and Shin are the only players in the running for the money title. Choi's 1,814,558 dollars in earnings are 34,790 dollars more than Shin's total. Shin and Choi weren't the only players in the group to get off to a relatively slow start. American Cristie Kerr carded a 71, Taiwan's Yani Tseng a 75, and Ai Miyazato of Japan an 80. Spain's Tania Elosegui, British veteran Laura Davies and American Leta Lindley were in the clubhouse on two-under 70, with American Taylor Leon two-under through 15. Yang said caution was the key to her round. The greens on the Jack Nicklaus-designed course were playing firm and fast, adding to the difficulty of mounting a challenge.
