Clarke sets Bay Hill pace

Darren Clarke and Chad Campbell were the early pacesetters at the Bay Hill Invitational.

Clarke and Campbell both scored 66 with the Irishman picking up six birdies on the third, seventh, ninth, 11th, 13th and 15th holes.

He reached the turn in 33 and then completed the back nine with the same number of strokes.

Behind the two leaders, Tiger Woods moved one step closer to making history with a tidy opening round.

Woods, who is seeking to become the first player to win the same PGA Tour event five successive years, took advantage of benign morning conditions to card a 5-under-par 67 on the Bay Hill course.

"Today was a day to post a good number with some of the accessible pins they have," said Woods.

"I hit some really good shots, drove it well and controlled my irons going into the greens."

He pulled his drive into the lake at the par-four third hole for bogey, but that was the only fairway he missed, his other bogey resulting from a three-putt.

"The sport has been played professionally for over 100 years, and it would be one heck of an accomplishment to do something no-one's ever done before," he said.

Joining Woods on 67 were Stuart Appleby and Zack Johnson.

Vijay Singh was among a group at 68 while Ernie Els struggled to a 73.