Singh in five-way tie at AT&T

Vijay Singh was among five players tied at the top the leaderboard after the first round of the AT&T National at the Congressional Country Club.

Singh sank five birdies against only one bogey on the 14th as the Fijian carded a four-under-par effort of 66 to sit alongside South Korean K.J. Choi, Australia’s Stuart Appleby and American duo Jim Furyk and Joe Ogilvie at the head of the field.

And the 44-year-old was extremely happy with his day’s endeavours.

“I really played well,” Singh said.

“I didn’t play too badly. I drove the ball very nicely on the back nine and that got me going with some good birdies out there. I struggled a little bit on the back nine but kept it together. I’m very, very happy with what I shot.”

Ogilvie enjoyed a day of contrasting fortunes in picking up eight birdies, including three in a row from the 16th to the 18th, to offset four bogeys.

“Pretty much every time I hit it in the rough I made bogey, which most people are probably going to do this week,” he said.

“Every time I hit it on the fairway, I had a pretty good chance for birdie.

“This tournament is going to be won or lost hitting it in the fairway, so whoever hits the most fairways is going to have a pretty good chance.”

Appleby and a beaming Furyk were more consistent, each recording just a single bogey through their first 18 holes.

“I’m so happy with the way the first day went,” Furyk said.

“And I expect with the weather report the next three days – it’s supposed to be hot and sunny – this place could firm up and get even tougher.”

A group of seven players, including Americans Fred Funk, Rich Beem and Corey Pavin, finished a shot back at three under par and Funk was happy enough with his score after admitting he was far from his best.

“I hung in there with my attitude, even though I really didn’t feel like I was firing on very many cylinders,” the veteran 51-year-old said.

“But the score turned out to be really good and that’s what I’m really proud of.

“The baffling thing is that I’ve been playing so well off the tee for the last month or so, so it was a little upsetting that I was out there struggling so much out there off the tee.”

Tiger Woods, hosting his first PGA Tour event, finished a disappointing three over par and now has a tough task trying to secure his 58th career PGA win.

The world number one, playing in his first tournament since the birth of his daughter on June 18, recorded seven bogeys – including four on his last six holes – in a round of 73.

However, despite an indifferent day, Woods was just happy to be back on the course

“Actually, (playing golf) was the easy part,” he said.

“The other responsibilities (involved in hosting), that’s something that you don’t normally do.

“Once I got back inside the ropes and started playing again, I got back into my comfort level and felt at peace going there and competing.”

And the 31-year-old is still confident he can taste success this week.

“There’s a bunch of guys up there (on the leaderboard) right now,” Woods added.

“And I’ve got three rounds, I can’t get them in one. It’s going to have to be over three and hopefully I can be there in the end.”

World number two Phil Mickelson also struggled, shooting a four-over 74 that included a double-bogey on the sixth hole.

“I was a little rusty,” he said.

“I thought I hit a reasonable number of good shots but I scored terrible. The course wasn’t that hard to keep it around par or under. I really struggled on the greens, I just didn’t make any putts.”