KILKENNY, Ireland (AFP) - British Open champion Todd Hamilton proved he deserved to be playing with the big boys when he shot a blistering six-under 66 in the first round of the seven million dollar WGC American Express Championship.
It gave him a slender one shot lead over a host of players including Spain's Sergio Garcia and Migel Angel Jimenez.
Playing in only his third WGC event, the 39-year-old Hamilton played near flawless golf in the ideal conditions.
With the Mount Juliet course softened by overnight rain, and the players allowed to lift and clean, low scoring was going to be the order of the day, and Hamilton duely delivered.
Out of the 68 players in the elite field only 15 failed to score par or better.
Hamilton said the greens had been perfect.
"If you can't putt on these greens you can't putt," he said.
"Also, as the greens were soft, if you drove into the rough you could still get the ball out and onto the greens even if you couldn't always get the ball close," he added.
While Hamilton revelled in the conditions a hurting Tiger Woods fought through the pain to finish only two shots behind his fellow American.
It was a gutsy performance from the 28-year-old who only decided to play after a late fitness test on his injured shoulder on the practice range before he was due to tee off.
It was clear the former world number one was suffering as he continually held his left arm to his chest after each shot. Several times he winced, so sore was the stabbing pain that followed a full shot.
Caddy Steve Williams rubbed cream on Woods' back several times during the round to help ease the contractions.
But pain or not, Woods came out firing, opening up with birdie, birdie. Then he reeled off five pars before closing his outward nine birdie, birdie.
But Woods was unable to keep it going coming home, carding two birdies but also two bogeys to finish four-under.
He had been hoping that the spasms he has been suffering from the past week would ease as his first round continued.
"But they didn't. It didn't happen. There were a couple of times when I had absolutely shooting pains. I hope it will ease up for tomorrow. I don't know," said Woods.
"I knew today that if I could get the ball on the green somehow I could post a score. I have been putting really well," he added.
Woods says he hopes he will be able to play all four days.
"What keeps me going is I guess I'm very stubborn," he smiled. "Hopefully I feel better tomorrow, that each and every day it will feel better. That's the hope at least."
Garcia, who said he had slept a lot since the Ryder Cup two weeks ago in a bid to recover, threatened to match the course record of 10-under he shot here two years ago.
He went out in a sparkling five-under 31 and when he birdied the 10th a bid at the record was on the cards in the near perfect conditions.
But the young Spaniard faltered on the way home, dropping shots to cancel out the two birdies he made and had to settle for a five-under 67 and one back from Hamilton.