Five share lead in PGA tour opener

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KAPALUA, Hawaii (Reuters) -- South Korea's K.J. Choi struck the first shot of the 2007 PGA Tour on Thursday before surging into a five-way tie for the lead at the Mercedes-Benz Championship.

Choi fired a four-under-par 69 at a windy Kapalua Resort to set the first round pace with Fiji's Vijay Singh, Canadian Stephen Ames and Americans Brett Wetterich and Will MacKenzie.

Producing superb approach play in the gusty conditions, Choi picked up four shots in five holes from the fifth before finishing in style with his sixth birdie of the day on 18.

"As far as my swing and my putting are concerned, everything is feeling good," the 36-year-old, speaking through an interpreter, told reporters.

"I live in Texas where there's a lot of wind so windy conditions don't really bother me. I think it's all about how the body adjusts when you're playing in these conditions.

"This is a very important day for the FedExCup in 2007 and I'm glad I finished the first round real well."

The Mercedes-Benz Championship launches the inaugural FedExCup, a season-long points competition culminating in a four-event playoff series with $10 million to be won by the overall champion.

Choi, who holds the Plantation Course record with a 62 in the third round of the 2003 tournament, said he did not experience any added pressure striking the first drive of the season.

"I hit it just like a regular tee shot with a mind-set that I've got to hit the fairway," added the Korean, who teed off in the first pairing with Australia's Adam Scott.

"It was just like any other first tee shot in any other tournament."

Vintage campaign

Former world number one Singh, runner-up here twice in the last three years, matched Choi with a haul of six birdies and two bogeys.

Having triumphed only once in his last 35 PGA Tour appearances, the Fijian believes his game is now ready for a vintage campaign.

"I came prepared here," said Singh, after rattling up six birdies and two bogeys.

"I don't like coming into a golf tournament trying to find my game. I had a good practice and felt good about my game."

Singh, who ended Tiger Woods' five-year reign as world number one in September 2004 before finishing that season with a remarkable haul of nine victories, has slipped to seventh in the rankings.

Although he clinched his 29th PGA Tour title at last year's Barclays Classic, he was not at his best for much of 2006.

He pinpointed flaws in his golf swing towards the end of the year and worked hard to rectify them.

"The results started to improve," the workaholic Singh said. "I was always positive in the off-season and getting ready for this season.

"If you finish the season and then you try to figure out what happened, then you've got a problem. I knew what was going on, and it was important for me to fix it."

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