Toms, 4 others share lead at Honda Classic

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. - Geoff Ogilvy was 14 holes into his round and feeling pretty good. He'd recovered from an early double bogey, and was at 2 under par while most of the field struggled in blustery winds. And with one swing, things got even better for the Australian. Ogilvy's 8-iron from 169 yards rolled into the cup for golf's rarest feat — a double eagle — and helped him finish Thursday's first round of the Honda Classic in a four-way tie for the lead after a 5-under 67. Sharing the top perch on Mirasol's Sunrise course were Ryuji Imada, Mathias Gronberg and David Toms, who made five straight birdies on his back nine to vault up the leaderboard. But no member of that trio had anything as memorable as Ogilvy's 2 on the par-5 6th hole, his 15th of the round. "It was a good shot. It was the best shot I hit all day, no question about it," Ogilvy said. "But it's lucky that it goes in. It has to be lucky it goes in. Otherwise, we'd hole shots all the time, you know." Already, Ogilvy has won more than $1.5 million, been in the top 20 four times in five previous starts, and prevailed in the Match Play Championship in his last event. He took much of the next week off, skipping the Ford Championship at Doral, and arrived at Mirasol relaxed and confident. "When things are going your way," said Ogilvy, who had the tour's second double eagle of the year, "things are going your way." Most didn't feel that way when Thursday's round was over. Winds from 15 to 25 mph began blowing early and strengthened steadily before weakening by day's end. Some 8-iron shots flew 245 yards, while some 4-iron efforts were limited to 185. John Daly hit a driver on the 396-yard seventh hole. The ball stopped 397 yards from the tee, but the crowd favorite still only managed par there and wound up with a 76. After the final three players finished early Friday, the average first-round score was 74.17 — the highest on tour this year. More wind greeted golfers who arrived Friday for the second round. "There are some good scores today, even with the conditions," Toms said after Thursday's round. "Somebody is always going to play well, no matter who is in the field." Of the leaderboard's top 18 players, 13 finished by lunch, benefitting from slightly calmer conditions in the early going. Brian Gay, who was in the first group and had the only bogey-free round, Billy Mayfair and Jeff Gove were one shot back at 4 under, with Shaun Micheel, 2000 Honda winner Dudley Hart, Scott Hend and John Cook all at 69. Take the strong winds, add humpbacked greens that are tough in placid conditions, and it's no surprise Mirasol left most befuddled. Defending champion Padraig Harrington battled to a 71, and the last three Honda winners before him — Todd Hamilton, Justin Leonard and Matt Kuchar — all shot 78. "You're thinking, 'What the heck's going on?'" said 2001 champ Jesper Parnevik, who shot 71. Cook struck his first tee ball at 6:45 a.m., in calm silence. As he played his approach, the wind started. "At least we got one shot in," he quipped. Even the leaders shook their heads. Imada called it "British Open conditions with a PGA Tour setup." Ogilvy compared it to a U.S. Open challenge, and Gronberg said most holes played two clubs differently than usual. "Another club or two," said Gronberg, who had six birdies and one bogey, "and it's unplayable." The leading foursome is an unlikely group, for sure. Ogilvy's off to a great start this year and Toms has been even better, with three top-10 finishes, more than $1.7 million in earnings and at No. 8, he's the top-ranked player at this event. Meanwhile, Imada labored for five years on the Nationwide Tour before getting his card, and Gronberg owns three top-10 finishes in his entire tour career — with 39 missed cuts in 70 starts. It's the first time either has led after any round of a tour event. "You always want to play good," Gronberg said. "It's a long, long way to go." -AP