David Duval leads Dunlop Phoenix

Defending champion Tiger Woods shot a 5-under 65 Thursday, trailing leader David Duval by one stroke after the first round of the Dunlop Phoenix.

Woods birdied his first hole, the par-4 10th, and then added five more birdies against a lone bogey at the par-70 Phoenix Country Club.

"I'm very pleased," said Woods. "I hit the ball well today and it's exciting to strike the ball that well and consistently. I hit the ball better today than I did for the past two weeks."

Duval, who also teed off from the 10th hole, put together four birdies in a row starting on the par-3 17th on his way to a 64 that included eight birdies and a bogey.

"I played well," Duval said. "I've been playing well for about a month now but just haven't been scoring well. I'm well aware of how I've played over the past few years but I've worked hard and it's good to start a tournament not behind the 8-ball."

Jim Furyk shot a 67 and was three strokes back along with Japan's Tomohiro Kondo.

Duval, the world's former No. 1 player, has made the cut only once this year at the Texas Open in September. His only major victory was at the British Open in 2001.

It was an impressive start for the 34-year-old Duval, who won here in 2001 but has struggled with injuries since. He led Woods by three strokes before back-to-back bogeys on the fifth and sixth holes.

Duval has won 13 times on the PGA Tour and was ranked No. 1 in 1998.

But hampered by back and shoulder problems, his game began to leave him in 2002, and he has struggled since.

"My golf swing is good," Duval said. "Most of my problems were because of injuries that forced me to swing the club differently than I wanted to. Today was one of those days when I got the most out of the round I could."

Woods is coming off two runner-up finishes at the HSBC Champions in Shanghai last week and the Tour Championship two weeks ago. He is looking to get back on the winning track at the $1.7 million tournament, the richest on the Japanese tour.

Woods said he hopes Duval has turned a corner.

"It's been tough to watch," Woods said. "David is a friend of mine, we played in two World Cups together and he has really struggled. But it looks like he's showing signs of getting his game back together."

At last year's tournament in Miyazaki, Woods won his first stroke-play tournament in more than a year after closing with a 3-under 67 on the final day. It was only his second title of the year.

After Japan, Woods will return to the United States to close out the year with appearances at the PGA Grand Slam in Hawaii, the Skins Game and the Target World Challenge in California.

November 17, 2005

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