Nick Watney takes opening honours with 64

Newly-crowned British Open champion Tiger Woods recorded a one-under-par 71 to finish seven strokes behind surprise first-round leader Nick Watney at the Buick Open in Grand Blanc, Michigan on Thursday.

Watney, who has failed to make the cut in his last seven PGA Tour events, birdied his closing three holes at the Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club to shoot an eight-under 64.

Fellow American Jason Bohn and Fiji's Vijay Singh, the world number two and defending champion, were in joint second place on 65.

"Probably the best round I've played," Watney told reporters. "I drove it pretty well and putted very well.

"I birdied the last three so I don't think I was leading until that happened.

"There wasn't one point where I decided I was having a great day, I just kind of added it all up and it turned out to be 64.

"I'm in a position right now that I think about trying to stay at the top and not just make the cut."

Singh, like Woods playing for the first time since the British Open earlier this month, held a share of the lead until he bogeyed the final hole.

Lurking on six-under 66 was a pack of six players led by 2003 U.S. Open champion Jim Furyk, who had an error-free start to the $4.6 million event.

Joining him were Neal Lancaster, Olin Browne, Mark Brooks, Craig Barlow and Australia's Geoff Ogilvy.

Woods, in his only warm-up event ahead of next month's U.S. PGA Championship, made an ultra steady start with eight consecutive pars. He then had two birdies and a bogey in his closing 10 holes.

It was a frustrating day for the world number one, who found the water on the par-five 13th and saw a photographer tread on his ball on the par-five seventh.

"I drove it great today and then either hit my irons terrible or left myself long putts, or I just didn't make a couple of putts or I dunked the ball in the water," said Woods, the Buick winner in 2002.

"Some weird things out there. It's been a while where I didn't get anything out of my round, not one shot.

"It's frustrating because I felt like I drove it great today."

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