Four share lead, Wie shoots 75

Brett Quigley, Stewart Cink, Tom Byrum and Hank Kuehne fired four-under-par 66s to share the first-round lead at the Sony Open while champion Ernie Els and teenager Michelle Wie were buffeted by Thursday's gusty winds.

South African Els, trying to become the first player to record three wins in a row in this tournament, made a stuttering start with a one-over 71 at the Waialae Country Club in Honolulu.

Hawaiian schoolgirl Wie, 15, struggled in the difficult conditions, carding a five-over 75 to finish tied for 119th place.

World number one Vijay Singh, who led through three rounds at last week's Mercedes Championships before a last-day collapse, had a bogey at the first but an eagle at the ninth helped him return a one-under 69.

"An under-par score will be good for today," said Singh, who dominated last season by winning nine events and more than $10 million in prize money.

"The whole course was tough today with these winds. It's very hard to keep the ball in play. The winds are causing havoc out there."

Cink and Byrum, however, had little trouble as they registered bogey-free rounds.

By contrast, Quigley rode a rollercoaster to the top of the leaderboard, carding six birdies and two bogeys.

"I need to learn to be more comfortable in the lead and the only way to do that is to get there more often," said Cink. "I have to be more accustomed to being in that position."

Jonathan Kaye, who was second at the Mercedes event, U.S. Ryder Cup captain Tom Lehman and Britain's Justin Rose were among a pack of nine players on three-under 67.

Despite the presence of Singh and Els at the first full-field event of the season, it was Wie who attracted huge galleries as she attempts to become the first female to make the cut at a PGA Tour event since Babe Zaharias in 1945.

The teenage prodigy grabbed the golfing spotlight here last year when, aged 14, she shot a second-round 68, the lowest score by a female competing against men. But she still missed the cut by one stroke.

Wie now has to come up with something special to make the cut and realise her dream of a top-20 finish.

She stumbled through her first nine with a double bogey, two bogeys and only one birdie. Wie also began her inward half with back-to-back dropped shots.

"A couple of holes weren't very much fun," said Wie in a television interview. "A couple of holes were super hard.

"I hit some really good shots but they just didn't turn out right. I tried to hit low under the wind but sometimes it's tough."

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