Davis Love III had a hole-in-one and tied the course record as he took a two-shot lead in Thursday's first round of the Honda Classic while Rory McIlroy made a positive start in his bid to grab the world No. 1 ranking. Former world No. 1 Tiger Woods was tied in 68th place after struggling to a one-over par 71 while his playing partner, world No. 2 Lee Westwood, was even-par. Love took advantage of more benign conditions in the morning with a six-under-par 64, including a hole-in-one on the 195-yard par-three fifth with a five iron. McIlroy, who can only claim the No. 1 ranking from Britain's Luke Donald with a win this week, made a positive start with a four-under-par 66 after mixing five birdies with a bogey on the eighth hole, the only blemish on his scorecard. England's Justin Rose was tied with McIlroy after recovering from a double-bogey on the second with an eagle on the third and three consecutive birdies from the fifth. Six other players were level with McIlroy and Rose including South Korea's Noh Seung-yul and American rookie Harris English. Woods struck 10 of 14 fairways and 15 greens in regulation but still lacked his old precision on the greens, needing 34 putts in his round. Defending champion Rory Sabbatini was five shots off the pace after the South African mixed five birdies with four bogeys en route to a one-under 69.
