hitting American JB Holmes set the early pace at the Players Championship Thursday as late starter Tiger Woods parred his first five holes. Holmes took advantage of surprisingly calm conditions to fire a flawless, six-under-par 66 in the opening round of the tournament widely considered the “fifth major” by the players. Britain's Luke Donald rolled in a six-foot birdie putt at the last for a 67 to share second place with Americans Jason Bohn, Ben Crane and Heath Slocum. Masters champion Phil Mickelson, who could replace Woods as world No. 1 for the first time if he wins this week, opened with a 70 at the TPC Sawgrass. With hardly a breath of wind on a hot and humid day, Holmes reached the turn in three-under 33 before picking up further shots at the 14th, 16th and treacherous par-three 17th. American left-hander Mickelson was reasonably satisfied after scrambling his way to a 70. “Shooting 70 today isn't the round that you want,” the world No. 2 said after recording four birdies and two bogeys. “There wasn't much wind, the greens were receptive, and there were a lot of low scores. “The reason I think this was a good day for me is I just didn't have it ... and yet I was able to shoot a couple under par. If I can come out tomorrow, get hot and shoot something in the mid-60s, I can get back in the tournament.” Woods, who missed the cut at last week's Quail Hollow Championship after a surprisingly inept performance, made a reasonably solid start after being warmly applauded on the first tee. He parred the opening hole after hitting a superb second shot from pine straw well left of the fairway and narrowly missed a birdie opportunity at the par-five second where his attempt from five feet horseshoed out. Woods, champion here in 2001, struck a good tee shot to 15 feet at the par-three third but again missed the birdie putt and did well to save par at the fourth after his approach ended up in a greenside bunker. Lawrie, Storm among leaders In Turin, Paul Lawrie overcame the worst of Thursday's rainy weather to shoot a 5-under 67 and take a share of the lead in the first round of the Italian Open. The start of the tournament was delayed by two hours to repair damage to the waterlogged course, and Lawrie was among the late finishers before play was halted with 30 golfers still to complete their rounds. The Scot was tied atop the leaderboard with Marcus Fraser or Australia and English duo Graeme Storm and Robert Rock - who all played in calmer morning conditions. Lawrie began his round late in the afternoon just as heavy rain set in for about an hour. Teeing off in his first event as a pro with Colin Montgomerie as a partner, 17-year-old Matteo Manassero could have been forgiven an attack of nerves. But Manassero, who last month became the youngest player to make a cut at the US Masters, shot a solid two-under-par 70 to finish just three shots off the pace.
