Woods Back in Familiar Spot: Lead

Four days after his playoff victory in the PGA Championship, Tiger Woods resumed his relentless dominance Thursday by flirting with the course record and settling for a 64 and one-stroke lead in the NEC Invitational at Akron, Ohio.

“The goal of the week is to win,” Woods said. “When I’m not playing is the time to rest. When I’m playing this week, it’s time to work, and I’m trying to get myself in position to win come Sunday afternoon.”

He certainly can’t argue with the start, even if he wasn’t happy with his score.

Woods, seven under through his first 12 holes, bogeyed two of his last three holes but still managed his lowest first-round score of the year and led Jim Furyk by one stroke in the $5-million event.

Phil Mickelson and Justin Leonard were in a large group at four-under 66 on a Firestone course softened by overnight rain. Ernie Els and Jose Maria Olazabal were among those at 67.

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Peter Jacobsen birdied the last hole for a six-under 66 to forge a tie with Scott McCarron, one stroke ahead of Jean Van de Velde and others in the first round of the Reno-Tahoe Open.

Bob May, the runner-up to Woods last weekend, was among nine players at 69.

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Meg Mallon tied her personal best and set a tournament record with a 10-under 62 in the first round of the LPGA’s Oldsmobile Classic at East Lansing, Mich.

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Hunter Mahan, 18, of McKinney, Texas, and reinstated amateur David Eger, 48, of Ponte Vedra, Fla., each won two matches to advance to the quarterfinals of the 100th U.S. Amateur at Springfield, N.J.

Also advancing: Gary Wolstenholme of England, Jerry Courville of Milford, Conn., and college players Bryce Molder of Georgia Tech, Luke Donald of Northwestern, James Driscoll of Virginia and Jeff Quinney of Arizona State