Baird’s 63 Leads Furyk by Three

Four days after finishing 11 strokes behind Jim Furyk in the U.S. Open, Tiger Woods was looking up at him again after the first round of the Buick Classic at Harrison, N.Y.

Woods shot a four-under 67 Thursday, leaving him a stroke behind Furyk -- and four behind leader Briny Baird -- after a surprisingly rain-free day on the soggy Westchester Country Club course.

“It could have been a lot better,” said Woods, who was five under after 10 holes. “I really had some chances to increase it, but instead it went the other way.”

Furyk is trying to join Hale Irwin (1990) and Ernie Els (1997) as the only players to follow a U.S. Open victory with a win at Westchester.

“I got three really good nights of sleep after hardly sleeping at all Sunday, so I’m well-rested,” Furyk said. “I haven’t run out of steam yet, and my game physically is in good shape. As long as I keep concentrating well, I’ll be in good shape.”

Baird, the son of Champions Tour player Butch Baird, shot a career-best 63 -- one off the course record -- to take a three-stroke lead over Furyk and Joey Sindelar.

Retief Goosen and Shigeki Maruyama matched Woods with 67s, and Els was another stroke back along with Deane Pappas, J.L. Lewis and Skip Kendall. Sergio Garcia, the 2001 winner, shot a 70, eagling the par-five ninth to cap a wild round that included two double bogeys, three bogeys and six birdies.

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Tina Barrett, whose only tour victory came in her rookie year in 1989, birdied the last three holes to take a one-stroke lead after the opening round of the Rochester LPGA tournament at Rochester, N.Y.

Barrett’s five-under 67 put her one stroke ahead of Anna-Jane Eathorne and two ahead of a group of nine that included defending champion Karrie Webb.

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Eddie Heinen, seeking to become the first person since Frank “Bud” Taylor in 1954-55 to win consecutive titles, moved into the quarterfinals of the California Amateur Championship at Pebble Beach with a 4-and-3 second-round win over Logan Goettsch.

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Stroke-play medalist Virada Nirapathpongporn, defending champion Annie Thurman and 13-year-old Michelle Wie were among the winners of first-round matches in the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship at Palm Coast, Fla.