Mahan likes view from three-way tie

It has reached the point where everyone expects to see his name atop the leaderboard, and he got there Thursday at the Bridgestone Invitational with five birdies in a seven-hole stretch on a course that felt like a major.

Indeed, Hunter Mahan is on a roll.

Coming off four consecutive top 10s that included his first PGA Tour victory, Mahan overcame a sloppy double bogey with a torrid stretch of birdies for a three-under-par 67, giving him a share of the lead with Paul Casey and Rory Sabbatini at Akron, Ohio.

Tiger Woods didn’t fare too badly, either.

Woods is a five-time winner at Firestone and is going after his third straight title in this World Golf Championship. He opened with a 68 that included another memorable shot, this one a five-wood from 245 yards in the right rough that he squeezed between two trees and just over the back of the green for a simple birdie on the par-five second.

“Very satisfied,” said Woods, who has posted a score in the 60s in the first round all 10 times he has played this course.

Only 13 players managed to break par.

Stewart Cink, a winner in 2004 and a playoff loser to Woods last year, failed to make a birdie on his way to a 79. Mike Weir opened with a 77 and Vijay Singh chopped through the rough for a 74.

Phil Mickelson, who has missed the cut in his last two majors, also shot 74.

Steve Flesch had two eagles and five birdies in a nine-under 63 that gave him a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Reno-Tahoe Open at Reno. He made the turn at six-under 30 en route to finishing one stroke off the course record and one in front of Jose Conceres.

Tadd Fujikawa, a 16-year-old high school junior from Honolulu making his pro debut, double-bogeyed his first and 10th holes while struggling to a six-over 78.