Leaderboard goes retro with Couples

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Many of this week’s players at the Arnold Palmer Invitational have looked on tirelessly for years as Tiger Woods blazed through the golf trails that were supposed to be theirs.

Fred Couples won in an era when anyone with a textbook swing, touch around the greens and an attitude could join the winning conversation.

Here’s to the first round, which sort of felt like the ‘80s and early ‘90s.

While Woods scrambled his way to an even-par 70 with erratic iron play, 48-year-old Couples on Thursday surged to a tie for first at five under with J.J. Henry, who’s 16 years younger.

One year ahead and one stroke behind, 49-year-old Tom Lehman tied for third at four under with defending champion Vijay Singh, Lee Westwood and Lucas Glover.

On a day when Woods started his quest for a fifth consecutive PGA Tour win, it was the seasoned veterans who showed everyone else how to light up a leaderboard. Woods is tied for 34th.

There was nothing more than a light breeze on the Bay Hill course Thursday, but the 4-inch-thick rough was unforgiving as usual and the greens were trickier thanks to recent agronomy problems.

Yet 11 players finished at three under or better, with plenty of others within striking distance.

Couples and Lehman appear ready for any challengers.

After a back injury that wouldn’t leave his body over the years, Couples gave many golf fans reason to believe he had nothing left but his 15 Tour victories. He played three events last year and made one cut, his 23rd consecutive Masters cut of his career. The last time Couples reached the top of a leaderboard after the first round was the 2003 Players Championship.

Resurgence has come in 2008 with the announcement of the 2009 Presidents Cup captaincy, a tie for eighth at the Buick Invitational and now, he’s tackling leaderboards. The back has nagged over the years but has gone from unbearable to controllable after thorough chiropractic work.

Lehman has showed similar ambition, deciding to postpone the Champions Tour in favor of a loftier goal such as this year’s Ryder Cup.

Consistency could determine whether the two players will be endearing early-round stories this week or true contenders this Sunday.

Players such as Singh, who knows the course well, and Woods, who rarely has two consecutive bad rounds, give reason to believe the leaderboard will change.

Woods said he planned to work on his irons Thursday afternoon after he registered 10 of 18 greens in regulation.

After winning four straight at Bay Hill from 2000 to 2003, Woods hasn’t finished inside the top 20 since, one of his worst four-year stretches outside of the Players Championship.

“I missed some greens that I don’t normally miss,” Woods said. “I just couldn’t figure [the irons] out.”