Davis Love III leads at the Honda Classic

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Davis Love III arrives at PGA Tour venues these days immersed in his role of U.S. Ryder Cup captain. With the matches only seven months away, there always seem to be plans to review and potential team members to keep an eye on.

It isn’t until Thursday that he changes gears to focus on playing again. Naturally, some weeks produce a smoother transition than others.

Thursday at the Honda Classic couldn’t have gone much smoother.

Tiger Woods, on the other hand, spent another afternoon spinning his wheels.

Sparked by a hole-in-one barely an hour into his round, Love also carded a birdie-birdie finish to match the PGA National course record with a six-under-par 64. That left Captain America two shots ahead of his nearest pursuers -- and seven clear of the superhero everyone came to see.

“I’m just glad to be off to a good start,” said Love, who hadn’t gone that low since he won the 2008 Children’s Miracle Network Classic with a 64-64 weekend.

Woods, meanwhile, wobbled to a 71 in his first Honda Classic round as a professional. He never got lower than one under for the day, struggling in the afternoon breezes to hit the ball close enough for a reasonable chance at birdie.

“I just didn’t get a lot out of my round,” Woods said. “I felt like I played a lot better and I putted a lot better. I just didn’t score.”

Woods ended the day in a tie for 68th, leaving him balanced on the edge of the cut line. But with a morning tee time for the second round, he’s likely to get the advantage of calmer early conditions that Love and others enjoyed Thursday.

“Hopefully shoot something in the 60s and get myself within touch of the lead,” he said.

Love became the 10th man to post a 64 since the Honda Classic moved to PGA National five years ago, including one by Rory Sabbatini on the way to last year’s title. Rory McIlroy headed up an eclectic chase pack, one of eight men claiming a share of second with 66s.

Harris English, who won a Nationwide Tour event last year as an amateur, also was two shots back, along with Justin Rose, Kevin Stadler, Ryan Palmer, Dicky Pride, Martin Flores and Seung-Yul Noh.

Nine more players were another shot back, including PGA Championship titleholder Keegan Bradley and two-time heart transplant recipient Erik Compton of Miami.

“If you can put your ball on the fairways, you have a lot of chances to score with these very soft greens,” said McIlroy, who can ascend to No.1 in the world rankings with a victory.

Love is more concerned with recapturing the Ryder Cup in Medinah in September but still has a little magic in his bag.

Four consecutive pars began his round before a smooth 5-iron at No. 5 touched down less than five feet from the hole and trickled in. “Yeah, a hole-in-one is a good start,” he deadpanned.

Just as sweet were Love’s 18-foot birdie putt at No. 17 and a deft bunker shot at the par-5 18th to set up a kick-in birdie.

“It’s fun to shoot low scores,” said the captain, who also shot a 30 over his final nine at Pebble Beach.

“Most of my bad (rounds) have been in the first round. I get so excited to play and then come out and don’t play well. Today I just said I’m going to go have fun and relax. I’m not going to put any pressure on myself.”