SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 7: Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie, seeking his first US triumph, fired a bogey-free six-under par 64 to grab a three-stroke lead after round one of the World Golf Championships.

Montgomerie ended a 19-month drought Sunday when he won the Dunhill Links on the European Tour and showed the same impressive form in grabbing the lead here Thursday in the 7.5 million-dollar showdown of elite global talent.

Montgomerie, who won the European Tour Order of Merit a record seven times in a row, fired five birdies on the front nine and another coming in, taking an obvious lift from his late-season success.

World number one Tiger Woods, fellow American John Daly, Fiji’s Vijay Singh and Spain’s Sergio Garcia were among 11 players sharing second pace on 67.

Woods, who has won this event three of the five times it has been played, taking satisfaction at four birdies against one lone bogey.

Garcia played alongside Montgomerie and was impressed at the simplicity of the Scotsman’s round.

Daly, who putted poorly last week to miss the Greensboro cut, would have been closer but made bogeys on his final two holes, ending with seven birdies and four bogeys.

Also on 67 were Americans Olin Browne, Mark Calcavecchia, Chad Campbell and Fred Funk, Australian Rod Pampling and Britons Ian Poulter and David Howell.

First round scores

64 - Colin Montgomerie;

67 - Tiger Woods, Olin Browne, Mark Calcavecchia, Chad Campbell, John Daly, Fred Funk, Rod Pampling, Sergio Garcia, David Howell, Ian Poulter, Vijay Singh

68 - Jim Furyk, Brandt Jobe, Zach Johnson, Sean O’Hair, David Toms, Adam Scott

69 - Angel Cabrera, Tim Clark, Billy Mayfair, Richard Green, Yasuharu Imano, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Bradley Dredge, Graeme McDowell

70 - K.J. Choi, Stephen Dodd, Luke Donald, Niclas Fasth, Jyoti Randhawa, Henrik Stenson.

Abama Open

Leading first round scores on Thursday;

66 Andres Romero, Johan Skoeld

68 Stuart Little, Titch Moore, David Patrick, Marc Warren

69 Peter Baker, John Bickerton, Gregory Bourdy, Roger Chapman, Ricardo Gonzalez, Simon Hurd, Michael Kirk, Mark Roe, Patrik Sjoeland, Lee Slattery, Jamie Spence 5.—Agencies