ORLANDO (Florida), March 14: Americans Fred Couples and J.J. Henry shared the lead with rounds of five under-par 65 after the first round at the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Thursday.

World No 1 Tiger Woods, chasing his ninth win in 10 tournaments and a four-time winner here, ended his round on level-par 70 after two birdies and two bogeys.

Couples, appointed US captain for the 2009 Presidents Cup last month, produced six birdies but dropped a shot at the difficult par 3 17th.

Henry, who has had a disappointing start to the year, fired a bogey-free round as he looked for his second career win on the PGA Tour.

Britain’s Lee Westwood, Fijian Vijay Singh and Americans Lucas Glover and Tom Lehman were a shot behind the leaders.

Westwood birdied the first three holes before bogeying the next two, ending up with seven birdies and three bogeys.

Woods said he was frustrated by his performance.—Agencies