Ben Curtis carded a bogey-free four-under-par 68 to tie Ernie Els for the lead, while Padraig Harrington has kept himself in touch with a one-under-71 after the opening round at The Memorial Tournament in Columbus.
The duo of Curtis and Els are a stroke in front of eight golfers, including Stephen Ames, who was atop the leaderboard until he double-bogeyed the last. Three-time winner and world number one Tiger Woods opened with a 72, one stroke better than Vijay Singh.
Harrington lies three shots off the lead after a 71, he is tied group of 19 players in 20th position.
Curtis was a virtual unknown before he won last year's British Open. And he has done nothing since to indicate that victory was anything more than a fluke.
"I don't pay attention to it too much," said Curtis, who is trying to ignore the critics. "I finished second in a tournament in Japan (in November) but I have not done anything that is spectacular, so until I do, it will be a Cinderella story.
"Hopefully I can move on and try to do better. There are times I put a little too much pressure on myself. There have been ups and downs. I have had some really good putting days and I have had some days where it has been awful.
But after missing several good early birdie chances, he reeled off three straight birdies starting at the eighth hole, before picking up another shot at the easy par-five 15th.
Els, the 2002 British Open champion, made only two pars on the back nine, while Woods endured a shaky start with an opening bogey, but even par was nothing to be ashamed of, considering his late tee time.
Filed by Johnny Proby
