Séamus Power shot six birdies on Thursday as he opened his account at The American Express in California with a solid five-under 67.
The tournament at La Quinta is being played across three courses - the Jack Nicklaus Tournament course, La Quinta Country Club and the Pete Dye Stadium course.
Power was on the latter course for his opening round. The Waterford man, who finished last week's Sony Open strongly, made his first gain with a birdie on the par-4 second.
Another on the eighth set him up nicely for the back nine, with the next birdie coming on 12.
His sole setback of the day came on 13 with a bogey on the par-3 hole.
But he rallied impressively with three birdies on the trot at 15, 16 and 17 to finish on five under for the day, and five shots off the lead held by the duo of Min-Woo Lee and Pierceson Coody.
Four-time major winner Scottie Scheffler is just one shot behind the leaders on nine under after shooting a bogey-free 63.
Scheffler's round, which played out on the La Quinta Country Club course, was built on a fast start as he birdied five of his first six holes.
