Camilo Villegas had a bogey-free 67 and got within five shots of the lead, while Ernie Els didn't take full advantage of the pristine conditions, posting only a 69 that left him seven behind.

For all his birdies — and eagle — Goosen might not be in the lead without a few pars.

He topped his 3-wood so badly off the 10th tee when he began his round that he couldn't clear the creek and had a 7-iron for his third shot. Goosen saved par with a 25-foot putt, then missed his target on the par-3 11th by some 40 yards, hitting a beautiful pitch-and-run to 4 feet to escape with par again.

"A bit of a weird start," he said.

As always, he kept a quiet sense of humor about it.

Asked the last time he hit a tee shot that went only 180 yards, Goosen said, "When I hit a 6-iron off the tee."

He hit his 3-wood again on his next full tee shot, the par-4 12th, and hit this one clean. Turning to Geoff Ogilvy and Oliver Wilson, he explained why he that one so well.

"That was a better lie I had on the tee," he said.

Among the late starters were Rory McIlroy, the 20-year-old from Northern Ireland who opened with a 68; and Lee Westwood, who said it was "stupid" to play on Thursday with such a severe chest infection. He must have recovered nicely, because he opened with three straight birdies.