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Ian Poulter is in a share of the lead with Martin Laird after the first round of the Players Championship in Florida which has now been won by a British golfer since Sandy Lyle in 1987.
US-based Scotsman Laird joined England's Poulter on seven under to end the day one shot ahead of Blake Adams and three shots clear of a large group of players on four under.
It was not such a good day for the world's top players as Rory McIlroy and Luke Donald both ended the day on level par, with Lee Westwood one under and Tiger Woods two over.
"I played lovely. That's probably in the top 10 of the rounds of golf I have ever played," said Poulter who shot a career low round at Sawgrass.
"I do like tough golf courses. I generally play them well; whether it focuses my mind a bit more, I don't know. It is a proper test of golf. I'm excited to see what happens over the weekend."
Laird was also content as he safely navigated his way through the round without a single bogey to put him into contention and beat his previous best by five shots.
"This is a course where you can't chase a score; you've got to stay patient and can't fire at flags. It's so hard to get close to pins so you need to hole putts."
