Els and Furyk set the pace

GOLF: Ernie Els of South Africa and American Jim Furyk carded nine-under-par 64s to share the first-round lead at the season-opening Mercedes Championships in Hawaii.

Els, the third-ranked player in the world and defending British Open champion, overcame a double-bogey with two eagles and seven birdies on the unusually benign Plantation Course.

Well before Els signed his scorecard, Furyk shot a bogey-free 64 that included an eagle and seven birdies.

With Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson - the world's top-ranked players - skipping the event, Els and Furyk were considered favourites. But they also have history on their side.

Els has never won in Hawaii, but he lost a play-off to Woods here in 2000 and was third the following season.

Furyk won this event in 2001, finished fourth last year and claimed the United Airlines Hawaiian Open in 1996.

Chris Riley, Gene Sauers and Jerry Kelly are a stroke off the lead after carding 65s, while Bob Estes and Shigeki Maruyama of Japan are another shot back.

With conditions favouring the players, only four golfers in the 36-man field failed to break par. One of them was up-and-coming star Charles Howell III, who settled for a 73.

Other top-ranked players include Vijay Singh of Fiji, who had a 68, Retief Goosen of South Africa a 70 and defending champion Sergio Garcia of Spain 71.

The field consists of tournament winners from last season. Woods is missing as he recovers from knee surgery and Mickelson is on a skiing trip.

MERCEDES CHAMPIONSHIP (Kapalua, Hawaii) First round scores (US unless stated) 64 - Ernie Els (Rsa), Jim Furyk 65 - Jerry Kelly, Chris Riley, Gene Sauers 66 - Bob Estes, Shigeki Maruyama (Jpn) 67 - KJ Choi (Kor) 68 - Jonathan Byrd, Luke Donald (Eng), Loren Roberts, Vijay Singh (Fij), Phil Tataurangi (Nzl) 69 - Dan Forsman, Matt Gogel, Ian Leggatt (Can), Craig Perks (Nzl), Nick Price (Zim), Chris Smith 70 - Chris DiMarco, Retief Goosen (Rsa), Matt Kuchar 71 - Bob Burns, Sergio Garcia (Spa), Justin Leonard, Craig Parry (Aus), Kevin Sutherland 72 - JP Hayes, Spike McRoy, Rocco Mediate, John Rollins, Jeff Sluman 73 - Charles Howell III 74 - Rich Beem, Jose Maria Olazabal (Spa) 75 - Len Mattiace.