McIlroy starts well; Pettersson sets pace

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Rory McIlroy kicked off golf's final major of the year with a superb five under par 67 to be only one off the lead at Kiawah Island.

In last month's Open at Royal Lytham McIlroy's hopes of a second major title nosedived after he rebounded off a teenager's head out of bounds late on the first day.
On this occasion he hit a woman on the hip after badly pulling his tee shot to the dangerous short 17th - his eighth - but it came back into a nice lie in the sand only 25 feet from the flag.
From there the 23-year-old Northern Irishman, already three under for the day, splashed out to six feet, saved his par and brought a cheer from the gallery by running back to give the fan the ball.
"It's becoming a habit hitting people at majors, so I will try not to do that again," he said after picking up more shots on the second and sixth.
"I think that's my first bogey-free round in a while and it was a great way to start.
"I'm pretty comfortable on the course and only played nine holes on Monday and nine on Tuesday - I didn't feel I needed to play more.
"I'm expecting this to be the best day of the week (weather-wise), but it's hot and you just try to stay hydrated."
McIlroy's round put him on the heels of Carl Pettersson, the Swede who became an American citizen earlier this year, but is not eligible for either side in next month's Ryder Cup.
Pettersson, yet another member of the long putter brigade following the major victories by Keegan Bradley, Webb Simpson and Ernie Els in the past year, was also bogey-free as the thunderstorms of earlier in the week gave way to near perfect conditions - apart from the energy-sapping heat, that is.
He is not a member of the European Tour and therefore has not collected points since the race started last August and to play for America he had to become a citizen by the time he was 18.
"I don't think I could fake that one," joked the chubby 34-year-old, who as part of the citizenship process had to answer: "What is the ocean to the east of America?" This week's championship is being played on the shores of the Atlantic.
Dutchman Joost Luiten, who after an eagle and six birdies was clear of the field in his first major in the United States, bogeyed his last four holes - echoes of Adam Scott at The Open last month - and had to settle for a 68.
Tiger Woods was another early starter and kept himself in the hunt with a 69, while Ian Poulter - keen to boost his chances of qualifying automatically for the Ryder Cup as well as landing a first major - returned a 70.
Woods said: "Anything in the 60s is going to be a good start in a major championship. I'm right there.
"The wind kicked up a little bit and it changed things quite a bit and it's actually changed direction too.
"I probably lost a little bit of weight today [Thursday] - water weight - so just have to hydrate and recover.
Two late birdies helped Martin Laird to a one under 71, but Lee Westwood finished poorly and signed for a 75 - another disappointing display following his 81 during the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational last week.
Last year's Open champion Darren Clarke had a 73 that included just about everything from an eagle at the seventh to double bogey seven on the 11th.
Paul Casey, with only one cut made since dislocating his shoulder snowboarding last Christmas, struggled again and handed in a 79.
Padraig Harrington, winner in 2008 and needing something really special to get back into the Ryder Cup reckoning, eagled the second but bogeyed the next.
After eight holes he remained one under and was alongside Luke Donald, Paul Lawrie, Graeme McDowell and Justin Rose, but the European going best of the later starters was Welshman Jamie Donaldson.
Last month's Irish Open champion was four under and joint fourth with six holes remaining.
Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, still in with a chance of making Europe's cup side, joined McIlroy and American Gary Woodland on 67, but things were not going so well for fellow Spaniard Sergio Garcia.
He is in danger of falling out of an automatic qualifying place and, at three over with three to play, incurred a one-stroke penalty when his ball moved a fraction as he addressed it on the 16th fairway.
The hole cost him a bogey six, but he was still doing better than German star Martin Kaymer, currently one place ahead of Garcia on the table. The 2010 winner crashed to a 79.
Despite the wind gathering strength McDowell came home in a fine 33 for a 68, while Alex Noren had a chance to catch his compatriot Pettersson when he birdied the short eighth to reach five under.