Tight start at East Lake

Vijay Singh went 15 holes without a birdie. He missed half his fairways and a half-dozen putts inside 12 feet. And when he walked off the 18th green Thursday at the Tour Championship in Atlanta, he was right where everyone expected him to be.

Singh scratched out a 1-under-par 69, leaving him two shots out of the lead as he tries to become the first player in 54 years to win at least 10 times on the PGA Tour.

“I’m right there, and there’s three days to go,” Singh said.

Not everyone wants to see the 41-year-old Fijian to get his 10th victory of the year.

Darren Clarke, Jerry Kelly and 50-year-old Jay Haas would be thrilled to win their first. They took a step in that direction on a soggy, blustery day at East Lake, each posting a 3-under 67 to share the lead.

Everyone was curious to see how marriage would affect Tiger Woods. The answer? Not a bit. He still can’t hit a fairway, struggling off the tee and with his distance control out of the rough for a 72.

But this was not a day to attack East Lake.

The 67 was the highest score to lead the Tour Championship in the four years it has been held at the course where Bobby Jones learned to play. Only 13 among the top 31 on the money list managed to break par.

And no one was surprised.

Heavy rain Thursday morning turned fairways into small rivers, but a new drainage system at East Lake allowed the season-ending tournament to start on time. It dried up so well that tour officials decided to play the ball as it lies, leaving players to face several shots with mud splattered on their golf balls.

Then came the wind, whistling through the trees and making the closing holes play even tougher. Perhaps it was no coincidence that the trio in the lead had the earlier starting times.

David Toms and Zach Johnson are each at 68, while the group at 69 included John Daly, Mike Weir and Padraig Harrington.

A victory by Harrington would make him a PGA Tour member and send Tag Ridings – No. 125 on the money list – back to Q-school. It also would knock Jesper Parnevik (No. 40) out of the Masters.

Meanwhile, Singh gave the gallery what it came to see – the No. 1 player in the world, making the game look easy. He fired his approach into 2 feet on the opening hole for a tap-in birdie.

That didn’t last long. He took bogey on the fourth hole from a fairway bunker, missed good opportunities on the par 5 and would have been happy with an even-par round.

But he rolled in a 25-footer for birdie on the 17th, and suddenly his name was where it has been all year – near the top of the leaderboard.

“It was a day where you just have to manage yourself, get around, not get too far from the lead,” Singh said.

Summers leads at Vietnam Masters

Anthony Summers of Australia shot a 6-under 66 to lead the inaugural Vietnam Masters after the first round in Hanoi, Vietnam, with 1995 U.S. Open champion Corey Pavin five strokes behind.

Scott Barr is one shot behind in second place, followed by Jason Dawes and Thaworn Wiratchant, who both shot 68.

Pavin’s 71 included 17 pars and a birdie on the fifth hole.