Tiger Woods opens with 70, Rory McIlroy, Robert Karlsson share lead in Abu Dhabi

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ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - Rory McIlroy shot a 5-under 67 in the opening round Thursday at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship for a share of the early clubhouse lead, three strokes in front of playing partner Tiger Woods.

McIlroy, the U.S. Open champion who has had three top-five finishes in Abu Dhabi, made three birdies in his first four holes but erratic driving led to two bogeys on the next four. He steadied himself with three birdies on his back nine, including a chip-in on No. 8 from just off the green.

Robert Karlsson of Sweden also had a 67. The pair were a shot ahead of Gareth Maybin of Northern Ireland.

Woods holed two birdies in a bogey-free 70, but struggled on the greens, missing several putts.

Top-ranked Luke Donald (71) was four shots behind, while second-ranked Lee Westwood and fourth-ranked Martin Kaymer were still on the course.

`It's a nice way to start the competitive season, I suppose,'' McIlroy said. ``I didn't feel like I played that good. I definitely didn't strike the ball as good as I have been the last couple of weeks. I think it's just because your first competitive round of the season, card in your hand, you can get a little bit tentative or a little apprehensive.''

McIlroy, who calls Woods a friend and was chatting with his playing partner for much of the day, made little of beating him in the first round.

``If it was the last day of the tournament and you're both going in there with a chance to win, I would take a lot of pride from that obviously,'' said the 22-year-old from Northern Ireland who has talked of idolizing Woods as a teenager and following him during a Dubai tournament when he played as an amateur in 2006 and 2007.

Woods played a solid round of bogey-free golf that produced few momentous shots and two birdies. He missed several birdie chances, including a 6-footer on his ninth, the 18th hole.

``Hit the ball well all day today. It was a good ball-striking round,'' Woods said. ``I had a hard time reading the greens out there. The greens were pretty grainy and I just had a hard time getting a feel for it. Toward the end I hit some pretty good putts, but overall I got fooled a lot on my reads.''

Coming off a seven-week layoff, Woods has said he is fitter than he has been in years and brimming with confidence following his victory at the Chevron World Challenge last month. That ended a two-year run without a win. Before last month's win, Woods finished third at the Australian Open, and then delivered the clinching point for the American team in the Presidents Cup.

Phil Mickelson struggles to 77 in opening round at Farmers Insurance Open

SAN DIEGO – There were no meltdowns or implosions that led to Phil Mickelson's opening-round 77 on the South Course at Torrey Pines on Thursday. He never got stuck behind a tree, never hit a drive off a tent and never wrote a hockey stick (7) or a snowman (8) on his card.

Nope, this five-hour walk under cloudless skies was death by paper cuts, filled with loose play, missed opportunities and frustration.

Foreshadowing the day ahead, Mickelson followed a good drive on No. 1 with an approach shot from 151 yards that leaked to the left and landed in a greenside bunker, leaving him short-sided. He played his bunker shot as well as he could, landing it perfectly on the collar of the green, but the ball rolled downhill and didn't stop until it was 10 feet from the hole.

But instead of making the comebacker, as Phil routinely did in the past, he missed the par-saver on the left side.

In less than 10 minutes he'd gone from the center of the fairway with a short-iron in his hand to a bogey. That maddens pros, and unfortunately for Mickelson, things weren't going to get much better.