Nick Watney was alone in third place at three-under. A group of six players were tied at two-under, headed by defending US Open champion Angel Cabrera and Canadian Mike Weir, the winner of the 2003 Masters.

Eleven players in the 31-player field were under par mid-way through the first round.

At third in the world, Jim Furyk is the highest-ranked player in the event, which lacks Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson – the top two players in the world - and he was level par after 13 holes.

In the absence of Woods and Mickelson, most of the attention this week will fall on Furyk, who enjoyed a consistent 2007 campaign with one win and eight top-10 finishes in 23 events.The 2001 winner here, Furyk finished 18th last year.

One player looking for more consistency this year is Vijay Singh, who is ranked 10th in the world and also was at even par. The Fiji native picked up one of his two wins here last year, edging Adam Scott by two shots.

In addition to his win here last year, Singh also finished second in 2004 and 2006 to go along with a fifth-place showing in 2005.

Also expected to challenge this week will be world number five Steve Stricker, a surprising repeat winner of the tour’s Comeback Player of the Year Award. Appearing in this event for the first time since finishing 25th in 2002, Stricker was at level par in the battle for the £500,000 (€668,661) first prize.