Woods takes early lead in quest for sixth straight stroke-play title

Tiger Woods returned to stroke play and to the top of the leaderboard, hitting a 3-wood from 267 yards to 20 feet for eagle on the 18th Thursday for an 8-under 63 and a one-shot lead in the American Express Championship in Chandler's Cross, England.

Padraig Harrington, winless in his five matches at the Ryder Cup while coping with the pressure of playing before an Irish crowd, felt more at ease at The Grove on his way to a bogey-free 64, which left him tied with Ian Poulter.

Stewart Cink and Ernie Els were at 65.

The first two weeks in the British Isles have been match play for Woods, and it hasn't been his best. He lost in the first round of the World Match Play Championship down the M25 at Wentworth, ending his five-tournament winning streak. Then, he went 3-2 at the Ryder Cup as the Americans were blown out by the Europeans.

But he found his stride at the World Golf Championship event where he's the defending champion and trying to stretch his PGA Tour winning streak to six.

PGA Tour

D.J. Trahan put himself in position to gain valuable spots on the PGA Tour money list, shooting a 7-under 65 in the Southern Farm Bureau Classic to take a two-stroke lead after the first round.

Trahan, fighting to retain his full tour card with a top-125 finish on the money list, had eight birdies and a bogey on the Annandale Golf Club course in Madison, Miss. The 25-year-old former Clemson star entered the week 142nd with $474,242.

Glen Day, Gabriel Hjertstedt and Nick Watney opened with 67s, and Brad Faxon, Jason Gore, Ted Purdy, Skip Kendall and Mathias Gronberg had 68s. Fifty-year-old Fred Funk, the 1998 and 2004 winner, topped a group at 69.

-- The Associated Press