GREENSBORO, N.C. -- William McGirt, Erik Compton and Tom Hoge share the first-round lead of the Wyndham Championship, but many of the roars were in response to Tiger Woods on Thursday at Sedgefield Country Club.
McGirt, Compton and Hoge shot 8-under par 62s in the PGA Tour event. Jim Herman, Derek Ernst and Morgan Hoffmann were a stroke back.
Woods, who is in a group tied for seventh place, posted 64 in his first appearance in the Greensboro tournament. He didn't confirm that he would play until Monday.
Among the top five first-round finishers, only Hoge had an afternoon tee time while playing in the final group of the round. He was 6 under through nine holes, including an eagle on the par-5 fifth hole.
Hoge's birdie on the final hole gave him the best score in a debut round in the tournament's history.
McGirt, a North Carolina native from Lumberton, set the early pace with a bogey-free round.
Compton, using a new set of irons, played his final nine holes in 7-under 28.
"The birdies I made, one putt that was like 9 feet and the rest of them were inside of 3 feet," Compton said.
Woods opened on the 10th hole and made birdie with a chip-in before sinking a tricky par putt on his last hole to end up with his lowest score on the PGA Tour in two years.
"It's nice to finally get something out of a round," Woods said.
It would have been better for Woods if he hadn't missed a birdie putt from within 5 feet on the sixth green after playing partners Brooks Koepka and Hideki Matsuyama sank longer putts.
"I got off to a nice solid start, finally," Woods said. "I've got to continue making birdies -- throw darts and go low."
There was some local collegiate flavor among those tied with Woods. Past champions Davis Love III, a University of North Carolina product, and Carl Pettersson, who played at North Carolina State, also were at 6 under. Joining them was Martin Kaymer, who won the 2014 U.S. Open in Pinehurst -- a little more than an hour's drive.
NOTES: With rain hitting the course the two previous days, lift, clean and place rules were used for the first round. ... Until Tom Hoge came along, Tiger Woods' 64 put him one shot off the tournament record for a debut round. The record was set with Martin Laird's 63 in 2008. ... Defending champion Camilo Villegas was at 4 under in a tie for 20th place. ... Dudley Hart and John Peterson withdrew.
