Aussie Ogilvy seizes lead at USPGA

01-10-2009 | AFP

He arrived in good form, after winning the Australian PGA Championship

Panama Star KAPALUA, HAWAII. Australia's Geoff Ogilvy carded a six-under 67 to claim the first-round lead of the USPGA Tour's season-opening Mercedes-Benz Championship.

South African Ernie Els, Kenny Perry and Johnson Wagner were one shot back on 68 in the 5.6 million-dollar tournament, which features a field of 33.

Ogilvy, 31, nabbed three birdies on both sides of Kapalua's Plantation Course, finishing without a bogey.

Ogilvy had to save par at the par-five 18th, where he found the hazard with a three-iron but managed to get up and down.

"I played pretty good," Ogilvy said. "The only real time I was in trouble was on the 18th tee, I hit it in the hazard on my second shot. But the rest of the day, I was pretty much on the fairways, hit most of the greens and made a few putts. It was nice."

Ogilvy, the 2006 US Open champion, hasn't had much success in two previous appearances at Kapalua, but arrived in good form after winning the Australian PGA Championship last month. He claimed his first title in his home country, and followed that up with a tie for sixth in the Australian Open.