AKRON, Ohio — Jim Furyk made a detour to Florida to sit on his back porch and hang out with his kids as he tried to figure out why decent golf was producing ordinary scores. The short break appeared to do him a world of good Thursday in the Bridgestone Invitational.

With seven birdies and a 30-foot eagle putt, Furyk had a 7-under-par 63 for his best score ever at Firestone and a two-shot lead over Lee Slattery of England.

The conditions could not have been more ideal. Luke Donald, the world's No. 1 player, and Masters champion Bubba Watson were among those at 66. Thirty players in the 78-man field at this World Golf Championship managed to break par.

Tiger Woods was not among them. He was 3 under after back-to-back birdies to start the back nine, but had to lay up with his third shot on the par-5 16th after driving into the trees and ended his round with a three-putt bogey from 25 feet for a 70. It was his second-worst start at Firestone, a course where he has won seven times.

Defending champion Adam Scott, in his first tournament since making four straight bogeys to lose the British Open, had a four-putt from just inside 10 feet early in his round and shot a 71. So did Phil Mickelson, while British Open champion Ernie Els had a 73.

Kyle Stanley from Gig Harbor shot a 69.

Other tournaments

• Andres Romero had seven birdies in a bogey-free first round at the Reno-Tahoe Open to take a one-point lead over South Korean rookie Seung-Yul Noh. Romero, from Argentina, had 14 points under the modified Stableford scoring system that puts a premium on aggressive play. Former Husky Troy Kelly had three points.

• The Huskies' Chris Williams ended at 17-under par 271 at the Western Amateur Championship in Highland Park, Ill., on Thursday to take medalist honors for a second consecutive year at the prestigious event, often referred to as the "Masters of amateur golf."