Veterans Davis Love III and Blaine McCallister withstood gusting winds at the Four Seasons Resort & Club to share a two-stroke lead after the opening round round of the $4 million GTE Byron Nelson Classic in Texas. Both players shot four-under-par 66. A large group stood at 68, including Spain's Sergio Garcia.

"It's hard to realise how hard the conditions were out there," said Love, who with six birdies and two bogeys yesterday, is looking for his first PGA Tour win since the 1998 MCI Classic. "It could have been much, much worse. You really had to catch the ball solid today."

It was in fact much, much worse for many in the star-studded field, including world number one Tiger Woods, who struggled to a three-over 73 with bogeys on his last three holes.

Second-ranked David Duval bogeyed the last hole for an even par 70 while Dallas's Justin Leonard was blown to a 10-over 80, by five strokes his highest score ever at his hometown event.