Carlos Osorio / AP Corey Pavin watches his drive on the 18th hole during the first round of the Buick Open. Pavin is tied for the lead.

Corey Pavin fired an 8-under 64 in the Buick Open at Grand Blanc, Mich., giving him a share of the first-round lead on Thursday with Dudley Hart and Bo Van Pelt, a shot ahead of Briny Baird and Daniel Chopra.

It is the second straight 64 for Pavin, who fired a 6-under 64 in last Sunday's final round of the Traveler's Championship to earn a tie for 10th at that event.

It is the first time in Pavin's 25-year-career that he has posted consecutive 64s.

"I played nicely today," the Oxnard native said. "My putter was working rather well. I just made some really nice mid-range putts today and one kind of bombed. But I was in position and hit most of the fairways. So it was good. Good day."

Pavin credited his old BullsEye putter for helping produce his strong effort on the greens.

Pavin got the putter in 1984 and used it for more than 10 years before retiring it midway through the 1995 campaign.

"It took a break until last year," Pavin said. "It was on the bench for over a decade.

"I brought it back out (in March of 2007) and it's been working pretty good since then. So so far so good. So I will just keep using it."

Pavin, who averaged just 246 yards off the tee, made eight birdies and no bogeys but was only 2 under on the four par-5s.

Conversely, Van Pelt averaged 307 yards per drive and was 5 under for the par 5s.

Pavin was asked how he can compete despite giving up so much distance to many of his competitors.

"All I try to do is play my own game. I can't do anything else," Pavin said. "I can't hit it any further than I do now. I've tried and I've worked on it. I just try to play within myself and hit the ball in the fairway and try knocking on the green and maybe if I can make up for it in chipping and putting, that's fine."

Bubba Watson is in a pack at 5 under, one than includes Charles Warren, who had six straight birdies to tie the longest birdie-eagle streak this year on the PGA Tour.

Jim Furyk was among a big group four shots behind the leaders.

The Buick Open took a hit at the gate and with buzz when Tiger Woods had season-ending knee surgery earlier this week, leaving the tournament with a lackluster field that includes just nine of the top 50 players in the world ranking.

Furyk (No. 12), Justin Leonard (No. 23) and Perry (No. 27) are the only players among the top 30 in the world.

Perry opened with a 69 and Leonard had a 71, tying Rocco Mediate's first-round performance.

Even though he was tired and wasn't playing well, Mediate had enough pep to have a good time and banter with spectators.

Hurst, Oh share U.S. Women's Open lead: Gathering clouds gave way to sunshine, the first of many surprises in a U.S. Women's Open that didn't go the way anyone expected, least of all Pat Hurst.

Her day had a happy ending, one last birdie for a 6-under 67 and a share of the lead with Ji Young Oh at Edina, Minn.

Annika Sorenstam twice made back-to-back bogeys and wound up with a 75, her highest first-round score in a Women's Open since she opened with a 76 in 1992 at Oakmont when she was a 22-year-old amateur.

Lorena Ochoa and Cristie Kerr, who have combined to win three of the last four LPGA majors, played alongside an 18-year-old freshman at UCLA and couldn't keep up. Maria Jose Uribe of Colombia, the Women's Amateur champion, showed passion and fist pumps and hardly any fear on her way to a 4-under 69 that kept the gallery riveted.

Michelle Wie even got in on the act.

One minute she looked like she was on the road to recovery, the next minute she crashed to a quintuple-bogey 9 at the turn that sent her to an 81, the second straight year she failed to break 80 in the opening round.

Qualifier leads French Open: Spanish qualifier Pablo Larrazabal shot a 6-under 65 to take a one-shot lead after the first round of the French Open at Saint-Quentin-En-Yvelines, France.

Playing without a driver, Larrazabal relied on a 3-wood off the tee on Le Golf National's Albatross Course. England's Oliver Fisher and Ireland's Peter Lawrie opened with 66s, and Argentina's Angel Cabrera, the 2007 U.S. Open winner, had a 67.