Tiger Woods shrugged off a knee injury to make a fine start in the AT&T National Pro-Am at Pebble Beach.
He shot a six-under-par 66 to keep on the heels of early pacesetter David Berganio.
Woods only decided to play on Wednesday after he picked up the injury in a collision with an overzealous fan after a practice round earlier in the day.
But the world number one went ahead with the defence of his title and ended his round at the Spyglass Golf Club with a trio of birdies.
His late flurry enabled him to get within two shots of Berganio, who shot a bogey-free 64.
Berganio was a stroke ahead of Tommy Armour and Mark Johnson and two better than Woods, Masters champion Vijay Singh, Brad Elder and Rochdale-born Ed Fryatt.