O'Meara and Couples lead the way

Tiger Woods shot a four–under–par 68 in the opening round of the Williams World Challenge, leaving the world number one two shots behind co–leaders Mark O'Meara and Fred Couples at the Sherwood Country Club course, Thousand Oaks.

Woods is tied for third with Fiji's Vijay Singh and Scott Verplank. Germany's Bernhard Langer and Ireland's Padraig Harrington each carded a 69 and are three shots back.

Among the field are 15 players who will represent their nations in the 2002 Ryder Cup. All but two of the 18–man field are among the top 32 ranked players in the world.