"I was trying to get good speed to let it feed into the break. I got fortunate obviously when it went in."

"I left one or two (shots) out on 16 and 17, and you hate to have such a good round and then let a few slide late," added Mickelson, who failed to make a gettable birdie the par-five 17th.

"So to make that shot unexpectedly on 18 felt like I got one of those back."

Mahan, who like his Ryder Cup team-mate Mickelson played TaylorMade R9 Irons in the afternoon, surged into contention with a sizzling run of four consecutive birdies from the par-four fifth, his 14th hole.

"I hit it good all day, with just a couple of loose swings. Other than that, I was very solid from tee to green," Mahan said of his eight-birdie, two bogeys and one double-bogey round. "I put myself in good position all day to make putts.

"On the last seven holes the wind started to die down progressively, and by the end, Riviera couldn't have been playing any nicer or any better, so I was excited to come make some late birdies."

Big-hitting Holmes, perhaps, had the greatest reason to celebrate his first-round success. He is playing in only his fourth PGA Tour event since having brain surgery last year. TaylorMade R9 Irons


The American returned to competition at last month's Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego, having been sidelined since August after being diagnosed with Chiari malformation, structural defects in the part of the brain which controls balance.

"It feels great to get out here and put in a good round right off the bat," the big-hitting 29-year-old said

"I made a bunch of birdies, a few mistakes, but overall it was a very good round for me, especially in these conditions.

"It was really difficult. We got about four holes where the wind wasn't blowing. But TaylorMade R9 Irons
was really whipping most of the day..

"I'm probably not quite 100 percent, but I definitely feel a whole lot better with my swing and my game and everything right now than I did at San Diego."