WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. -- Scott Langley leads the way at the Greenbrier Classic, but Tiger Woods, at four strokes back, was the star Thursday.
Woods shot a 4-under 66 for his lowest round since March 2014.
Helped by a morning rain that softened the Old White TPC course in West Virginia, Woods posted his lowest score of the season and matched his best in relation to par.
"Overall I can't really say I hit any great shots, but I hit a lot of good ones," Woods said. "I hit the ball better than what my score indicates."
Jonathan Byrd and Danny Lee were a stroke behind Langley after 7-under 63s. Brian Davis and Ryo Ishikawa were at 64.
Friends Langley and Byrd both said they fed off each other during their morning round. They were tied at 7 under before Langley surged ahead with a short birdie putt at the par-4 16th.
Neither has a top-10 finish this season, and both need some solid results to be among the 125 qualifiers for the FedEx Cup playoffs starting in late August.
"I got a little down on myself earlier in the year because the results weren't really there," Langley said. "I kind of looked at myself in the mirror and said, you know, at the end of the day, I need to be the most positive guy in the field week in and week out."
Langley, seeking his first win on the PGA Tour, finished 25th at the Travelers Championship a week ago. He hit 17 greens in regulation in his bogey-free round Thursday.
Byrd is in the tournament on a sponsor's exemption.
"I'm very thankful just to be in the field this week," he said.
Fans were certainly glad to see George McNeill and Justin Thomas.
Both made holes-in-one on the par-3 18th, triggering advertised tournament payouts of $100 to fans at the hole for McNeill's ace and $500 for Thomas' feat, or a total of about $192,000. The next hole-in-one at any point in the tournament on the 18th would net fans $1,000 apiece.
The tournament also gave McNeill $25,000 and Thomas $50,000 for the charities of their choice.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
