Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy did not enjoy a good first round, struggling their way through to an even par 70, to end up six strokes behind leader Camillo Villegas at the Honda Classic.
A brilliant eagle in the final hole gave Villegas a one-shot lead from a quartet of Branden Grace, Graham DeLaet, Rickie Fowler and Robert Streb in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
However, the day will be remembered for Woods and McIlroy's issues in yet another tournament, after both of them were eliminated in the first round of the World Golf Championship last week.
Woods only managed an even par first round, because he was ready to get his feet wet - quite literally - on the sixth hole (his 15th of the day).
The American veteran found his ball half-submerged in a water hazard, and took off his shoes and socks, before playing it back to the fairway to keep his round on track.
"It was only half submerged, so I could play some kind of explosion shot and get it back in the fairway.
"I wasn't trying to advance it very far," Woods said. "Just make sure I got it back in the fairway and give myself some kind of wedge shot, in there, which I did, and I got it up and down."
While Woods might have felt good about how he finished his round, it was the exact opposite for McIlroy, who bogeyed on his final hole in one of the easiest holes on the course.
His wedge from a little over a hundred yards went well over the green, before he pulled it back to eight feet with a chip shot. However, he missed his putt and had to settle for a bogey, bringing his score to a 70 instead of a 69 or even a 68.
"I only had 105 yards in for my third shot and ended up taking a 6," McIlroy said. "Wasn't the nicest way to finish. I saw enough pretty good golf out there to be positive going into the next few days."
Villegas is sure to savor this round even more, after coming off a miserable 18 months, where he dropped from No. 7 in the world to losing his PGA Tour card.
"This game is great when you're playing good," Villegas, who won this tournament in 2010, said. "When you're out here missing cuts and missing cuts, I don't care what people say.
"Yes, we're blessed to have this job, but it's not that much fun. ... The game was kicking my butt a little bit. That's a good way to put it. But I know who I am. I know I belong out here. I know how good I can be, and therefore, that's why you're just going to keep your head up and keep working."
