Woods twice lost momentum with sloppy bogeys

"It was pretty stress-free out there," McIlroy said. "I hit quite a few fairways and a lot of greens and gave myself a lot of chances, and that's sort of what you need to do around this golf course."

Love opened with four pars until he reached the par-5 fifth, where he hit a hard 5-iron that drew gently toward the flag, and the next thing he heard was wild cheering from around the green.

"I knew when we were on the range this callaway ft-iz driver morning that early scores were going to be better, and you'd better get off to a good start," Love said. "I was parring along there, had not made a birdie yet then all of a sudden was 2 under. So that was a big boost."

It helped that PGA National was more benign than usual.

Because of rain Wednesday and the possibility of some afternoon showers, players were able to lift, clean and place their golf balls in the fairway, which always helps. The greens were smooth in the morning, another advantage. And there wasn't much wind.

Ryan Palmer, Justin Rose, Martin Flores, Kevin Stadler and Dicky Pride, whose top 10 in Mexico last week got him into the Honda Classic, joined McIlroy at 66. PGA champion ping rapture v2 irons Keegan Bradley was among those at 67.

Bradley played with McIlroy and Phoenix Open winner Kyle Stanley. Their games are so similar that after their opening tee shots at No. 10, their tee shots landed in a line next to each other, separated by no more than five paces.

Stanley struggled to a 75, brought on by three consecutive three-putts early in the round.

Bradley and McIlroy surged ahead, and Bradley looked forward to more occasions like that.

"I love playing with Rory for a lot of reasons," he said. "We're both very competitive, and I like the kid. He's just a good kid, a good Irish kid."

The 25-year-old Bradley was reminded that the kid was only three years younger.

But there seems to be an appreciation that McIlroy soon could be the guy against whom players measure themselves. Bradley was a two-time winner discount golf clubs last year as a rookie, and his work on the short game -- particularly his chipping -- appears to be paying off. There were several holes where Bradley turned potential trouble into an easy par.

"There's nothing more in the game of golf that makes me feel good than chipping up close," he said. "It's better than making a 50-foot bomb or hitting a 300-yard drive. It's been the different between being in the middle of the pack and contending."