August 13th 2009, Chaska, Minn., United States:  Tiger Woods shot a bogey-free 5-under 67 to be one stroke ahead of playing partner and defending champion Padraig Harrington atop the leaderboard at the PGA Championship on Thursday. Jeev Milkha Singh is tied 69th at 2-over-par.

"There are times I've put it together and had some pretty good margins of victory," Woods said. "I just feel that, overall, my game over the years has gotten better. It's become more consistent. I usually don't make too many mistakes."

He didn't on this day, breaking 70 in the opening round of a major for the first time since the 2007 British Open. He made birdies on all but one of Hazeltine National's long par 5s and hit 12 of 14 fairways. His only "flaw" was a few missed putts, including ones for birdie on each of his last two holes.

"It's always nice to get off quick, but the first round -- you can play yourself out of a tournament but you certainly cannot win it on the first day," said Woods, who has four Wanamaker Trophies among his 14 major titles.

"You don't have to be eight ahead after the first round, that's not it. You've got to just keep plugging along."

Harrington, who also won the 2007 and '08 British Opens, actually shared the lead with Woods after three birdies in a five-hole span on their back nine. But he settled for par on the long seventh after his putt from the fringe rolled about two inches past while Woods two-putted from 30 feet for a birdie.

Robert Allenby, whose second-place finish at Bridgestone last weekend was overshadowed by the duel between Woods and Harrington, was at 3 under with Hunter Mahan, Mathew Goggin, Alvaro Quiros and David Toms. Vijay Singh joined them after nearly holing his second shot on the 16th. The ball landed above the hole and spun back toward the cup, stopping at the rim and leaving him an easy tap-in for birdie.

Singh, a two-time winner at the U.S. PGA, hasn't made the cut at the year's final major since 2005, when he tied for 10th.

Phil Mickelson, who missed the British Open to tend to wife Amy, who has breast cancer, was having an up-and-down afternoon. He was at 3 over after going bogey-double bogey on Nos. 9 and 10, but got one of the strokes back with a birdie at the 11th.

"The first day of a major, it's always good to keep yourself in there. I think I probably did a little bit more than that," Harrington said.

Having an early lead could be key if the weather turns foul. It was hot, humid and breezy on Thursday, but strong winds are expected on Friday. There's a possibility of rain during the weekend.