Two teams share the lead at the Shark Shootout in Round 1

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Justin Leonard sank a 25-foot birdie putt at the final hole to give his team a share of the lead.

Jerry Kelly and Steve Stricker couldn't have asked for a better start at the Shark Shootout, an event hosted by Greg Norman at the Tiburón Golf Club in Naples, Fla., on Friday.

The two pals from Wisconsin opened with a birdie at the first hole, then put together a stretch of birdie-eagle-birdie-birdie-birdie on Nos. 5-9 for a 7-under 29 on the front nine. They stumbled on the back nine, though, playing the final six holes in 1-over.

"Everything went well on the front," Kelly said. "We were thinking we were gonna have to layup on the first hole. We ended up getting there. Made a great chip on the second hole for us to save a par. And then we just kind of went off to the races from there. Everything was very easy, consistent. It was fun. Not that the backside wasn't fun, but we just kind of hit that wall."

The pair took the early lead in the first round, which featured a Modified Alternate Shot format, and looked like they would carry it into the weekend. Instead, the Texas twosome of Justin Leonard and Scott Verplank made a birdie on the final hole to secure a share of the lead at 6-under 66.

Leonard sank a 25-foot putt from off the green to move his team into a tie at the top. Leonard and Verplank made birdies on four of their last six holes.

Tim Clark and Chad Campbell are in third place, one back at 5 under, along with Steve Flesch and Dustin Johnson.

Kelly/Stricker and Verplank/Leonard are the only teams this year who've played together before at the Shark Shootout. Both think that familiarity plays a role in their comfort level on the course.

"I think this year we're a lot more comfortable and we're just playing our games. I'm doing what I can do and he's doing what he can do, and, you know, melding those together a little bit better," Kelly said.

Each day of the Shark Shootout features a different format. In Friday's matches, each player hits a tee shot on every hole and one tee shot is selected. The player whose tee shot is not selected then hits the second shot, and the two players alternate until the ball is in the hole. Players will participate in a Better Ball format on Saturday and a Scramble on Sunday.

Tournament host Norman isn't playing in the event for the first time after having right shoulder surgery in late September.