NAPLES, Fla. -- Long hitters John Daly and J.B. Holmes and the distance-challenged duo of Justin Leonard and Scott Verplank shot 9-under 63s to share the first-round lead in at the Merrill Lynch Shootout on Friday.

"I mean, for us, if one of us hits a decent drive, it's going to be out there far enough," Daly said after the modified alternate shot round on the Tiburon course.

Holmes, a rookie who won the FBR Open this year, finished second in the PGA TOUR's driving distance stats at 318.8 yards.

"I think this is the more difficult format of all the three, but ... this is the one I thought if we could just hang in there and play well, we could definitely excel in the other formats, and we played great," Holmes said.

The 12 teams will play a best-ball round on Saturday and finish the Merrill Lynch-sponsored event with a scramble on Sunday.

Jerry Kelly and Rod Pampling opened with a 64. Brad Faxon-J.J. Henry, Mark O'Meara-Jeff Sluman, and Trevor Immelman-Rory Sabbatini shot 66s. Pampling replaced Peter Jacobsen, who underwent hip replacement surgery.

The featured foursome of Norman and partner Nick Faldo, and Annika Sorenstam and Fred Couples struggled. Sorenstam, the first female player in the Shootout's 18 years, and Couples shot a 71, and Norman and Faldo had a 72 -- leaving the teams 11th and 12th.

Daly and Holmes made their move on a six-hole stretch starting at the par-3 12th. Holmes hit a 7-iron, then Daly made a 12-footer. On No. 13, a par 4, Daly drove it to the back of the green, while Holmes was a bit short of it. Daly nearly made the eagle putt, then Holmes knocked in a 2-footer for birdie.

On the par-5 14th, Daly hit a 5-iron from 225 yards to 20 feet and Holmes made the eagle putt -- the only one of five eagle attempts the twosome had. Holmes hit his approach on No. 15 to a foot. On No. 16, Daly sank a 12-footer for birdie. Holmes hit a 6-iron to 20 feet on No. 17, but Daly's eagle putt rolled over the edge.

Both Daly and Holmes both had 370-yard drives. Daly's was on the par-4 13th, and Holmes' on the next hole to set up Daly's 225-yard, 5-iron shot.

Leonard finished 154th in the driving distance stats at 282.3 yards, while Verplank was 186th at 276.1. However, Verplank was third in driving accuracy and Leonard 45th. Holmes was 187th and Daly 190th.

"Those two boys, they make more putts than anybody I've ever seen besides Tiger Woods," Daly said. "Both of those guys are such straight hitters, they're both great players, and they can both putt."

The two teams will be paired together on Saturday.

"You can probably see pretty much two different styles, ways to play golf," Leonard said. "You know we're going to be hitting. I imagine we'll be hitting first (from the fairway) on most of the par 4s and par 5s. We just hope we get to hit our share of tee shots first."

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