Troy Matteson circled eight birdies, including a hole-out from a greenside bunker on No. 18, Thursday morning to take the first-round lead of the CIMB Classic at The MINES Resort and Spa in Malaysia. Matteson, who has missed his last two cuts on the PGA TOUR, made four consecutive birdies to close out his opening-round 63 and take a one-shot lead over Brian Harman, Jeff Overton and Robert Garrigus. Three off the pace was Tiger Woods who rebounded from bogeys on Nos. 8 and 9 with five back-nine birdies for a 66 that leaves him tied for 7th. Defending champion Bo Van Pelt double bogeyed the drivable par-4 15th and went on to shoot a 1-over 70. Of the 48 players in the field, 41 shot par or better in Thursday's opening round.

By Bill Cooney, PGATOUR.COM ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- Maybe it was a return to a thicker putting grip. Perhaps it was the chit-chat with his caddie about fishing lures and fishing spots. Or just maybe Boo Weekley played the best round of his season because he kicked back and had a good ole time watching one of his favorite country music bands on Wednesday night. Either way, Weekley felt good and played even better. Weekley opened The McGladrey Classic with a sizzling, 6-under 64 on Thursday and was two shots behind first-round co-leaders Bud Cauley and Marco Dawson. Perhaps even more impressive was the fact that Weekley -– who ranks 189th on the PGA TOUR in strokes gained-putting –- ranked ninth in that category in Round 1. “It’s been a long time coming,” Weekley said. “Finally started making some putts. I’ve been hitting the ball pretty good the last few weeks and finally today the putts showed up.” Did they ever. Weekley buried putts of 14, 7, 15, 8, and 7 feet, feeling more comfortable on the same type of Bermuda greens he grew up on. He also went back to a different putter with a fatter grip, one that he used to finish T3 at the Puerto Rico Open presented by seepuertorico.com and T6 at the RBC Heritage. Weekley also credited his caddie with taking his mind off the game – right now he’s 121st on the money list – by talking about fishing, one of his passions. “I’m pretty aware of it,” Weekley, who is planning on doing some fishing on Friday, said about his precarious position on the money list. “The last two weeks I’ve actually played pretty good but I just seem to get nothing out of my round. “It just gets more frustrating. The more frustrated you get out here you start getting negative, you start talking trash to yourself saying, ‘You ain’t gonna make the cut because you can’t make this 5-footer. You missed three already the first five holes.’ It just kind of wears on your mind.” Weekley had music on his mind on Wednesday night at Sea Island Golf Club, where country music singer Gary Allan performed. Weekley has become friends with Allan and his band over the past three years and even plays golf with them. Weekley wasn’t about to recite any lyrics out loud – “In the hot tub, maybe,” he said -- but definitely sounded as if he was more relaxed on Thursday morning. He has also fought some health issues in the past months so he's certainly excited to be in tune with his golf game again. “It just felt good,” said Weekley, who last won in 2008. “Started making some putts and that started building some confidence.”

By Bill Cooney, PGATOUR.COM ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- A driver and a wedge. Bud Cauley used those two clubs to make the game of golf look rather easy on Thursday afternoon. Backed by some long and accurate tee shots, Cauley took dead aim with his wedges to produce a competitive course record-tying, 8-under 62 during the first round of The McGladrey Classic. It gave the Jacksonville, Fla., native a share of the lead with Marco Dawson. Greg Owen, Boo Weekley and Rod Pampling were tied for third place, two shots back after 64s. Cauley hit 13 of 14 fairways and 14 greens in regulation during his low round on the TOUR. He hit all seven fairways and hit eight of nine greens during a back-nine 29 in which he birdied five of the first six holes. "Really no complaints today," said Cauley, who has six top 10s this season but is still searching for his first career victory. "I've been struggling with my driving a little bit, and I've been working hard on that and was able to drive it really well today. "And then took advantage of that with some great iron shots and made most of the putts, so all in all it was a really good day." Dawson, 48, is also looking for his first win. His best finish is second at the 1995 Greater Milwaukee Open. "You know, I just made some good putts coming in," Dawson said. "I haven't played well all year, and when I have played decent or had a good round going, I managed to screw it up somehow." Dawson said that made him anxious after he got to 7 under and led to his lone bogey on the fourth hole. But he bounced back with birdies on Nos. 5 and 6 and finished nicely. In 20 events this season, Dawson's best finish is a T52 at the Farmers Insurance Open in January. But he's fought through the tough times and finds himself 54 holes from a rewarding finish. "That would be real huge," Dawson said. "So I'm looking forward to doing that. So I've got a good start so far.

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- Bud Cauley, Boo Weekley and Marco Dawson have climbed up the leaderboard. Cauley, who has six top 10s this season, tied the competitive course record with a 8-under 62 in the first round of The McGladrey Classic at Sea Island GC on Thursday. Cauley birdied five of the first six holes on the back nine and wound up with an inward 6-under 29. Meanwhile, Weekley completed a bogey-free round of 64. He's 121st on the money list despite missing his last four cuts. Weekley has also dealt with health issues this season. Dawson has also been strong in the afternoon heat. He opened with a bogey-free 5-under 30 on the back nine and also birdied Nos. 1 and 3. Dawson entered the week at No. 216 on the money list. Dawson has never won on the PGA TOUR; his best finish is a second at the 1995 Greater Milwaukee Open. His best round this season was a 66 at the John Deere Classic. Follow Dawson on Shot Tracker. Replay Cauley.