Retief Goosen shot a four under par 66 to lead at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational.
The European Tour Member dropped only one shot at Firestone Country Club, Ohio, as he took the clubhouse lead.
The South African made a blistering start but failed to press home his advantage and had to settle for a four under par round of 66.
Goosen birdied the par five second and picked up another shot at the par three fifth.
He then went round the turn in three under par to move clear of the chasing pack. A birdie at eight was followed by a par but back-to-back threes on the par four tenth and 11th.
But a bogey on the par three 15th saw the former European Order of Merit winner hand the lead over to Vijay Singh before the Fijian finished with a double bogey six to relinquish his advantage.
Singh started well with a birdie at the par five second and managed to repeat the trick three holes later at the par three fifth.
A three at the par four ninth continued the Fijian’s good run and he picked up another shot at the par three 12th.
Singh also picked up a birdie at the 17th, before finding trouble at the final hole.
Having driven into the rough Singh could only reach the green in three on the par four and then three-putted to drop off the top of the leaderboard.
Another South African, Tim Clark, is also in contention after compiling a three under par round of 67.
Clark started on the back nine and picked up shots at 14 and 16 only to bogey the par four 17th.
He immediately made amends at 18 with a three at the par four and then picked up shots at the first and second as he closed in on his countryman, only to bogey four and drop back.
Sweden’s Daniel Chopra is also in the clubhouse on three under par, although his start to the round suggested an even lower score might have been on the cards as he birdied the first two holes.
But a bogey at eight set the 34 year old back although he birdied 14 and 16 and remains firmly in contention.
On the course, Chopra’s fellow Swede Fredrik Jacobson has made a flying start and sits four under after only five holes to share the lead with Goosen and American Sean O’Hair.
Jacobson picked up shots at the first, second and third and although he pared the fourth, he was soon back amongst the birdies with a two at the fifth.
Starting on the tenth tee, O’Hair birdied the 11th, 12th, 15th and 17th to take a share of the lead after eight holes.
