Early leader (File)

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Miami - South African Charl Schwartzel survived Doral's Blue Monster to earn a one-stroke lead after the opening round at the $8.5 million CA Championship on Thursday.

Schwartzel tamed strong southerly winds to record the day's only bogey-free round, a five-under-par 67 in the World Golf Championships event.

"I didn't think 67 was out there at the beginning of the day, with the wind as strong as it was," he admitted. "I made five birdies, which I thought you could do. The big achievement for me was not making any bogeys.

"I have played a lot of good rounds in my career, and this one rates right up there. It could even be the top.

"There's so much trouble out there, especially with this type of wind, you couldn't miss a shot."

Fiji's Vijay Singh, South African Ernie Els and Australian Robert Allenby were equal second on four-under 68, each having problems over the difficult closing stretch.

Singh yanked his drive at the par-four 18th into water for a double-bogey, while Els also found a watery grave at the same hole with his second shot, but dropped only one stroke.

Allenby had the most to lament. He bolted to eight-under after 12 holes, only to bogey the final four holes.

"I was never predicting a finish like that," said Allenby. "It shows how quick this course can creep up on you.

"I don't recall hitting one bad shot. If someone had told me when I was teeing off this morning that I was going to shoot four-under, I think that would have been a great first round."

Singh was also philosophical, aware that he wasn't the only one to strike trouble at the 18th on a day when the hole averaged nearly a stroke over par.

"Even without the wind, it's a tough hole," he said. "Today it was almost like a par-five."

Els was pleased with his round, coming as it did after a miserable performance at last week's Honda Classic.

"I got out of whack with my ball position and posture, just the basics, so I went back to the drawing board," he said.

Countryman Schwartzel does not quite have Els's pedigree, but the 25-year-old is an exceptional talent who started the year brilliantly by winning two consecutive events in his homeland in January.

"I've started off the year so good and I couldn't have asked for anything better," he said. "I've got a lot of confidence, I'm striking the ball well and I'm also making a few putts, which all adds up to good golf."

Defending champion Phil Mickelson, who only arrived in town on Wednesday night, shot a one-under 71.

Mickelson delayed his arrival to be with wife Amy, who has been battling breast cancer for nearly a year.

Leading first-round scores on Thursday from the $8.5 million World Golf Championships CA Championship at Doral (USA unless noted):

67 - Charl Schwartzel (RSA)

68 - Robert Allenby (AUS), Ernie Els (RSA), Vijay Singh (FIJ)

69 - Paul Casey (GBR), Soren Hansen (DEN), J.B. Holmes, Dustin Johnson, Francesco Molinari (ITA), John Senden (AUS)

70 - Tim Clark (RSA), Luke Donald (GBR), Jim Furyk, Padraig Harrington (IRL), Martin Kaymer (GER), Jerry Kelly

Others:

71 - Yuta Ikeda (JPN), Phil Mickelson, Henrik Stenson (SWE)

72 - Simon Dyson (GBR), Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (ESP), Liang Wen-Chong (CHN), Edoardo Molinari (ITA), Geoff Ogilvy (AUS), Ian Poulter (GBR), Alistair Presnell (AUS), Alvaro Quiros (ESP), Camilo Villegas (COL)

73 - Ross Fisher (GBR), Thongchai Jaidee (THA), Miguel Angel Jimenez (ESP), Mike Weir (CAN), Yang Yong-Eun (KOR)

74 - Angel Cabrera (ARG), Sergio Garcia (ESP), Peter Hanson (SWE), Soren Kjeldsen (DEN), Graeme McDowell (NIR), Adam Scott (AUS), Lee Westwood (GBR)

75 - Michael Sim (AUS)

76 - Retief Goosen (RSA), Anders Hansen (DEN), Ross McGowan (GBR), Rory McIlroy (NIR)

78 - Robert Karlsson (SWE), Marc Leishman (AUS), Oliver Wilson (GBR)