Poulter leads Bridgestone with 62, Woods four back

Ian Poulter, gunning for a spot on the European Ryder Cup team, fired an eight-under par 62 on Thursday to grab the first-round lead in the World Golf Championships Bridgestone Invitational in Ohio.

The English golfer, who won the Houston Open in April, had eight birdies without a bogey to hold a one-stroke lead over Americans Kyle Stanley and Rickie Fowler.

Eight-time Bridgestone winner Tiger Woods, Northern Ireland Star Rory McIlroy, former world number one Jason Day and US Open champion Brooks Koepka were among the 19 players within four strokes of Poulter on a talent-laden leaderboard.

"My whole game was great today," said Poulter, who hit 12 of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens in regulation.

"Whenever you shoot eight-under par you've generally done a lot of good stuff.

"I did very well tee to green, proximity to the pin, I rolled a few nice putts in. As silly as it sounds, I would have liked to have nicked another couple. But any time you shoot eight-under par on this golf course it's a great round of golf."
- Woods fights to 66 -
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