Ogilvy leads PGA Tour’s opening event

Geoff Ogilvy put together a birdie streak in the middle of his round Thursday and grabbed the lead at the season-opening Mercedes-Benz Championship in Hawaii.

The former U.S. Open winner began the 2009 PGA Tour with a 6-under 67 over the windswept Plantation Course at the Kapalua Resort on the island of Maui.

He birdied four holes in a six-hole stretch beginning at the par-5 ninth.

Ernie Els, hoping to regain the form that made him one of the world’s elite players, shared second place at 68 with Kenny Perry and Johnson Wagner. Els and Perry were paired together for the first round of the year and they combined to make nine birdies and two eagles.

Davis Love III was among four players at 69. Boo Weekley D.J. Strahan shot 70 and Camilo Villegas, who won the final event of 2008, struggled to a 74.

Vijay Singh, reportedly facing knee surgery after this tournament that will likely keep him out of action at least a month, birdied the final hole for an even-par 73. Singh won last year’s FedEx Cup, taking advantage of the absence of Tiger Woods.

Woods, recovering from reconstructive knee surgery, hopes to return prior to the Masters in April.

The elite field of 33 players at this tournament is made up of winners from the 2008 tour. The first full field event of the year will take place next week in Honolulu.