Joaquin Niemann started strongest at the Genesis Invitational with an opening round of 63 on Thursday.
A round of nine birdies gave the Chilean a three-shot lead at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California.
Niemann is the ninth player to open with a 63 on the course. Four of the previous eight players went on to win.
Four Americans ended the first day in a tie for second, including Jordan Spieth, while 2021 Open champion Collin Morikawa is a stroke further back.
World number one Jon Rahm, Tony Finau and Xander Schauffele all carded 69 for their opening rounds, as did Rory McIlroy, who dropped shots on the eighth and 13th holes.
Dustin Johnson finished with a two-over-par 73, while Patrick Reed endured a disappointing first day, a double bogey on the 13th resulting in a six-over-par finish.
"Sometimes I think about a score," Niemann said. "Today I was hitting it so good, I had fun just getting into the shot. I didn't really think of the score.
"But then on 18 I was thinking about [it]. I wanted to make birdie so bad. I wanted to make one more.
"You always work to have these kind of days. You always know that you're never going to have these days four days in a row. It's a good way to start.
"I know it's going to be different days during the week, so I've got to be ready for everything and have the best attitude for it."
Scheffler on matching Woods' record: "There's only one Tiger"
Scottie Scheffler has shied away from comparisons to Tiger Woods after becoming the second man to win the PGA Tour Player of the Year award in three consecutive years.
Woods was the only other player to achieve that feat when he scooped the prize five times in a row between 1999 and 2003, and another three times on the bounce between 2005 and 2007.
Scheffler received 91% of the vote to claim the gong this year but insisted he cannot be compared to Woods.
He said: "We're always looking to compare somebody to Tiger Woods.
"I saw it a lot growing up but there's really only one Tiger."
Scheffler won a record-equalling nine titles in 2024, including the Masters and Olympic gold, and it was his efforts at the Paris games that he remembers most fondly.
He said: "I would say the nine holes that stick out to me the most would be the back nine at the Olympics.
"The way that Teddy [Scott, caddie] and I finished off that tournament was pretty cool."
Brewster sends Blades back to Championship summit as Watford deny Selles winning start
Sheffield United returned to the Championship summit after Rhian Brewster secured a 1-0 win over Millwall at The Den.
The former Liverpool striker scored his first goal in over two years, as the Blades leapfrogged Leeds United back to the top of the table.
Japhet Tanganga and George Saville both struck the woodwork for Millwall in what was Neil Harris' final home game in charge, but Brewster broke the deadlock just before the break.
Chris Wilder's side had to remain concentrated during the second half as the hosts pushed for the equaliser, but they held out for a crucial three points.
Elsewhere, Ruben Selles was unfortunate not to begin his tenure with bottom side Hull City in victorious fashion against Watford.
Chris Bedia broke the deadlock for the hosts in the 82nd minute, and it looked like it could be enough to give them their first win since early October.
However, Rocco Vata equalised for the visitors two minutes from time to prevent the Tigers from moving off the foot of the table and out of the relegation zone.
Meanwhile, West Bromwich Albion moved back into the top six as goals from Alex Mowatt and Karlan Grant secured a 2-0 win over Frank Lampard's Coventry City.
Queens Park Rangers and Preston North End both pulled clear of the relegation zone following 2-0 victories over Oxford United and Cardiff City respectively, and the Bluebirds remain in the bottom three due to their inferior goal difference.
Feyenoord 4-2 Sparta Prague: Quick start eases hosts to win
Two early goals laid the foundation for Feyenoord to boost their Champions League hopes with a comfortable 4-2 win over Sparta Prague on Wednesday.
Two goals in 90 seconds from Gernot Trauner and Igor Paixao gave Feyenoord a dream start, with Anis Hadj Moussa and Santiago Gimenez adding the goals that keep them on course for a spot in the knockout stages.
The Dutch hosts needed only eight minutes to get on the scoresheet from a corner with Trauner's downward header wrong-footed Peter Vindahl.
The second came when Feyenoord's pressing stripped Kaan Kairinen of possession and Paixao ran from the halfway line before bending the ball wide of the goalkeeper.
Hadj Moussa scored a stunner 30 minutes in, cutting inside from the right to fire a left-footed shot into the top corner. Feyenoord then failed to clear a long throw that was flicked onto Albion Rrahmani at the back post to make it 3-1 in the 43rd minute.
Gimenez restored the comfortable margin when he took advantage of a defensive slip to bundle the ball over from close range just after the hour mark, while Sparta's second goal came from a cross in the 79th minute which was steered home by a sliding Thomas Beelen into his own net.
Feyenoord moved on to 10 points, while Slavia suffered a fourth defeat in six group games and have a tough task to avoid elimination.
Data Debrief: A happy reunion
The match saw Brian Priske reunited with the team he took to the double in the Czech Republic last season, with his former assistant Lars Friis now in charge at Sparta.
Only Barcelona (five) have scored three or more goals in more different Champions League games this season than Feyenoord (four), who netted three first-half goals and four goals overall for the first time in the competition.
Having led 2-0 after just 10 minutes, it is the quickest two-goal lead Feyenoord have held in a major European game since September 1972.
Meanwhile, Sparta have failed to win any of their last 15 away games in the Champions League (D3 L12), the joint-longest ongoing such winless streak in the competition (level with AEK Athens, whose last game was in 2018).
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