Furyk in four-way Wachovia lead

R1 LEADERBOARD -4: J Furyk (USA), B Hass (USA), T Immelman (Rsa), R Sabbatini (Rsa) -3: B Andrade (USA), L Glover (USA), D Love III (USA) -2 (selected): J Rose (Eng), R Goosen (Rsa), P Azinger (USA), S Cink (USA) Selected others: -1 L Donald (Eng), P Mickelson +1 G Owen (Eng), L Westwood (Eng)

Jim Furyk fired a four-under-par 68 to tie for the lead in the opening round of the Wachovia Championship in Charlotte, North Carolina on Thursday.

Furyk's round was matched by his US compatriot Bill Haas and South Africa's Trevor Immelman and Rory Sabbatini.

England's Justin Rose was two shots off the pace in a tie for eighth with Luke Donald a shot further back.

Lee Westwood returned a disappointing 73, as did Greg Owen, while Graeme McDowell and Brian Davis shot 76.

Known for his accuracy from tee to green, Furyk was disappointed to find just seven out of 14 fairways off the tee.

He said: "I'll definitely want to hit some more fairways - usually that's my strength, not my weakness, and I need to hit some more fairways to keep playing well."

Sabbatini reeled off seven birdies on the demanding Quail Hollow course, but most of the big guns also scored well with Phil Mickelson joining Ernie Els and Vijay Singh on 71.

Sabbatini was the leading money winner on the USPGA Tour after the first two months of the season, thanks to a victory at the Nissan Open and a pair of runner-up finishes.

He said: "I was a little rusty but I hung in there and limited my mistakes.

"It's a tough course and the greens started to firm up."

Haas, meanwhile, is enjoying a family affair this week, with brother Jay junior and father Jay also in the field.

He said: "Everything I've done as a professional has been gradual progress so far. I want to improve and I'm working harder than I ever have."