Straka was home in Alabama preparing for a friend's wedding when Tiger Woods was ruled out because of a foot injury, forcing him to change his plans.

It worked out OK.

Straka managed six birdies at rain-soaked Albany in a 69 that gave him the lead along with defending champion Viktor Hovland, Tom Kim and Collin Morikawa.

Hovland was the only player to reach four under at any point before a bogey on the 16th. He is trying to join Woods as the only players to win this holiday event back-to-back.

Hovland is staying with Morikawa again. A year ago, Morikawa had a five-shot lead and needed a win to reach No.1 in the world when he shot 76 in the final round and Hovland rallied with a 66 to win.

And then there's Kim, the 20-year-old rising star from South Korea who already has won twice on the PGA Tour and delivered on a big stage in the Presidents Cup.

His week began by meeting Woods for the first time.

"It was really cool. I have to pinch myself a little bit," he said, and then somehow went bogey-free at Albany.

The course typically yields low scores, except for rain that left foot-deep puddles in some of the sandy areas and made chipping difficult from tight lies on soggy turf.

Kim was superb with his short game. He was in the front bunker on the par-3 17th and clipped the shot of muddied sand with such speed that it checked three feet from the hole.

Straka is the only player to have never played in a Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup at Albany. He is No.29 in the world, a winner for the first time at the Honda Classic, earlier in the year, and had no intention of being in the Bahamas.

He was getting ready for the wedding of his friend JT Poston, a two-time winner on tour, when the call came to say Woods had plantar fasciitis in his right foot and would not be playing.

It was an easy decision for Straka.

"It was a huge opportunity and just awesome to be here," he said.

Masters champion Scottie Scheffler, a runner-up at the World Challenge last year, had a 72. He needs to win to get back to No.1 in the world.

As for Woods, he kept up his presence at the tournament spending time in the television booth. He has not played since the British Open in July.

Australian Associated Press