LOS ANGELES, February 16, 2012 (AFP) - The California weather wasn't kind, but world number one Luke Donald got his US PGA Tour season off to a solid start with a first-round 70 in the Northern Trust Open on Thursday.
England's Donald, whose remarkable consistency in 2011 saw him become the first player to win both the European and US tours' money titles in one season, dealt capably with the gusting winds that made life difficult for the entire field at Riviera Country Club.
"This morning it was freezing, blowing a gale, and it was not easy," said Donald, who had two birdies in his one-under effort on the par-71 course.
"This course is tough with benign conditions, so with the added wind and the greens -- they're fast."
Donald, who teed off on the 10th hole, bogeyed 14, but rolled in a 14-foot birdie putt at the par-three 16th and made a five-footer for birdie at the par-five first.
"I'm excited about my ball-striking, the way I'm controlling the flight," said Donald, who finished tied for 48th in the European Tour's Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship last month.
"I'm moving it both ways, feel like I'm driving the ball pretty solidly, happy with the work that I've done in the off-season."
Donald was a bit disappointed that he couldn't take advantage of the 10th, a short par-four that can often offer a birdie chance, but the wind got in the way.
"I thought I hit a perfect second shot there, and the wind just caught it and kept going and going and going," he said.
He saved par from the rough that separates the divided fairways of the eighth, and two-putted from the front edge of the green at nine to stay under par for the first day.
"I'm pretty pleased with what I did," Donald said.