Ryan Palmer took the first-round lead in the Byron Nelson Championship

Palmer's bogey-free start came on a relatively calm day. With only a light breeze, 85 players were at par or better in the first round on the 7,166-yard course where Palmer and Bradley finished 72 holes last year at 3-under 277.

"Last year was pretty disappointing. I felt like I got off to a good start and then just about nothing for the rest of the year, really," Leishman said. "It's the first time since I've been a pro ping g15 driver that I've struggled for a decent amount of time, just not hitting the ball as well as I would like to, not holing putts. This year, I feel like I'm doing everything a lot better."

Coming off his victory at The Players Championship last weekend, Matt Kuchar overcame an opening bogey and was in a group of seven players at 66.

"I didn't lose it last year by any means," Palmer said. "But to get back in the same setting with the same people watching, here where I live, and just to have that feeling again, this time be the guy standing with the trophy, that's been my focus."

Bradley, who won the PGA Championship three months after the Nelson, was among 13 players who shot 67. His up-and-down round included four bogeys, five birdies and an eagle.

The only other top-10 player competing this week is 10th-ranked Phil Mickelson. Back at the Nelson for the first time in five years, he had a 70 with two birdies and two bogeys.

The forecast for Friday, and into Saturday, calls for wind steady at 15-20 mph and gusting to 30. That is similar to what happened last year, when scoring conditions quickly got tougher.

"Coming off momentum, a little tired," said Kuchar, No. 5 in the world rankings. "It was a whole lot of extracurricular activities out of the norm for me, but I feel good about the round."

It worked so well last year that Palmer again is letting caddie James Edmondson call all the shots at the Nelson. With input from instructor Randy Smith, Edmondson tells Palmer what and where to it.

"Continuation from last year, that's what's cool," Palmer said. "For some reason, I get in the frame of mind with this Ping G20 Hybrid course and what me and him are doing, and it was the same exact thing. I didn't move until he put the bag down and half of the time he pulled the club out of the bag and handed it to me, I didn't know what the club was."

"It's a beautiful day; it's warm, not too hot. The greens are in great shape. They're receptive, you can get the ball stopped," said Mickelson, the 1996 Nelson champ. "Really good opportunity to take advantage of the course, and I just didn't."

The 65 was his best of 41 rounds this season and lowest since another 65 in the first of his 84 rounds last year, when he slipped to 65th in the FedEx standings — 45 spots below his standout rookie year of 2009.

Kuchar's approach shot at No. 1 went over discount golf clubs the green. He tried to putt up the hill, but the ball ended up rolling back to his feet, prompting someone in the gallery to say, "I could have done that."