Intimidated,who? Woods takes early lead

Greg normans comments have little effect yet in Atlanta

Tiger Woods delivered the best possible response to suggestions earlier this week that he is intimidated by Rory McIlroy as he outscored the world No.1 by three shots in the Tour Championship first round on Thursday.

Playing with the mop-haired Northern Irishman in the final pairing in front of huge galleries at East Lake Golf Club,Woods birdied two of the last four holes for a four-under-par 66 to burst into a share of the lead. McIlroy carded a 69 in his first competitive round on the challenging East Lake layout.

I enjoy playing with Rory, Woods told reporters after joining Britains Justin Rose atop the leaderboard in the 2012 FedExCup finale.

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Hes a great kid. Over the years there are certain pairings for me that Ive enjoyed,and Rory is one of them.

Woods,a three-times winner on the PGA Tour this season,was paired with McIlroy for a fifth time in this years FedExCup playoffs.

I think that is the whole idea of the playoffs,trying to get the top players all playing more often but also in the same group, said world No.2 Woods,who won the Tour Championship in 1999 and 2007.

McIlroy,who has overshadowed Woods this season by winning four times,including his second major title at last months PGA Championship,relished playing again with the former world No.1.

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It was great, theNorthern Irishman said. I always say with groupings like that,its a great atmosphere and its a great buzz. I wish I could have shot a couple of shots better. But Im in a good position going into tomorrow. Ill just go out there and try to play the same way,maybe hole a few more putts and turn what I shot today into something in the mid-60s.

McIlroy and Woods enjoy a burgeoning rivalry and appear to thrive in one anothers company. Thursday was no exception as they laughed and joked while striding down the first fairway before treating the fans to a series of clutch putts.

Woods rammed in a 21-foot birdie putt at the par-three second,then McIlroy followed suit with a slippery 18-footer downhill to birdie the third. The American chipped in to birdie the 12th,and McIlroy responded by draining a 22-footer.