David Toms fired a four-under par 67 to take a one-shot lead over Ernie Els after the first round of the PGA Grand Slam at Port Royal yesterday.

Els grabbed a birdie at the last to close a gap that had been four shots at the turn, while Graeme McDowell (one-over) Martin Kaymer (three-over) didn't have the best of days.

Toms rattled off six birdies and two bogeys during a round where at one stage he looked like breaking Lucas Glover's course record 65 with some ease.

The American raced to five-under after just 10 holes, leaving the rest of the field trailing in his wake but bogeys at 11 and 13, either side of another birdie at 12, brought his round to a grinding halt and he parred the closing five holes.

"What sticks out to me is really having to pay attention on the golf course," said Toms. "The wind was a different direction than we played yesterday in the Pro-Am. I think that's why we played kind of fairly slow.

"We were having to think a lot off the tee boxes, into the green. There was probably a wind none of us have seen before on the course in our round and a half or whatever.

"For instance, yesterday in the Pro-Am I hit three-wood to 16. Today I hit a five-iron. That can tell you the difference in the wind."

Toms led from the start and his front nine was a flawless display of clean, accurate hitting. The wheels didn't really come off until he found himself in a sand-filled divot at 11 and chunked his second shot into a greenside bunker.

"To get off to a good start was great," said Toms. "Birdieing the first couple holes, that settled me down and got me into the round.

"I played the front nine real solid, then birdied 10, and was really on a roll. Then I chunked it in the front bunker, made bogey, and that took the wind out of my sails. Fortunately I was able to birdie the next hole with a nice putt."

Els, meanwhile, carded a three-under 68 and his birdie at the last gave his scorecard a better look than he might have expected given a round in which he struggled with his putter and had to scramble to save par on 15 and 17.

The South African missed a host of chances on the front nine but was still keeping pace with Toms after birdies on the first and fifth holes.

However, he missed a par putt on eight to drop a shot and had to scramble to save par on nine. He then produced two pieces of magic, including hitting the ball left handed out of the rough on 17 to leave himself well in contention.

"Obviously, I'm not in a bad position," said Els. "It feels like, especially on the front nine, I left a lot of shots out there.

"I've got to work on the greens a little bit. It's got nothing to do with the greens, they're world class, but I'm working on a bit of new (putting) technique, kind of new still.

"But, you know, I think I'm in a good position. Hopefully I can play a little better tomorrow."

The year's two major winners in the group, meanwhile, struggled, although back-to-back birdies at 17 and 18 helped Graeme McDowell finish at only one-over after he hit the ball out of bounds and finished with a triple bogey at 11.

"It was just one of those days where one swing kind of unravels the day, shall we say," said McDowell. "I made the mistake on the tee on 11 missing the fairway left. It's very difficult to hit it close out of this Bermuda rough. I tried to hit a bit of a fancy bunker shot on 11, tried to clip one with a bit of a spin and clipped it out of bounds. It wasn't ideal. In this format, you can't be making mistakes like that.

"I'm happy to finish with a couple of birdies though. It gives me half a chance tomorrow."

Martin Kaymer seems to be out of the event already. The PGA Championship winner finished three-over for the round and is seven shots behind Toms.

Kaymer's round started well, for the first three holes at least, and a birdie at the par-three third was the only time he was below par for the round.

That though was as good as it got for a man who has enjoyed an incredible year that may yet see him finish as world number one.

Bogies at seven, eight, 15 and 18, left the German at the back of the pack and he will need to show all the skills that have propelled him to a major win, and the European Order of Merit if he is to challenge the others for the top spot today.

"It was fun to play, but obviously not the best score," he said. "Plus three is not the day I was hoping for.

"But, well, I don't know what to say. I didn't play the best golf today, I think I made only one birdie. I didn't hit the balls close to the flag, and there weren't a lot of birdie chances."