Vijay Singh wants the trophy they hand out Sunday in the Mercedes-Benz Championship.

Convinced that he has figured out his flaws, determined not to let another opportunity on Maui slip away, Singh survived the raging trade wind at Kapalua to make six birdies for a 4-under 69, leaving him in a five-way tie for the lead as the PGA Tour season began in strenuous conditions.

"There's so much going on about FedExCup, I'm tired of listening to it," Singh said. "Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. It's going to be a good year. There's still tournaments out there that we have to focus on, and not focus on the FedExCup itself. Right now, my focus is going to be on winning golf tournaments."

This one might require some patience.

The wind was so strong that Stephen Ames had 152 yards to the hole at No. 13 and ripped a 5-iron. He called it the toughest wind since Saturday at Muirfield in the 2002 British Open, the day Tiger Woods' hope for a Grand Slam ended with an 81.

The result was a crowd atop the leaderboard.

K.J. Choi struck the first shot of the season and was the first to post a 69 with a nice chip to tap-in range on the par-5 18th. Will MacKenzie, one of 13 newcomers to the Mercedes-Benz Championship, and Brett Wetterich and Ames eventually joined the lead.

Love was poised to join them until he hit a slight fade that the wind turned into a wild slice, the ball disappearing into the weeds on the 16th hole, forcing him to hit another. He escaped with a bogey, then finished with a two-putt birdie on the 18th after hitting 4-iron from 275 yards away with the wind at his back. He was one shot back at 70.

"I'm glad to get in under par," Davis Love III said. "I don't think if we were on vacation we would have played today."

This is the first of 40 events to earn points in a season-long competition that will end at the Tour Championship, with $10 million going to winner of the FedExCup.

Mercedes-Benz Championship

At Kapalua Resort, The Plantation Course

Kapalua, Maui

Purse: $5.5 million

Yardage: 7,411; Par: 73

First Round

K.J. Choi 33-36—69

Will MacKenzie 33-36—69

Vijay Singh 34-35—69

Brett Wetterich 34-35—69

Stephen Ames 35-34—69

Davis Love III 34-36—70

Trevor Immelman 34-37—71

Chris Couch 36-35—71

Jim Furyk 34-37—71

Rory Sabbatini 38-33—71

Carl Pettersson 37-35—72

Luke Donald 35-37—72

Adam Scott 36-37—73

Troy Matteson 36-37—73

Joe Durant 34-39—73

John Senden 37-36—73

Arron Oberholser 35-38—73

J.B. Holmes 35-38—73

Stuart Appleby 36-37—73

J.J. Henry 37-37—74

Rod Pampling 38-36—74

Geoff Ogilvy 37-37—74

Corey Pavin 34-41—75

Tim Herron 37-38—75

Kirk Triplett 38-37—75

David Toms 36-39—75

Jeff Maggert 39-37—76

John Rollins 36-41—77

Aaron Baddeley 37-40—77

Chad Campbell 38-39—77

Eric Axley 39-39—78

D.J. Trahan 40-39—79

Dean Wilson 39-41—80