"A wee breeze," Stenson said with a smile as he tugged at his cap.

He was among the few players who appeared to enjoy himself today, maybe because he had never been to Doral.

The Blue Monster lived up to its reputation at the CA Championship, and this being a World Golf Championship, so did Stenson.

One month after the big-hitting Swede captured the Accenture Match Play Championship, he took a step toward another world title by making seven birdies in severe wind and some rain for a 5-under 67, giving him a share of the lead with Robert Allenby.

Thomas Bjorn of Denmark was another shot behind.

Hawai'i's Dean Wilson shot a 73.

"The big events, the more you want to win," Stenson said.

Doral has had a strong field in recent years, with Tiger Woods a two-time defending champion.

But this wasn't the same Doral.

Not with ferocious wind that blew rain sideways at times and left players hitting 5-iron on holes where they typically hit wedge. Not with only 15 players breaking par, on a course where the winning score the previous two years was 20 and 24 under.

"I sure didn't see that out there today," Charles Howell III said after a 69.

And not with greens that have been redone with a new grass, fooling Woods on his way to 32 putts, a 71 and plenty of disgust.

"Pathetic," said Woods, who was pleased with everything about his game until he took out his putter. "I putt a lot by memory and what I've done here over the years. A couple of the putts did the exact opposite than what they used to do."

This was all new to Stenson, who is No. 5 in the world and sure looks the part.

"I can only see one thing standing between him being the world's best player," Bjorn said. "And that's Tiger Woods."

Woods looked as exasperated as he did Sunday after a 43 on the back nine at Bay Hill, even though he was only four shots out of the lead. He sure wasn't alone.

A year ago when Doral featured sunshine and only a breeze, the cut was at 4-under 140.

There's no cut in WGC events. There weren't a lot of smiles, either.

Ernie Els was in the group at 70, although he was as frustrated as anyone leaving the course. Els hit the ball beautifully, but missed birdie putts of 5 feet at No. 15 and 6 feet on the 16th. After having to lay up on the 18th hole because of a drive into the rough, he hit wedge into about 6 feet and missed the par putt.

Then he had to wait for a television interview, and by then he was done talking. Instead, the Big Easy settled into a chair and quietly ate a cheeseburger in peace.

Masters champion Phil Mickelson closed with one of only two birdies on the 18th hole to shoot 77. Vijay Singh, coming off a victory last week in the Arnold Palmer Invitational, went from the bunker into the water on the 18th for a double bogey to shoot 74.

It was tough off the tee, from the fairway, even on the green.

Stenson was in good shape for a solid par save on the third hole, standing over a 3-foot putt with his pants flapping in the wind. As he drew the putter back, he felt a gust over his shoulder and jerked the putter forward.

"It's just patience. Don't putt it before you feel you're ready to do so," he said.

Allenby also fought the gusts, but still managed to peel off seven birdies to continue a year that has produced good swings, just no wins.

"I just tried to hit three-quarter shots most of the way in and really stay in control with the shots that I hit," Allenby said. "When it's blowing this hard, it's hard to walk in it, let alone try and stay still in it."

Doral has a different spot on the calendar (it used to lead off the Florida swing) and a different name, but it was different greens that caused Woods fits. He birdied his first two holes after starting on No. 10 to get his name atop the leaderboard, but it was struggle from there. And he didn't do himself any favors on the 18th, when his drive landed next to a palm tree and he had to chip out left-handed.

Stenson had no such problems.

"For me, it's probably easier than for some of the other ones because I've never played here before," Stenson said. "It's always tricky when you have some memories of how the greens are going to slope and things like that."

The surprise might have been Bjorn, who made a quick exit from the Match Play Championship after losing in 13 holes to Trevor Immelman. The Dane hasn't played since, and wants to work his way back into shape.

He wasn't thrilled to see so much wind, especially with so much rust in his game. But it worked out well.