THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – K.J. Choi opened with five straight birdies. Tiger Woods looked as good as he did in Australia, making his fourth birdie with a 3-iron to an elevated green on the par-5 fifth that covered the flag.

And then, without warning, the wind showed up Thursday in the foothills of Sherwood Country Club.

Choi held his own in gusts up to 30 mph and finished with a 6-under 66, giving him a three-shot lead over Woods and Steve Stricker in the Chevron World Challenge.

They were the only three players to break 70 in the 18-man field in the final official event in America this year.

“Anything under par is a good day today with the wind up,” said Woods, a four-time winner of this event and the tournament host. “If the wind stayed down, you’re going to have to shoot probably 68 or below for it to be a good score.”

Five of the six players who broke par – Jim Furyk, Nick Watney and Rickie Fowler were at 71 – had most recently played at blustery Royal Melbourne in the Presidents Cup.

Choi figures he had even a greater advantage. He lives in Dallas.

“I was used to playing in the windy conditions, not only playing in Melbourne, but also living in Dallas, where there’s 20- to 30-mile wind every other day,” Choi said. “I’m used to practicing in those conditions. I’ve become very comfortable in those windy conditions.”

The notorious Santa Ana wind was in the forecast, with some projections of 60 mph gusts.

But when the elite field arrived at Sherwood, there was not even a breeze. Woods and Stricker birdied the opening two holes with relative ease. Woods added another birdie on No. 4 with a 25-foot putt, and then came his 3-iron from 229 yards to 18 feet for an eagle attempt that burned the edge.

He was standing on the sixth green, 15 feet behind the hole, when a big gust backed Woods off his putt and scattered leaves raced across the fairway behind him.

Matt Kuchar was 4 under until he made triple bogey on the 16th, bogeyed the 17th and had to settle for a 72.

SUNSHINE TOUR: In Sun City, South Africa, defending champion Lee Westwood birdied the last hole to shoot a 4-under 68 and share the first-round lead with Masters winner Charl Schwartzel at the Nedbank Golf Challenge.

EUROPEAN TOUR/ASIAN TOUR: U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy shot a 6-under 64 in blustery conditions to share the lead with Alvaro Quiros and David Horsey after the first round of the Hong Kong Open.