LA Quinta(California): American Pat Perez, seeking his maiden PGA Tour title, conjured up thoughts of a magical 59 before grabbing a one-stroke lead in the Bob Hope Classic first round on Wednesday.

Taking advantage of ideal scoring conditions, Perez fired a sizzling 11-under-par 61 on the Palmer Private course at PGA West, one of four venues hosting the five-round pro-am celebrity event.

Canadian Mike Weir, the 2003 champion, eagled the par-five 18th on the same layout to open with a 62, finishing level with American left-hander Bubba Watson, who also played the Palmer course.

Swede Richard S. Johnson, who started out on the Jack Nicklaus Private course at PGA West, was among a group of six bunched on 63, along with Americans Vaughn Taylor and Ben Crane.

Perez, with his approach play in sparkling form on a calm day in the California desert, covered his first nine holes in a blistering eight-under 28 to raise hopes of a possible 59.

After rattling up further birdies at the second and fourth, he bogeyed the par-three fifth, where his tee shot ended up short and right of the green, before completing the round birdie-par-birdie-par.

"I wish I could have finished a little better but it was an awesome day," Perez, 32, told reporters. "I hit it well and had a look at a 59 but just couldn't get it done.

"I just made a bad swing on the par three and then I miss-read that one (putt) on seven. I wasn't really comfortable teeing off this morning, I don't know why. And then I birdied 10, 11 and 12 and just got it going. I felt like I could attack every flag and make all the putts, and I did. That's one of my favourite nine holes to play on the Tour," added Perez, who opened with a 60 on the same course at the 2006 Bob Hope Classic. "I was just a lot of kick-ins and a couple lipouts today, and that was it. It was nice."

Left-hander Weir, bidding for his ninth victory on the PGA Tour, rolled in a 22-foot putt to eagle the last and complete a back nine of six under.

"It was a great round but I played solidly," said the 38-year-old, who clinched his first major victory at the 2003 Masters three months after winning the Bob Hope title.

"I didn't feel like it was phenomenal putting or ball-striking, it was a combo of everything. When I did miss a green, I chipped it well. Everything was working pretty well.

"I hit couple of errant ones but, for the most part, I was down the middle and at the pin. I had a lot of chances today."

DJ Trahan, who won last year's title by three shots, fired a 65 at the SilverRock Resort, ending the day level with fellow American Steve Stricker, who played at Bermuda Dunes Country Club.

Former world number one David Duval, who shot a scintillating 59 on the Palmer Course to win the 1999 title, carded a 68 on the Jack Nicklaus Private course.