Davis Love III is back on top at Harbour Town.

Love, a five-time tournament champion, shot a 5-under 66 yesterday for a share of the first-round lead in the Verizon Heritage in Hilton Head Island, S.C., with Justin Leonard and Lucas Glover.

Love, 44, has struggled to bounce back from a ligament tear in his left ankle in September. Yesterday, he shot his best round since August and gave him confidence things might keep improving at one of his favorite locales.

"It's getting close," Love said.

There have been many oddities for Love the past few months. He failed to qualify for the Masters, missing his first major championship since the 1990 U.S. Open.

Leonard, the 2002 Harbour Town winner, is coming off a top-20 finish at the Masters. Glover had his best finish of the year in his previous event, a tie for 14th at the Shell Houston Open.

• Ginn Open: Lorena Ochoa got off to a solid start in a bid for her fourth consecutive victory and fifth in six starts this year. Playing for the fourth consecutive week, Ochoa shot a 4-under 68 in the first round in Reunion, Fla., to finish a stroke behind leaders Carin Koch and Teresa Lu. Karrie Webb, Suzann Pettersen, Charlotte Mayorkas, Mhairi McKay, Allison Fouch and Yani Tseng also were a stroke back.

• China Open: Michael Lorenzo-Vera of France shot a 5-under 67 for a one-stroke lead after the first round in Beijing. Lorenzo-Vera led a group of seven players at 4-under 68, including Jason Knutzon of the United States, Li Chao of China, Joost Luiten of the Netherlands and Simon Griffiths of England.