( CNN ) -- Golf 's forgotten man , Colombia 's Camilo Villegas , gave the galleries a reminder of his prodigious talent with a six-under-par 64 to lead the Honda Classic Thursday . Villegas won the 2010 edition of the PGA Tour event at Palm Beach Gardens but a shocking run of form since saw him lose his card at the end of the 2012 season . Playing on an invite from the sponsors , the 31-year-old Villegas , carded four birdies and a stunning eagle on the 18th to lead Rickie Fowler , Canada 's Graham DeLaet and Branden Grace of South Africa by a stroke . Villegas came home in just 30 for the treacherous back nine of the PGA National Course as he bids for his fourth PGA Tour win and a return to golf 's top table . Honda Classic latest leaderboard . His 263-yard three-wood approach to the 18th `` the perfect number for me '' set up his superb finish . `` It was nice to make it , '' he told Sky Sports `` And nice to see the ball going in the hole , I 've been working hard for the last few months and nice to see the result , '' he added . It left him six shots clear of defending champion and World No.1 Rory McIlroy , who again battled an errant driver and had to rely on his short game to stay in touch . McIlroy , who missed the cut in his first event of the season since switching to the clubs of his new sponsor Nike , then lost in the first round of the WGC World Championship last week , got into red fingers on the back nine . But more errant play from tee to green saw him finish with a disappointing bogey six for level par 70 . It left him on the same mark as early starter Tiger Woods , who recovered from two over at the turn , to recover to level par . Woods had to take off his shoes and socks to play a ball half submerged in the water hazard at the sixth , his 15th , but it paid off . He moved the ball forward and his third left him eight foot from the hole , making the putt for a valuable par . But the former No.1 struggled on the greens and he finished with 32 putts . `` I hit good putts , '' Woods told the official PGA Tour website . `` I was getting fooled on the grain , the green speeds are a little bit faster than they were but it 's an adjustment I need to make . '' On the European Tour , South African Darren Fichardt continued his blistering early season form , carding eight holes on his way to a seven-under-par 65 and a one-shot lead in the inaugural Tshwane Open . The 37-year-old won the Africa Open in East London two weeks ago and found his form again on the Copperleaf Golf and Country Estate near Pretoria . Fichardt 's nearest challenger is Bjorn Akesson of Sweden in the $ 1.970 million tournament . Meanwhile , Guan Tianlang 's bid to make this year 's British Open suffered a major setback as the 14-year-old Chinese golf prodigy fell seven shots off the lead after the first round of International Final qualifying Asia Thursday . Guan will be playing at the U.S.Masters after winning the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship last year on the same Amata Spring Country Club in Thailand where the qualifying is taking place . But a one-over 73 left him with much to do to win won of the four spots available for the July 18-21 British Open at Muirfield .
Camilo Villegas sets early pace at Honda Classic in Florida . Colombian has endured a drought since winning tournament in 2010 . Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy trail after level ##led 70s at PGA Championship . Year - old Guan Tianlang trails after opening round of British Open qualifying event .