The Korean-born journeyman missed just two fairways and shot a five-under 65 Thursday to take a one-shot lead at PGA National -- only his second career overnight lead on the PGA Tour.

A nine-time winner overseas (mostly on the Asian Tour), Wi has never finished better than fifth in 30 previous PGA Tour starts. He missed the cut in three of his first five starts this season after making it through Q-school in 16th place.

It's no wonder, then, that even though their last names are spelled differently, Wi has been mistaken as a relative of one of the world's most recognizable golfers.

"Two years ago at the John Deere my caddie overheard one of the spectators saying, 'Oh, that's Michelle Wie's dad. He got a sponsor's invite, too,'" Wi recalled. "That was the funniest thing. This was in Iowa. I'm not knocking on Iowa, but that was hilarious."

Wi battled a persistent and strong wind Thursday to lead the field with seven birdies, also making bogeys at No. 4 and No. 10 when he couldn't get up-and- down out of bunkers.

He finished with back-to-back birdies at the 17th and 18th to move one shot ahead of Bernhard Langer, who carded a four-under 66 in one of the morning's first threesomes.

Wi also opened the round with back-to-back birdies at Nos. 1 and 2, the second coming on a 15-foot putt.

Indeed, putting was what kept Wi on top. He rolled in a 25-footer for birdie at No. 7; holed a 12-footer at No. 9 to make the turn in 32; and made a 15- footer at the 18th to finish his round.

But his longest putt by far came at the par-four 13th, where he knocked a seven-iron to 40 feet and made the long birdie try to move within a shot of Langer's lead.

Wi finished with just 26 putts and handled the notorious "Bear Trap" -- holes 15, 16 and 17 -- without incident, making two pars and a birdie at the 17th.

"I've been striking it good all year, it's just a matter of making putts," he said.

"I was actually playing pretty conservatively out there because it's so windy, you know, just trying to give myself chances. But I was able to make some putts today."

Langer began his round on the back nine with his only bogey at No. 10, then made five birdies the rest of the way to stand alone in second place at 66.

Although he has lived in the area for the past 20 years, the 49-year-old former European Ryder Cup captain hasn't played at PGA National since the 1987 PGA Championship.

"It's very tough and a severe test," Langer said. "They have added a lot of length since '87...I'm not the longest hitter, so I'm hitting quite a lot of long irons and sometimes fairway woods into these par fours or even par threes.

"It's a tough track, quite narrow, lots of water and the rough is up a little bit. And the wind always makes it hard. It's a real man's golf course right now."

Robert Allenby, Joe Ogilvie, Marco Dawson and Cliff Kresge are tied for third place at three-under 67. Padraig Harrington, the 2005 champion, had a two- under 68 to lead a group of 10 players knotted in sixth place, including Davis Love III.

"The thing today was trying to pick the right shots. It was very, very dangerous out there," Harrington said.

Fred Funk battled back problems to win in Mexico last week but was forced to withdraw Thursday after shooting a 73. John Daly injured his shoulder earlier in the day and also withdrew.

Defending champion Luke Donald didn't fare much better. He shot a seven-over 77 and was tied for 118th place in a field of 144.

Last year at nearby Mirasol, Donald knocked a five-iron to four feet at the 72nd hole and made birdie to seal his two-shot win over a red-hot Geoff Ogilvy.