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GREENSBORO -- In a field of stars and major champions, the strongest group of players in a decade, the names atop the Wyndham Championship's leaderboard after the first round are, well, a little surprising.

The No. 4 money-winner on the Nationwide Tour last year. A journeyman pro without full PGA status making just his 11th start this year. A popular Aussie who hasn't made it to the weekend in 12 of his last 14 starts.

Tommy "Two Gloves" Gainey and Jeff Quinney both shot 7-under-par 63s at Sedgefield Country Club on Thursday. They lead Stuart Appleby by one stroke heading into today's second round.

All three got it done on the Donald Ross greens.

Quinney, who lost his exempt status last year, leads the field in putting stats. Gainey, the Nationwide graduate looking for his first PGA victory, is fifth. Appleby, with his new belly putter, is 12th.

Gainey tees off at 8 a.m. today. And he can't wait.

"When you have a morning tee time, you have perfect greens for at least nine holes," Gainey said. "&ellipses;I feel like after the way I putted today, I'm going to light it up tomorrow."

A 10-player logjam comes next at 65. It's a group that features more star power, including four players -- Vijay Singh, Ernie Els, Lee Janzen and Jim Furyk -- who have combined to win nine majors.

"I'm surprised there's that many low scores out there," three-time major champ Singh said. "It didn't look like it was that easy during the practice rounds. Every Tom, Dick and Harry shot under par. I guess mine is a very average round."

The group at 65 also includes the Swedish Whirlie, crowd favorite Carl Pettersson, who won the Wyndham in 2008. There's Jason Bohn, who shot 30 on the back nine and has finished third, second and second in his last three starts here. And Englishman Paul Casey, who is No. 17 in the world rankings but just 147th in the FedEx Cup standings.

Another dozen players shot 66. Among them: Justin Leonard, David Toms, Webb Simpson and PGA Championship runner-up Jason Dufner.

Els said Sedgefield was a welcome change from last week's major.

"(Atlanta) was really kind of a beast compared to this old lady," Els said. "It was nice to have greens that are receptive. You can hit some 3-woods to keep the ball in play and kind of play the game of golf rather than just trying to survive."

With the scores low, it's still anyone's tournament.

Need proof? Gainey was disappointed with his 63.

He hit just two fairways on the front nine and still shot 6-under 29, with an eagle, four birdies and four pars.

"That just tells you how solid I'm hitting the irons and how well I'm rolling the putter," said Gainey, the 36-year-old pro from South Carolina who wears two golf gloves while he plays. "I hit it so bad off the tee, but the rest of my game is making up for the poor tee ball. &ellipses; I'm happy with my score, but it could've been two shots better."

Quinney, meanwhile, was thrilled with his round, which featured a stretch of five consecutive birdies -- and a little luck.

His tee shot on No. 14 settled 18 inches from going out of bounds.

"It was against a tree root," Quinney said. "I ended up hitting an awesome hybrid to about 4 feet (from the hole) and made a birdie. Somehow, I walked away with a three that maybe could've been a six."

Not everyone had a good day.

Defending champ Arjun Atwal shot 3-over 73. Brandt Snedeker, the 2007 champ, struggled to a 2-over 72. Five of the 18 major winners in the field -- Lucas Glover, Davis Love III, Ben Curtis, Rich Beem and Todd Hamilton -- shot 70 or worse and sit somewhere between 94th and 124th.

And Camilo Villegas, who started the week on the number at 125th in the FedEx Cup standings, starts today tied for 94th in the tournament, staring down the barrel of missing the playoffs.

It could change in a hurry today. The low numbers are out there, as proven by a surprising leaderboard.

Contact Jeff Mills at 373-7024 or jeff.mills @news-record.com