Charlotte, N.C. ? Sergio Garcia shot a 6-under 66, good for a two-shot lead Thursday in the Wachovia Championship.

Masters champion Tiger Woods suffered several mental blunders and was relieved to shoot 70.

Garcia finished with a 5-iron into a cool breeze that stopped 6 feet away on the 486-yard ninth hole, giving him a birdie he felt was overdue — even though it was his eighth of the day.

“I’m happy about the round,” Garcia said. “But at the same time, I look at it and say, ‘This could have been amazing.’ I didn’t make as many putts as I deserved. I could have easily shot 61 or 62.”

He broke by two shots the back-nine record at Quail Hollow with a 30, then turned a brilliant day into a minor struggle with back-to-back bogeys, including a 30-inch miss for par on the second hole.

Still, it was enough to give him a two-shot lead over defending champion Joey Sindelar, Kenny Perry, Patrick Sheehan and Richard Johnson of Sweden, and plenty of momentum heading into the second round.

Playing for the first time since his playoff victory at Augusta National three weeks ago, Woods played his first five holes in 2 over par.

He recovered, only to lose ground with a poor club selection on the par-5 seventh — a 7-iron from 191 yards that came up short into the water. Still, he finished with back-to-back birdies, including a 40-footer on the ninth hole.

“I was trying to rip a 7-iron in there, and the prudent play would have been a 6-iron over the ridge, two-putt for birdie,” Woods said of No. 7. “It was one of the mental mistakes I made. It was just a horrible hole.”