Ryo Ishikawa got off to a solid 4-under 66 start that left him five strokes behind the leader Matt Every after the first round of the Wyndham Championship on Thursday.

Ishikawa had an early setback when he found water on the second hole at Sedgefield Country Club, leading to a double bogey, but he said after his round he "ignored what happened and moved on." He managed to get under par by the turn with back-to-back birdies on Nos. 7 and 8 after making up one shot on the par-5 fifth.

He gave himself a "110 percent" grade for his second shot on the par-5 15th, when he hit a 4-iron to less than 10 feet and holed the putt for an eagle.

Other than the eagle, he carded five birdies, a bogey and a double bogey in the final regular-season event before the FedEx Cup Playoffs, while compatriot Hiroshi Iwata shot an even-par 70 for a share of 102nd place.

Every's bogey-free round featured seven birdies and an eagle, which he recorded by holing his approach for a two on the par-4 first. The 33-year-old American enters the second round with a one-shot advantage over Henrik Stenson of Sweden.

"On every shot, I was able to swing thinking I want to be the best that I can be, or even better," said Ishikawa, who is currently 175th in the FedEx Cup rankings with 137 points.

"If put myself in a good position, and if I make the cut, I might have a chance to win, but I don't want to think about the what ifs. I just want to focus on each and every shot."