GRAND BLANC, Michigan (Ticker) -- Having put more than 200,000 miles on his old recreational vehicle, unheralded Kent Jones is looking to upgrade to a new Buick.

Six months removed from his lone top-10 finish on the PGA Tour, Jones fired a 7-under-par 65 on Thursday to grab a one-stroke lead after the opening round of the Buick Open.

Jones is the most non-descript name on a leaderboard that includes Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh.

"I kind of felt like it could happen," said Jones, who has missed the cut in half his 22 tournaments this season. "I mean, I had no idea it would be today, but I felt like I've been really close to playing well the last few weeks and not missing a couple cuts."

Jones, 35, collected seven birdies at the Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club for a one-shot lead over Mark Brooks and Korea's K.J. Choi.

Woods is among nine players who opened with 67s as he tunes up for next week's PGA Championship, the final major of the season.

"If I'm out there playing, I'm competing and trying to win this tournament, but right now, practice session-wise, I'll probably go out there and try and shape a few shots that I'll probably need for next week."

The chasm between Woods and Jones is prodigious. While Woods has 32 career PGA victories, Jones' lone top-10 finish came in the first week of February, when he tied for eighth at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

"I felt like I've been on the verge of playing well, and it seemed like today I finally made some putts," said Jones, a teammate of PGA Tour veteran Tim Herron at the University of New Mexico. "I kept the ball out of trouble for the most part."

Jones put more than 200,000 miles on his old RV while traveling with his wife and dog and playing the Canadian and Hooters Tours from 1993-95. He ended up selling it, but will win a new Buick LeSabre if he holds on to his lead.

In 1998, Jones was one stroke back through 36 holes here before tying for 12th place.

"I guess maybe because it's not so long," he said of his success at Warwick Hills. "You have to hit it pretty straight. If you're hitting it straight, I think anybody can play well here. I played well in '98. Also, I missed a couple of cuts here. So it's kind of hit or miss."

It was more hit than miss on Thursday.

Jones parred the 567-yard first hole, then ran off three straight birdies. He pitched within 25 feet at the par-4 second hole, left his tee shot 10 feet from the pin at the 187-yard third and rolled in another 10-footer at No. 4.

"I think getting off to a good start, three out of the first four, helps get into that mind-set a little bit, and you don't feel like you have to press to make birdies," Jones said. "It sort of happens that way."

After eight consecutive pars, Jones closed with four birdies on his final six holes. He escaped a bunker and made an eight-footer at the 544-yard 13th, then two-putted from 70 feet at the short par-4 14th. Despite sending his second shot to the right, Jones ended up making a 35-foot birdie putt at No. 16.

He nearly eagled the par-4 finishing hole before tapping in a 2 1/2-footer for his seventh birdie of the day.

"I'm going to go to bed and be right back out tomorrow and play, so it's a quick turnaround," Jones said. "I don't have a lot of time to think about it. And also, with three rounds to go, it's a little early. ... It looks like it's going to be a lot of birdies this week."

Defending champion Kenny Perry stumbled to a 1-over 73 on Thursday and is eight shots back. A year ago, he missed the tournament record by a stroke, defeating Chris DiMarco and Jim Furyk by two shots at 25-under 263.