Sharma takes the lead in Mexico Maple Leafs, Capitals prepare for a gusty game at Annapolis

Mexico City — Success has come quickly for Shubhankar Sharma, and the Mexico Championship is no exception.

Sharma hit a 3-wood that landed on the green and settled 2 feet away for an eagle on the opening hole at Chapultepec Golf Club. He finished with three straight birdies for a 5-under 66. And in his first World Golf Championship, he takes a two-shot lead into the weekend.

"I worked all my life to come and play at a high stage like this," said Sharma, who turned pro when he was 16. "You have to expect great things from yourself if you want to play at a high stage. I just try and not think of anything before I start. I just try and concentrate on the success, and just let things go."

Sharma overcame a pair of three-putt bogeys early in his round and was at 11-under 131.

Masters champion Sergio Garcia had a 65 and was two shots behind, along with Xander Schauffele (66) and Rafa Cabrera Bello (67).

Sharma's greatest asset is stable mind, and he has not shown any moments of being overwhelmed.

Even so, there has been a few surreal moments, such as warming up the range before the second round.

Jordan Spieth, the British Open champion and former No. 1 in the world, was hitting balls behind him. And then when Spieth left, world No. 1 Dustin Johnson took his place. It was hard for Sharma not to glance at over his shoulder. "I couldn't ask for anything better," he said. And then it got better. Sharma had such control over his game that he putted for birdie on every hole except the par-4 eighth, where he escaped from the trees into a bunker, blasted out to 12 feet and saved par. He shot 31 on the back, finishing with a gap wedge he hammered to 10 feet for a final birdie, and he walked off the green to a big ovation.

Russell Knox is the only other player to win a World Golf Championship in his debut, at the 2015 HSBC Champions in Shanghai. So much more is at stake. Sharma, the only two-time winner on the European Tour this season who leads the Race to Dubai, is No. 75 in the world. Still in his sights is a chance to move into the top 64 after next week to get into the Dell Match Play in Texas, and he has an outside chance of getting into the Masters.

And to think that just three months ago, he had yet to win anywhere in the world. Then, he shot 61 in the second round on his way to winning the Joburg Open. Last month, he closed with a 62 to win the Malaysian Open.

Now he's 36 holes away from a World Golf Championship.

"Everything has happened so fast for me," Sharma said. "In the past four months, my life has totally change. Obviously, the final destination for me is the PGA Tour. That's always been my dream. Just playing well here this week will get my closer to my dream." And yet he still has a long way to go. Schauffele, a two-time winner as a rookie last year on the PGA Tour, has managed to go bogey-free at Chapultepec over two rounds, remarkable because the poa greens following a week of rain have been bouncing more than rolling, especially in the afternoon.

Hardly anyone knew much about Schauffele last year before he played well at the U.S. Open, and then won the Greenbrier Classic and Tour Championship. He at least knows a little about the rising star from India.

"He's 21 years old, and he just won a tournament and has a locker right next to mine," Schauffele said.

Ten players were within four shots of the lead going into the weekend, a group that includes defending champion Dustin Johnson, who holed a wedge from 112 yards for eagle on the ninth hole and shot a 66. He was in the large group at 7-under 135.

"My favorite thing about that is I didn't have to putt," Johnson said.

Annapolis, Md. — Shortly before he walked outside Friday at Navy's Memorial Stadium, Mike Babcock said: "Hang on to your hat."

Babcock's Toronto Maple Leafs and the Washington Capitals might want to hang on to everything with high wind in the forecast for tonight's outdoors Stadium Series game at the U.S. Naval Academy. The storm knocking out power and disrupting travel up and down the East Coast forced both teams to practice indoors Friday, where they were left to contemplate what sustained winds of 15-20 mph and gusts as high as 32 mph might have on their game.

"I have no idea," Maple Leafs center Tyler Bozak said. "Hopefully we're skating with the wind more than we are against it."

The wind is enough of a factor that the game could be postponed to Sunday. The glass had to be removed from the on-field rink because of safety concerns.

The NHL has played 24 previous regular-season outdoor games and this one could easily see the worst conditions when it comes to wind. MAPLE LEAFS VS. CAPITALS 8 p.m., Memorial Stadium (Chs. 10, 30)

Temperatures just above freezing would not rank it among the coldest, but there are concerns how the wind could make a real difference.

"I haven't played in anywhere it's been super windy," said Maple Leafs winger James van Riemsdyk, who will be taking part in his fifth outdoor game. "It'll definitely make a unique dynamic, I know. It seems like in today's game there's lots of high flips and stuff like that, so it'll be interesting to see how the puck reacts getting flipped in the air and a gust of wind comes up."

Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby thinks strong wind would only possibly affect dumpins or high flips of the puck and that it could make it difficult for players to keep their eyes open when it's head on. Maple Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen is more concerned for the skaters — and that's a shared concern.

"If you have a turnover and you've got to backcheck, that's probably when it's going to be a little tough," Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom said.