Jim Furyk made two long birdie putts and was equally thrilled with a 10-foot par save on his final hole for a six-under 65 in the first round of the Transitions Championship on Thursday.
It was the first time he had held the outright lead since his last US PGA Tour victory 20 months ago.
Stephen Ames was one shot behind after a 66 on a Copperhead Course that was as demanding as ever, but one he enjoys far more than the Blue Monster last week at Doral, which favors the big hitters.
PHOTO: AFP
The group at 67 included Kenny Perry, who sandwiched birdies on the tough 16th and 18th holes around his only bogey on the round.
The 48-year-old Perry was playing his eighth event of the year and was worn out. Innisbrook was not exactly a working vacation.
“It’s tough out there. It’s US Open conditions,” Perry said. “There’s no breather holes out there.”
Ryo Ishikawa, the 17-year-old from Japan making his second US PGA Tour start, birdied his opening two holes but never got any lower and settled for a 69, leaving him in much better shape than at the Northern Trust Open, where he missed the cut.
“I was more relaxed compared with my first event,” he said. The key was the first hole.”
Furyk took a five-week break to start the year. Having failed to win last season — only the third time in the last 14 years he went an entire US PGA Tour season without winning — he decided not to start until Pebble Beach. His scores have improved each week and Furyk really hit his stride last week at Doral with four rounds in the 60s to finish third.
The bigger problem has been getting back to winning.
His last victory was in July 2007 at the Canadian Open. Stranger still was that Furyk, who has 13 career victories, has not been atop the leaderboard after any round since then.
He hasn’t played poorly. His putter has been the culprit, the case with so many other players, and the few times he did give himself a chance in the final round, he simply didn’t hole enough putts.
But he worked hard on his aim with the short stick and was gaining confidence. Furyk didn’t need much help when he started his round on the back nine, making all his birdies from short range.
Masters champion Trevor Immelman has struggled mightily since his month break after Abu Dhabi and he might have been forcing it with his defense of the Masters approaching.
Somewhere between the range and the golf course, he lost confidence in his swing. But he had a 72-69 weekend at Doral, played nicely at the Tavistock Cup, and his 68 in the first round was his lowest score of the year.
■ MADEIRA ISLANDS OPEN
AP, PORTO SANTO, MADEIRA ISLANDS
Joakim Haeggman had five birdies in six holes on Thursday for a five-under 66 to share a two-stroke lead with Damien McGrane after the first round of the Madeira Islands Open.
The 39-year-old Swede, who is chasing his first European Tour victory since 2004, was on par through the front nine but then birdied the 10th and holed another four birdies from the 12th.
McGrane, who started on the 10th tee, had five birdies before the turn and added two more along with two bogies on the back nine. The Irishman birdied the last for a share of the lead.
The trio of Andrew Butterfield of England, Estanislao Goya of Argentina and Carl Suneson of Spain were two strokes back in third place.
Haeggman, who became the first Swede to represent Europe in the Ryder Cup in 1993, has revived his career this season after having to qualify for a spot on the tour.
“This is still what I want to do,” Haeggman said. “I’ve been working hard like everybody else and now that I’ve got my foot in the door I’m going to try to stick it in as hard as I can.”
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
RSS