GOLF ROUNDUP

Rose’s run results in two-stroke lead

ORLANDO, Fla. - Justin Rose started out as another guy in Tiger Woods’ group Thursday at Bay Hill. He wound up in the lead.

Rose ran off four consecutive birdies late in his round for a 7-under-par 65, giving him a two-shot lead after the opening round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Woods had two sloppy bogeys from green side bunkers and didn’t hit it as well as he did when he won Doral two weeks ago. But he made enough key par saves and manhandled the par 5s to scratch out a 69, a reasonable start as he tries to win Bay Hill for the eighth time and return to No. 1 in the world.

It was only the sixth time in 31 rounds at Bay Hill that Rose broke 70.

“If you had said I would shoot a 65 on the range this morning, I would have probably said, ‘How many holes have I played?’ And that didn’t change much,” Rose said. “The first five, six holes out there were a grind.”

John Huh had a chance to catch him late in the afternoon, but needing a birdie on the final hole, he found a fairway bunker on No. 9 and took bogey for a 67. John Rollins and Brad Fritsch were at 68.

Rose and Woods played in the morning, the tougher side of the draw because of chilly temperatures and a strong breeze. The rough was thick without being terribly high. The hole locations were in spots Woods had not seen very often. The scores were reflective of a challenging morning until Rose and Woods began to pick up the pace on the par-5 16th.

Both made eagle from inside 15 feet - Woods hit a 9-iron for a second shot on a hole that was playing downwind - but that’s where their fortunes changed. Woods came up short in a bunker, hit a poor shot and took bogey on the 17th. Rose holed a 20-foot birdie putt.

On the front nine, both made three consecutive birdies starting on the par-5 fourth. Rose doubled his lead over Woods on the par-3 seventh with a 12-foot birdie putt, and Woods came up short in the bunker and failed to save par.

Also in the group at 69 with Woods were Ryo Ishikawa of Japan, Nick Watney, Sean O’Hair and Bill Haas, who bogeyed his last two holes.

Ken Duke (Arkadelphia, Henderson State) and Tag Ridings (Arkansas Razorbacks) each opened with a 70. Duke made five birdies and three bogeys. Ridings’ bogey-free round included two birdies. David Lingmerth (Razorbacks) followed with a 71 with two birdies and one bogey.

British Open champion Ernie Els played with Rose and Woods and disappeared quickly. The Big Easy kept pulling his tee shots and getting into trouble, dropping five shots in the opening five holes. He rallied with a 4-iron to 2 feet for birdie on the 18th, and a 9-iron to about the same tap-in range on his final hole at No. 9 to salvage a 75.

Others weren’t so fortunate. U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson and two-time major champion Angel Cabrera each had 80. Masters champion Bubba Watson birdied three of his last four holes for a 74. Scott Gardiner (Farmington) had a birdie and four bogeys in a 75.

Brandt Snedeker, playing for the first time in five weeks because of a rib injury, took triple bogey on his 17th hole and had a 76. Snedeker’s 5-iron on the 17th didn’t quite clear the hazard where the sand meets the lake. Coming off his injury, he wasn’t interesting in trying to gouge it out, which he probably couldn’t have done, anyway. At least he had his health at the end of the round. “Encouraged,” he said about his ribs.

WEB.COM TOUR One blip for Daly

BROUSSARD, La. - It was mostly a good day for John Daly playing on the Web.com Tour.

Daly (Dardanelle, Arkansas Razorbacks) had five birdies in his round of 3-under-par 68 and avoided mistakes, except on No. 7. A double bogey on the par-5 hole kept Daly from sitting right behind the leaders of the Chitimacha Louisiana Open, John Peterson and Danny Ellis, who shot 65s.

Brenden Pappas (Razorbacks) was a stroke behind Daly, and had five birdies and three bogeys. Ron Whittaker (Little Rock) was another stroke back at 70 with three birdies and two bogeys.

EUROPEAN TOUR

Kiradech grabs lead

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand shot a 7-under-par 65 Thursday to take the clubhouse lead at the Malaysian Open before thunderstorms caused the suspension of the first round. Half the field was still on the course.

Aphibarnrat is one stroke ahead of 2010 Ryder Cup player Edoardo Molinari, Gregory Bourdy and Anders Hansen at the Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club.

Sports, Pages 21 on 03/22/2013

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