DEUTSCHE BANK CHAMPIONSHIP

Palmer, not Arnold, leads by 2 in Boston

Ryan Palmer (above) took only 21 putts and made birdie on half of his holes Friday at TPC Boston, giving him an 8-under 63 and a two-shot lead over Keegan Bradley after the opening round of the Deutsche Bank Championship in Norton, Mass.
Ryan Palmer (above) took only 21 putts and made birdie on half of his holes Friday at TPC Boston, giving him an 8-under 63 and a two-shot lead over Keegan Bradley after the opening round of the Deutsche Bank Championship in Norton, Mass.

NORTON, Mass. -- Ryan Palmer has felt all year that something special was going to happen. For now, he'll take his lowest round of the season.

Palmer needed only 21 putts and made birdie on half of his holes Friday on the TPC Boston, giving him an 8-under 63 and a two-shot lead over Keegan Bradley after the opening round of the Deutsche Bank Championship.

"It was one of my best ones of the year, for sure," Palmer said.

He didn't miss a putt inside 15 feet and closed out his round with a pitching wedge to 18 feet, making the downhill putt for his ninth birdie.

Bradley matched his low round of the season, though what meant more was the timing. This is the final week before U.S. captain Tom Watson decides which three players he will pick to fill out his Ryder Cup team. Bradley always seemed like a logical choice, though he wants to leave nothing to chance.

He played bogey-free in a gentle breeze, and it was just the start he needed.

"I'm not going to sit up here and say any cliches that I'm not thinking about the Ryder Cup or any of that," Bradley said. "I am very aware every second of the day that I'm being watched by the captain. And I'm just trying to embrace that, be aware of it and enjoy it if I can."

Webb Simpson, who also needs a pick to return to the Ryder Cup, and Jason Day of Australia were among those at 66.

Jordan Spieth recovered from a double bogey to start his round and, with his entire family in tow, turned it around with four birdies and an eagle for a 67. Also at 67 was Ian Poulter, who seems certain to be a Ryder Cup pick for Europe on Tuesday considering how much damage he's done to the Americans in the competition. Poulter was thinking only about his golf, which hasn't been very good this year.

"I just want to play golf," Poulter said. "It's been a [bad] year, and I want to turn it around right now."

Rory McIlroy was brilliant at times and sloppy at other times in his round of 70.

Phil Mickelson had a 74. He wasn't sure what to expect and even he had to be surprised by his card that featured 6 pars, 6 birdies, 4 bogeys, 1 double bogey and 1 triple bogey.

WEB.COM TOUR

Saunders leads by 2

FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- Sam Saunders shot his second consecutive 6-under 66 on Friday to take a two-stroke lead in the Hotel Fitness Championship, the first of four events in the Web.com Tour Finals.

Saunders, 27, Arnold Palmer's grandson, birdied five of his final seven holes in the second round at Sycamore Hills -- the Jack Nicklaus-designed course that was drenched by 11 inches of rain late last week.

Saunders finished 45th on the Web.com Tour's regular-season money list. Nos. 26-75 on Web.com money list and Nos. 126-200 in the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup standings are fighting for 25 2014-2015 PGA Tour cards based on earnings in the series.

Justin Thomas, Colt Knost, Greg Owen and Derek Fathauer were tied for second at 10 under. Thomas had a 65, Knost and Owen shot 67, and Fathauer had a 68.

Defending champion Trevor Immelman was tied for 41st at 3 under after a 70.

Tag Ridings (Arkansas Razorbacks) had four birdies and one bogey for a 3-under 69 (138) and a share of 14th place.

David Lingmerth (Razorbacks) had three birdies, one bogey and a double bogey for an even-par 72 (139). He is tied for 24th with Scott Gardiner (Farmington), who had five birdies and three bogeys for a 2-under 70 (139).

Sebastian Cappelen (Razorbacks), who finished 26th on the Web.com money list, falling out of the top 25 in the final regular-season event, shot a 72 (147) but failed to make the cut.

CHAMPIONS TOUR

Pernice, Bryant lead

CALGARY, Alberta -- Tom Pernice Jr. and Bart Bryant shot 8-under 62 on Friday to share the first-round lead in the Champions Tour's Shaw Charity Classic.

Pernice, 54, birdied his first five holes -- Nos. 10-14 -- and had 10 birdies and 2 bogeys at Canyon Meadows. The two-time PGA Tour winner won the Principal Charity Classic in June in Iowa for his third Champions Tour title.

Bryant, 52, a three-time winner on the PGA Tour, birdied five of his last eight holes. He won his lone Champions Tour title last year.

David Frost was a stroke back.

Germany's Bernhard Langer opened with a 67, two days after turning 57. Langer has a tour-high five victories this season and tops the Charles Schwab Cup points race and money list.

Fred Couples and defending champion Rocco Mediate shot 68. Mediate won the inaugural tournament by seven strokes, shooting 63-64-64 to match the tour record for fewest strokes in a 54-hole event.

EUROPEAN PGA

Otto on top by 3

FIANO, Italy -- Hennie Otto of South Africa shot a 10-under 62 to take a three-stroke lead after the second round of the Italian Open on Friday, while Stephen Gallacher's late bid to qualify for the Ryder Cup also gained momentum.

Otto, who won this event in 2008, carded 9 birdies, 1 eagle and 1 bogey to move to 15-under at the Circolo Golf Torino. He was three shots ahead of Austria's Bernd Wiesberger.

After opening with a 72, Gallacher shot a 65 to move within eight strokes of the lead at 7 under.

Gallacher is the only man still capable of moving into the automatic Ryder Cup places in the final qualifying event, with a top-two finish enough to dislodge former U.S. Open Champion Graeme McDowell from Europe's team.

Sports on 08/30/2014

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