Woods out fast, but stumbles late

Tiger Woods fared well on his return to competitive golf Thursday at the Hero World Challenge, at least in the fi rst half of the round. After a 33 on the front nine, he shot a 40 on the back side.
Tiger Woods fared well on his return to competitive golf Thursday at the Hero World Challenge, at least in the fi rst half of the round. After a 33 on the front nine, he shot a 40 on the back side.

NASSAU, Bahamas -- Tiger Woods struck a shot with his 5-iron from the third fairway and froze on his follow-through, tracking the ball as he did routinely in his prime. The shot, his second on the 572-yard, par-5 at Albany Golf Club on Thursday, was hit almost too flush. Woods had not been sure he had enough club to reach the green, so he was surprised when the ball rolled off the back of it.

He chipped to inside 5 feet and made the putt for the first birdie of his first round in 466 days, easily the longest layoff of his 21-year career.

Woods would later describe the shot as one of his best of the day. It was a signal that his game, after three injury-marred years, was not gone, just buried beneath layers of rust.

"To hit it that flush that early in the round, that felt good and gave me a little confidence," said Woods, who briefly held a share of the lead early in the first round of the Hero World Challenge, the 18-man unofficial PGA Tour event he hosts.

After he made the turn in 3-under par, the breeze picked up and Woods cooled off. He played the final nine holes in 4 over, with two double bogeys, a birdie and a bogey, for a 1-over 73.

The first-round leader was J.B. Holmes, who carded an 8-under 64. Woods is 17th among the 18 golfers, ahead of only Justin Rose, who shot a 74.

"I let a really good round slip away at the end," said Woods, who blamed what he described as "silly" mental mistakes, not physical fatigue, for his drop in play. "They are mistakes I don't normally make, but I haven't played in a while."

He added, "I can clean that up."

Woods, 40, has spent 683 weeks at No. 1, but his ranking plummeted to 898th while he was sidelined. His main sponsor, Nike, also bowed out of the club-making business during that time, prompting Woods to experiment with different woods and a new ball this week.

"There were some awkward shots, there's no doubt about it," he said, adding, "But all in all, I feel pretty good. I'm looking forward to another three days."

EUROPEAN TOUR

Trio shares lead

GOLD COAST, Australia -- Australians Andrew Dodt, Harold Varner and Ashley Hall shared the Australian PGA Championship lead today at 7-under 64 after the rain-delayed first round.

Dodt finished Thursday before lightning and a storm forced organizers to postpone play until this morning. Play resumed at 5:30 a.m., and Varner completed the round with birdies on his last two holes. Hall birdied four of his last seven.

Matthew Griffin, who finished his opening round early today, was in fourth after a 66.

American Julian Suri, who missed out by one stroke on getting a full card on the European Tour last month, and Ryan Fox of New Zealand were next at 5 under.

EUROPEAN TOUR

Duo out front

MALELANE, South Africa -- Defending champion Charl Schwartzel birdied the last hole for a share of the first-round lead in the European Tour's Alfred Dunhill Championship.

The South African star tapped in on No. 18 to match Ireland's Paul Dunne at 6-under 66 at Leopard Creek Country Club. Schwartzel has won the event three of the last four years and four times overall.

Home favorite Schwartzel made most of his gains on the back nine, with five birdies coming home. Ireland's Dunne made four birdies either side of a double-bogey 6 on the ninth.

Brandon Stone, Max Orrin, Scott Jamieson, Jean Hugo, Pablo Larrazabal and Alexander Bjork shot 67.

LPGA Q-SCHOOL

Hataoka, Reid lead

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Japanese teen Nasa Hataoka and two-time European Solheim Cup player Mel Reid shared the second-round lead in the LPGA Tour qualifying tournament.

Hataoka, 17, had a 7-under 65 on LPGA International's Hills Course to match Reid at 11-under 133. Reid had an 8-under 64 on the Jones Course.

The top 20 finishers Sunday will earn full cards and the next 25 and ties will get conditional status.

PGA Q-SCHOOL

Parel ahead by 1

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Scott Parel shot a 3-under 69 to take the third-round lead in the PGA Tour Champions' qualifying tournament.

Parel had a 10-under 206 total on Disney's Magnolia Course. Skip Kendall (70) and Wales' Phillip Price (68) were a stroke back.

The top five finishers today will be fully exempt and Nos. 6-30 and ties will get associate membership and have access to event qualifying while bypassing prequalifying.

Sports on 12/02/2016

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