GREENSBORO, N.C. — The first day of the Wyndham Championship was full of bests.
GREENSBORO, N.C. — The first day of the Wyndham Championship was full of bests.
Tiger Woods had his best day in two years.
Tom Hoge, William McGirt and Erik Compton were even better.
Woods shot a 6-under 64 on Thursday in his first competitive round at Sedgefield Country Club while Hoge, McGirt and Compton — a two-time heart transplant recipient — shot 62s to share the lead after one round.
Morgan Hoffman, Jim Herman and Derek Ernst followed at 63, and Martin Kaymer, Davis Love III and Carl Pettersson joined Woods at 64.
It was Woods’ lowest score on the PGA Tour since a 61 in the second round of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in 2013.
He and the others took advantage of a low-scoring day at what he called a “tricky” Donald Ross-designed course that gave up bunches of birdies after morning showers softened the fairways and greens.
“When it’s like this,” Woods said, “you’ve got to throw darts and go low.”
And while Compton, McGirt and Hoge threatened the tournament record, the clear story of the day was Woods.
That low score couldn’t have come at a better time for the biggest name in the sport.
He set the tone by holing a 54-foot chip shot on his first hole, the par-4 10th, for the first of his seven birdies.
“Finally,” he said, “I got something out of my round.”
CANADIAN PACIFIC WOMEN’S OPEN
COQUITLAM, British Columbia — Karine Icher had six birdies in a seven-hole stretch and shot a 7-under 65 to take the first-round lead in the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open.
The 36-year-old Frenchwoman, winless in 253 career LPGA Tour starts, birdied Nos. 2, 5-6 and 8-11 at Vancouver Golf Club, then closed the bogey-free round with seven pars.
Two-time champion Lydia Ko was second after a 67. Ko won in 2012 at Vancouver Golf Club at 15 years, 4 months to become the LPGA Tour’s youngest winner and fifth amateur champion. She successfully defended her title in 2013 as an amateur, winning by five strokes in Edmonton, Alberta. The 18-year-old New Zealander has two victories this year.
Stacy Lewis, I.K. Kim, Danah Bordner and Pernilla Lindberg shot 68.
Canadian teen Brooke Henderson, coming off a victory Sunday in the Portland Classic, opened with a 70.
U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP
OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. — Arizona State senior Jon Rahm won two matches Thursday to advance to the U.S. Amateur quarterfinals at Olympia Fields.
Rahm, the Spanish player who tops the world amateur ranking, beat Wake Forest freshman Cameron Young of Scarborough, New York, 7 and 6 in the second round, and topped Xavier of Ohio freshman Daniel Wetterich of Cincinnati 3 and 1 in the third.
Rahm will face Virginia junior Derek Bard of New Hartford, New York, on Friday. Bard beat former Vanderbilt player Hunter Stewart of Lexington, Kentucky, 2 and 1 in the third round.
In the other upper-bracket quarterfinal, Baylor’s Matthew Perrine of Austin, Texas, will play Japan’s Kenta Konishi. In the lower bracket, NCAA champion Bryson DeChambeau of SMU will play former UAB player Paul Dunne of Ireland; and Charleston Southern junior Austin James of Canada will meet Southern California sophomore Sean Crocker of Westlake Village, California.
MADE IN DENMARK
AALBORG, Denmark — England’s David Horsey shot an 8-under 63 to take a one-shot lead after the first round of the Made in Denmark tournament.
Horsey played a seven-hole stretch in 7 under with an eagle on the par-5 11th, a par on No. 12 and five straight birdies. Wales’ Oliver Farr had a 64, and Scotland’s Paul Lawrie opened with a 65.