Off the wire

LITTLE ROCK — GOLF Wi, Dufner tied

Coming off a final round at Innisbrook in which he made a 13 on one hole, Charlie Wi hit an 8-iron over the water to six feet for birdie on the 18th for a 6-under par 66, giving him a share of the lead on Thursday withJason Dufner in the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, Fla. It’s the fourth time Dufner has been atop the leaderboard after a round during the Florida swing - except that none of those rounds have been on Sunday.

Tiger Woods, a six-time champion at Bay Hill, shot a 69. There was nothing particularly special about this round, except for a 30-foot birdie putt that swirled around the cup at the 15th, and a couple of three-putt bogeys that kept his score from being lower. Phil Mickelson was all over the place, going from a bunker to a magnolia tree on his way to an unlikely par; hitting a tee shot out of bounds for double bogey; hitting into the water for another double bogey; and somehow escaping with a 73. In the group behind Mickelson, Anthony Kim made only two pars on the back nine for a 32 that shot him up the leaderboard. Kim followed two birdies with two bogeys, made two more birdies and then hit 5-iron on the 17th hole for an ace. He was leading until a pair of bogeys on the back nine gave him a 69. Ken Duke (Arkadelphia, Henderson State) struggled on Thursday, finishing with a 77.

Ireland’s Damien McGrane shot a 7-under par 65 to take a twostroke lead after the first round of the European Tour’s Hassan II Trophy in Agadir, Morocco. Spain’s Alejandro Canizares was second at Golf du Palais Royal, the Robert Trent Jones Sr.-designed course that sits inside the walls of the Royal Palace of Agadir. Other thanthe tournament, the course is used only by King Mohammed VI and his guests. England’s Robert Rock, needing to finish first or second in to make the top 50 in the world and assure a spot in the Masters, had a 77. He had an 11 on the par-4 fourth hole. John Daly (Dardanelle, Arkansas Razorbacks) also opened with a 77.

Brenden Pappas (Razorbacks) is tied for the lead after the first round of the Nationwide Chitimacha Louisiana Open with Will MacKenzie after shooting a 63 Thursday at Le Triomphe Country Club in Broussard, La. Pappas, who owns the course record with a 60 in 2007, made nine birdies. Brett Wetterich birdied three of his final four holes for a 7-under 64. Tag Ridings (Razorbacks) had a 68 while Ron Whittaker (Little Rock) finished with a 70. Glen Day (Little Rock) shot a 72 and David Lingmerth (Razorbacks) had a 73.

Top-ranked Yani Tseng shot a 5-under 67 on Thursday for a share of the first-round lead with Ji Young Oh and Caroline Hedwall in the Kia Classic in Carlsbad, Calif. Tseng won the LPGA Founders Cup on Sunday in Phoenix for her 14th LPGA Tour title and second in four events this year. The 23-yearold Taiwanese star led the tour last season with seven victories - including major victories in the LPGA Championship and Women’s British Open - and finished the year with 12 worldwide titles. Tseng finished with a birdie on the par-4 ninth after dropping a stroke on the par-3 eighth when she drew a difficult lie in a greenside bunker. On the ninth, her approach shot hit the left side of the fringe and kicked onto the green, coming to rest three feet from the hole. Tseng hit eight of 14 fairways and 12 of 18 greens in regulation. Suzann Pettersen, Jiyai Shin, Brittany Lincicome and Jennifer Johnson were a stroke back. Stacy Lewis (Razorbacks) shot a 72 while Stacy Prammanasudh (Conway) had a 73. Karen Stupples (Arkansas State) finished with a 79.

COLLEGE

Mississippi introduces AD

New Mississippi Athletic Director Ross Bjork said he’s ready to help the Rebels “compete for and win championships.” The 39-year-old Bjork was introduced Thursday afternoon. He’s replacing Pete Boone, who is retiring in mid-April after more than 13 years as Mississippi’s AD. Bjork was the AD at Western Kentucky, where he had guided the Hilltoppers’ athletic programs since March 2010.

BASKETBALL

WKU hires women’s coach

Michelle Clark-Heard is the new women’s basketball coach at Western Kentucky, the school announced on Thursday. Clark-Heard is a former WKU player who has spent the past five years as an assistant at Louisville. She replaces Mary Taylor Cowles, who was fired on March 8 after 10 seasons.

Connecticut may not find out before this summer whether the NCAA will adopt academic rules changes that would allow the Huskies men’s basketball team to qualify for the 2013 NCAA Tournament. Under rules approved in October, the defending national champions would be academically ineligible in 2013, because the NCAA plans to use data from the 2009-2010, and 2010-2011 school years, when Connecticut’s scores were too low to meet the threshold. The NCAA’s Committee on Academic Performance has been discussing whether it would be possible to use data from 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 to determine eligibility. But committee chairman Walter Harrison told The Associated Press on Thursday that those discussions could continue into July. The school also is separately pursuing an appeal that could result in a waiver of the sanctions.

Creighton sophomore star Doug McDermott said he’s not considering declaring for the NBA draft this year. McDermott is the nation’s third-leading scorer, at 22.9 points game. The Missouri Valley Conference player of the year led the Bluejays to a school record-tying 29 victories. Creighton beat Alabama in a second-round game in the NCAA Tournament before losing to North Carolina on Sunday. McDermott, whose father, Greg, is Creighton’s head coach, said he hasn’t thought seriously about turning pro this year.

TENNIS Williams wins opening match

Playing in the Sony Erricsson Open for the first time since 2009, five-time champion Serena Williams beat wild card Zhang Shuai 6-2, 6-3 on Thursday in Key Biscayne, Fla. The victory marked Williams’ return to tournament tennis after a two-month absence.It was her first match at Key Biscayne since she lost to Victoria Azarenka in the final three years ago. Williams lives two hours up Interstate 95 in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., with sister Venus, who won Wednesday playing her first singles match since August. American Ryan Harrison, a wild card entry, rallied past Polito Starace 6-7 (6), 6-4, 6-4 and will next face two-time champion Roger Federer. The second-round match will be a gauge of progress for the 19-year-old Harrison, who is ranked 73rd but has yet to beat a top-10 player. No. 2-seeded Maria Sharapova overcame 12 doublefaults and erased 10 break points to rally past Shahar Peer 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. Two-time champion Kim Clijsters won for the second day in a row, beating No. 14-seeded Julia Goerges 6-2, 7-5. No. 13 Jelena Jankovic lost her opening matchto Mona Barthel 6-0, 6-3. Reigning U.S. Open champion Samantha Stosur beat qualifier Valeria Savinykh 6-4, 6-0. Health issues prevented Williams from playing at Key Biscayne in 2010 and 2011, and a left ankle injury has slowed her this year.