PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. - On the course where Rory McIlroy first rose to No. 1, he looked as if he might be headed in that direction again.
McIlroy swung freely and walked briskly on his way to a 7-under 63 on Thursday, with birdies on the last two holes at PGA National giving him a one-shot lead over Russell Henley after the first round of the Honda Classic.
If nothing else, it was big improvement from the last official round he played on PGA National. McIlroy was 7 over through eight holes last year when he became so frustrated with mounting expectations and a slumping game that he walked off the course in the middle of the second round. He said it was a mistake that he would never repeat.
He apparently buried the past with his clubs, if not his head.
“It’s not something I really thought about out there,” McIlroy said. “Coming in this week, I knew that I was playing well and I just wanted to try and get off to a good start. … Regardless of what happened last year or where it is, it’s always nice to shoot a round like this and get yourself in the mix early.”
Tiger Woods wouldn’t know the feeling so far this year.
In first tournament in a month, Woods couldn’t make a birdie putt early and had to scramble for pars late in his round. A birdie on the last hole gave him a 71, leaving him eight shots behind.
“I hit it good starting out, hit it kind of scrappy in the middle and then hit it good at the end,” Woods said. “It was just one or the other. I either hit it good and missed the putt, and then scrap around and make a putt.”
In his other two events this year, Woods was eight shots behind after the opening round at Torrey Pines and five shots behind at Dubai. He goes into the second round today outside the cut line.
Henley opened with five birdies and six holes before he cooled off for a 64. Past champion Rory Sabbatini, William McGirt and Jamie Donaldson of Wales were at 65.
Zach Johnson was four shots behind and thrilled about his 67. He hit two shots into the water on his way to a quadruple-bogey 8 on his second hole of the tournament. The former Masters champ followed with seven birdies to get back in the game.
Ken Duke (Arkadelphia, Henderson State) had four birdies and two bogeys for a 2-under 68. He is tied in a pack for 22nd. David Lingmerth (Arkansas Razorbacks) had 4 birdies, 1 bogey and 1 double bogey for a 1-under 69. He’s tied for 31st.
LPGA TOUR Webb ahead by 1
SINGAPORE - Karrie Webb slipped up several weeks ago at the Australian Ladies Masters when she signed an incorrect scorecard and was disqualified. For a moment at the HSBC Women’s Champions on Thursday, she thought she had made a similar mistake.
After shooting a 6-under 66 to take a one-stroke lead in the opening round, Webb feared she may have forgotten to sign her scorecard. She rushed back into the scoring tent only to find her scorecard was just fine.
“I’ve just had trouble getting out of the scorer tent since then,” she said about her mistake in Australia. “I walked out [today] and couldn’t remember if I signed my card, which it would have been too late anyway.”
Sweden’s Caroline Hedwall and American Paula Creamer were tied for second after shooting 5-under 67, a stroke ahead of 2012 champion Angela Stanford and Taiwan’s Teresa Lu in joint fourth.
Stacy Lewis (Arkansas Razorbacks) had one birdie and four bogeys for a 3-over 75.
PGA EUROPEAN TOUR Dyson takes lead
CENTURION, South Africa - Simon Dyson birdied his last four holes in a 7-under 65 to take the clubhouse lead at the Tshwane Open on Thursday.
Trevor Fisher Jr. was also 7 under through 16 holes of his opening round before play was suspended because of a thunderstorm in Centurion.
PGA leaderboard HONDA CLASSIC At PGA National Resort and Spa, The Champion (Par 70, 7,140 yards) Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
Rory McIlroy 33-30-63 Russell Henley 34-30-64 Rory Sabbatini 33-32-65 William McGirt 32-33-65 Jamie Donaldson 33-32-65 ARKANSANS Ken Duke 35-33-68 David Lingmerth 33-36-69 - Complete scores, Page 7C
Sports, Pages 23 on 02/28/2014