Phil Mickelson’s message partially credited for revival of Buffalo Bills

ORLANDO, Fla. — Henrik Stenson had a hot putter, a much quieter crowd and a one-shot lead in the Arnold Palmer Invitational. One week after Stenson returned from his winter break and spent two days with Tiger Woods and his raucous crowds, he made birdie on half of the holes at Bay Hill for an 8-under 64, his lowest round ever on the course Arnold built. PGA TOUR rookies Aaron Wise and Talor Gooch each had 65. Wise missed a 6-foot birdie putt on the final hole. Woods again brought out big crowds in the unseasonable chill Thursday morning and gave them quite a show. He hit a tee shot that was out of bounds by inches. He atoned for that with a 71-foot birdie putt. And he wound up with a 68, his best opening round since he returned this year from a fourth back surgery. “I feel like I’m not really thinking as much around the golf course,” Woods said. “I can just see and feel it and go.” Each week is a little better for Woods, and Stenson saw the progress last week. The 41-year-old Swede typically takes a month off between the Middle East swing and the Florida swing, and he returned last week to a grouping of Woods and Jordan Spieth. That didn’t bother him as much as his poor putting. Bay Hill provided a change in both areas. “It’s great to see him back competing, but it was a little loud out there last week,” Stenson said. “But that comes with the excitement of having him back and seeing him play well, so I thought it was great. … I guess it’s nice to get a little bit of a breather at times, though.” It really helps to be putting well, especially on pure greens at Bay Hill that already had a yellow hue to them. He spent the weekend at home in Orlando working with Phil Kenyon, his putting coach, and it seemed to help. Stenson took only 20 putts, tying his personal best for fewest putts in a round on the PGA TOUR. He ran off five straight birdies around the turn, and he followed his lone bogey at the par-3 14th with two birdies and a 10-foot par save. Woods had no complaints, and about the only thing that went wrong — except for the tee shot on No. 3 that went OB — was his prediction before he left Bay Hill. He was happy with anything in the 60s and said, “There won’t be a lot of rounds out there that will be in the 60s. The golf course is playing difficult.” There were 13 more rounds in the 60s in the afternoon, including Ernie Els and Rory McIlroy at 69. Only one of them was pleased with it. Els, who has gone more than a year since his last finish in the top 30, dropped only one shot, on the opening hole. McIlroy had five birdies through 10 holes and then hit out of bounds on the 18th hole for a double bogey. Coming off a runner-up finish at the Valspar Championship that raised expectations of a victory being closer than ever, Woods started and finished strong, with one mishap in the middle. His drive on No. 3, his 12th hole of the round, sailed to the right and went off a cart path and toward the houses. Only when he reached the ball did Woods find it had rolled into the bottom of a mesh fence. It looked like it was in play, except the poles on the waist-high fence were the boundaries, and his ball was inches outside of them. He went back to the tee, sprayed the next tee shot under a tree and made double bogey. And then came the big finish — two birdies on the par 5s, including a bold flop shot from a tight lie over a bunker at No. 6, and the 71-foot putt he was hoping would be close. Woods immediately pressed his hand down, asking for the ball to slow down, and then watched it drop for a most unlikely birdie. “I was trying to lag it down there and just make my par and get out of here,” he said. “It had to crash at the hole — which I’m not complaining — and it went in.” He closed with a 12-foot putt to save par from the bunker. Former PGA champion Jimmy Walker, Rickie Fowler and Bryson DeChambeau were at 67. Walker was on the other side of the golf course finishing up at the same time as Woods. He holed a wedge from 132 yards on the 18th for an eagle, matching his best score at Bay Hill. It was especially gratifying because he wasn’t even planning to play this week. He had a trip to Augusta National planned with some friends and club members and thought it was this weekend. Instead, it was meant to be Monday and Tuesday. Walker’s wife, Erin, has a horse-jumping show in West Palm Beach. The kids are with their grandparents skiing in Utah. “I figured I might as well play,” Walker said. He had two days at Augusta National, didn’t have a practice round at Bay Hill and felt right at home. “It’s just golf,” he shrugged. “Just hit the shots. I’ve done so many Monday qualifiers earlier in my career where you never see the golf course. Sometimes it helps because you’re not overdoing it.”

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KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Justin Thomas birdied four of his last five holes for a 6-under 66 and was three strokes behind first-round leader Bronson Burgoon at the CIMB Classic on Thursday. Burgoon’s 63 on the par-72 TPC Kuala Lumpur West Course gave him a one-stroke lead over Austin Cook. Scott Piercy and Billy Horschel, and Taiwan’s C.T. Pan were another stroke back after 65s. Thomas was in an eight-way tie for sixth, including 2012 champion Nick Watney, Kevin Chappell and Paul Casey. “You have to play well here every day or at least get a round like today … it’s what could end up winning me this golf tournament,” Thomas said. “Not having my best stuff and getting around here in 6-under is huge. I just didn’t take advantage of a couple opportunities and let a couple go, but kind of found something there those last five holes and was able to at least make a good round.” Burgoon, ranked 162nd, had eight birdies and an eagle. His only bogey came on the par-4 13th. “I drove it well and I putted pretty good, so it was kind of boring golf, but that’s always a good thing,” Burgoon said. “I chipped in for eagle out of the bunker on my ninth hole, which kind of boosted me, then I kept going.” Burgoon’s best result last season was tied for second at the John Deere Classic. He finished tied for 53rd at the Safeway Open last week. Defending champion Pat Perez shot 70. “You know, not bad, 2 under,” Perez said. “I could have made some more — I didn’t putt as well as I did last year obviously.” Kevin Tway, who won last week’s Safeway Open in a playoff, also had a 70. Danny Lee had the first ace of the 2018-19 season by holing out on the par-3 fourth hole. He used a 9-iron from 145 yards for his third career hole-in-one.

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