Singh leads; Woods 7 back
Vijay Singh was forced to take four days off from practicing, which was unprecedented. He found himself atop the leaderboard one week later at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, which is not surprising in the least.
Weakened by a stomach virus that caused him to lose 18 pounds in five days, Singh recovered in time to make a strong defense of his Bay Hill title by chipping in twice Friday on his way to a 5-under 65 and a 2-shot lead over Carl Pettersson on Friday in Orlando, Fla.
The 45-year-old Fijian looked like the model of athleticism on a day of gray clouds and occasional rain, not even remotely resembling someone afraid to stray too far from the bathroom for four days. He had a 9-under 131 total.
Tiger Woods also looked ill, but only after watching putts come up short on shoddy greens. Woods, trying to continue a winning streak that stretches all the way back to September, had to settle for 9 straight pars to close out a 2-under 68. He was 7 shots behind going into the weekend.
Pettersson opened with 3 straight birdies on his way to a 65. Jim Furyk birdied the last hole for 67, leaving him in the group at 134 that included Lee Westwood (68) and Ken Duke (67).
MasterCard Classic: Lorena Ochoa shot a 4-over 76 -- her highest score in nearly a year -- in the MasterCard Classic at Huixquilucan, Mexico, leaving the top-ranked Mexican star 9 strokes behind first-round leader Jill McGill. Ochoa had 6 bogeys and 2 birdies on the hilly Bosque Real Country Club course. The 76 was her highest score since a 77 in the final round of the Ginn Open last April.
McGill, winless in 13 seasons on the LPGA Tour, eagled the 541-yard ninth hole -- her last hole -- for a 5-under 67. She also had 5 birdies and 2 bogeys. South Korea's Ji-Young Oh and Taiwan's Yani Tseng opened with 68s. Eva Dahllof shot a 69, and Pat Hurst, Gloria Park, Candie Kung and Eunjung Yi had 70s.
AT&T Champions Classic: Nick Price birdied the final hole for a 6-under 66 and a 1-stroke lead over defending champion Tom Purtzer after the first round of the Champions Tour's AT&T Champions Classic at Santa Clarita, Calif. Price, winless in 17 career starts since joining the 50-and-over tour last year, topped a leaderboard for the first time 54 Champions Tour rounds. Purtzer had 3 birdies and an eagle for the only bogey-free round of the day.
Ballantine's Championship: Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell shot an 8-under-par 64 in windy conditions to take a 2-stroke lead halfway through the European Tour's inaugural Ballantine's Championship at Jeju Island, South Korea. McDowell had a 12-under 132 total. Sweden's Johan Edfors (65) and India's Jeev Milkha Singh (66) were tied for second.