Furyk leads at Transitions

After a late start to the year, Jim Furyk might be getting up to speed.

Furyk made 2 long birdie putts and was equally thrilled with a 10-foot par save on his final hole Thursday, which gave him a 6-under 65 in the Transitions Championship at Palm Harbor, Fla. It was the first time he has held the outright lead since his last PGA Tour victory 20 months ago.

Stephen Ames was 1 shot behind after a 66 on a Copperhead Course that was demanding as ever. The group at 67 included 48-year-old Kenny Perry, who sandwiched birdies on the tough 16th and 18th holes around his only bogey on the round.

Madeira Islands Open: Sweden's Joakim Haeggman had 5 birdies in a six-hole stretch and finished with a 5-under 66 for a share of the first-round lead with Ireland's Damien McGrane in the Madeira Islands Open at Porto Santo, Madeira Islands.

The 39-year-old Haeggman, winless on the European Tour since 2004, played the front nine in even par, then birdied Nos. 10 and 12-15 on the Seve Ballesteros-designed Porto Santo Golfe course that features 500-foot seaside cliffs.