Garcia fires 66, leads Players by two Sergio Garcia hasn't won in his last 53 Tour starts. An opening 66 at The Players has him poised to break that streak. Source: Fox Sports
Couples makes the most of his chance Fred Couples didn't realize until a few months ago that he wasn't eligible for The Players Championship, an event he has won twice and counts among his favorite.
Couples missed nearly all of last year with back problems, so he wasn't among the top 125 on the money list. But with so many players pulling out, from Tiger Woods to Martin Kaymer of Germany, Couples kept moving up the alternate list until he got in.
He made the most out of his 25th start at Sawgrass. Source: Fox Sports
.:.
Maggert confirms brother died in plane crash Jeff Maggert withdrew from The Players Championship, telling tournament officials that his brother died in a small plane crash in Colorado en route to his son's college graduation.
The Gilpin County (Colo.) Sheriff's office said one man died and a 23-year-old passenger was injured Thursday afternoon when the single-engine plane crashed into a snowy mountain in Black Hawk, about 40 miles west of Denver. Source: Fox Sports
.:.
Wie sits 12 shots back in first action since Feb. The booming drives were there, but more often than not, Michelle Wie didn't know where they were going in her first round on the LPGA Tour since February.
The best scores, as usual, belonged to just about everyone else - a course record-tying 63 by Scotland's Mhairi McKay, and a potential battle looming between Lorena Ochoa and Annika Sorenstam in the Michelob Ultra Open at Kingsmill. Source: Fox Sports
.:.
Illness forces Masters champ out of Players Masters champion Trevor Immelman withdrew Thursday morning from The Players Championship because of an illness, leaving the PGA Tour's flagship event without the last two major champions.
Tour officials did not have details on Immelman's illness, saying only he had already returned to Orlando.
Since winning the Masters by three shots over Tiger Woods, Immelman has had a tough time. Source: Fox Sports
.:.
Daly three back after first round in Italy Mark Foster and Marc Warren both shot a 7-under 65 on Thursday to share the first-round clubhouse lead at the Italian Open, while John Daly enjoyed a resurgence to sit two shots back.
The 609th-ranked Daly, who hasn't finished in the top 10 of a tournament in three years, rebounded from missing the cut at last week's Spanish Open by carding a 67 behind seven birdies and two bogeys. He briefly held the lead after hitting six birdies and a bogey on the first 10 holes. Source: Fox Sports
.:.
Golf course architect gets nod from Hall of Fame Pete Dye, the golf course architect who built his reputation on risk-reward shots at courses like TPC Sawgrass and the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, was selected Tuesday for the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Dye was selected in the Lifetime Achievement Category and will be inducted Nov. 10.
He will be the fourth person in the Hall of Fame whose primary occupation was a golf course architect, joining Donald Ross, Alister Mackenzie and Robert Trent Jones Sr.
"This is really a surprise," Dye said. Source: Fox Sports
.:.
Creamer edges Inkster to ends Ochoa's dominance Paula Creamer squandered another late lead but came out with a playoff victory Sunday in the SemGroup Championship, beating Juli Inkster and ending Lorena Ochoa's four-tournament winning streak on the LPGA Tour.
Creamer had control at Cedar Ridge until a bogey on the 18th hole for the third straight day gave her a 1-over 72. Inkster poured in an 18-foot birdie putt for a 70 to force a playoff for the second straight year.
They finished at 2-under 282. Source: Fox Sports