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NORTON, Mass. (AP) — Ryan Palmer took only 21 putts Friday at TPC Boston and birdied half of his holes. That gave him an 8-under 63 and a two-shot lead over Keegan Bradley after the opening round of the Deutsche Bank Championship.
Palmer didn't miss a putt inside 15 feet and closed out his round with a pitching wedge to 18 feet, making the downhill putt for his ninth birdie.
Bradley matched his low round of the season, though what meant more was the timing. This is the final week before U.S. captain Tom Watson decides which three players he will pick to fill out his Ryder Cup team. Bradley always seemed like a logical choice, though he wants to leave nothing to chance. He played bogey-free in a gentle breeze.
Webb Simpson, who also needs a pick to return to the Ryder Cup, and Jason Day of Australia were among those at 66.
Jordan Spieth recovered from a double bogey to start his round and, with his entire family in tow, turned it around with four birdies and an eagle for a 67. Also at 67 was Ian Poulter, who seems certain to be a Ryder Cup pick for Europe on Tuesday.
Rory McIlroy was brilliant at times and sloppy at other times in his round of 70.
Phil Mickelson had a 74. He wasn't sure what to expect and even Lefty had to be surprised by his card that had six pars, six birdies, four bogeys, a double bogey and a triple bogey.
PORTLAND CLASSIC
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — I.K. Kim increased her lead to three strokes in the LPGA Tour's Portland Classic, shooting a 5-under 67 to reach 12 under.
The South Korean player had seven birdies and two bogeys in her morning round in cloudy, calm conditions at Columbia Edgewater. She won the last of her three LPGA Tour titles in 2010, and had a victory this summer in a Ladies European Tour event in England.
Spain's Carlota Ciganda and South Korea's Mi Jung Hur shot 65 to join Laura Diaz at 9 under. Diaz had a 68.
South Korea's So Yeon Ryu, the Canadian Women's Open winner Sunday in Ontario, was 8 under along with Mina Harigae, China's Xi Yu Lin and South Africa's Paula Reto. The fifth-ranked Ryu had a 66, Lin carded a 68, and Harigae and Reto shot 69.
Defending champion Suzann Pettersen was 6 under after a 67. The fourth-ranked Norwegian player also won the 2011 event.
SHAW CHARITY CLASSIC
CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Tom Pernice Jr. and Bart Bryant matched the Canyon Meadows record at 8-under 62 to share the first-round lead in the Champions Tour's Shaw Charity Classic.
The 54-year-old Pernice birdied his first five holes — Nos. 10-14 — and had 10 birdies and two bogeys on the rain-softened course. The two-time PGA Tour winner won the Principal Charity Classic in June in Iowa for his third Champions Tour title.
The 52-year-old Bryant, a three-time winner on the PGA Tour, birdied five of his last eight holes. He won his lone Champions Tour title last year.
They tied the course record set last year by Bill Glasson.
David Frost was a stroke back. Joe Durant and Joe Daley shot 64.
Bernhard Langer opened with a 67, two days after turning 57. The German player has a tour-high five victories this season and tops the Charles Schwab Cup points race and money list.
Fred Couples and defending champion Rocco Mediate shot 68. Mediate won the inaugural tournament by seven strokes, shooting 63-64-64 to match the tour record for fewest strokes in a 54-hole event.
HOTEL FITNESS CHAMPIONSHIP
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) — Sam Saunders shot his second straight 6-under 66 to take a two-stroke lead in the Hotel Fitness Championship, the Web.com Tour Finals opener.
The 27-year-old Saunders, Arnold Palmer's grandson, birdied five of his final seven holes in the second round at Sycamore Hills.
Saunders finished 45th on the Web.com Tour's regular-season money list. Nos. 26-75 on Web.com money list and Nos. 126-200 in the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup standings are fighting for 25 2014-15 PGA Tour cards based on earnings in the four-event series.
The top 25 players on the Web.com money list earned PGA Tour cards last week. They are competing against each other for PGA Tour priority, with regular-season earnings counting in their totals.
Justin Thomas, Colt Knost, Greg Owen and Derek Fathauer were tied for second at 10 under. Thomas had a 65, Knost and Owen shot 67, and Fathauer had a 68.
ITALIAN OPEN
FIANO, Italy (AP) — South Africa's Hennie Otto shot a 10-under 62 to take a three-stroke lead after the second round of the Italian Open.
Otto, the 2008 winner at Castello di Tolcinasco, had an eagle, nine birdies and a bogey to reach 15 under at Circolo Golf Torino. Austria's Bernd Wiesberger was second after a 66.
Scotland's Stephen Gallacher, needing a top-two finish to earn the final automatic spot on the European Ryder Cup team, was tied for ninth at 7 under after a 65.
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