Golf Capsules

March 13, 2009

DORAL, Fla -Tiger Woods returned to stroke play for the first time since winning the US Open, and so much of it felt familiar except for the leaderboard.

His name was nowhere to be found Thursday at the CA Championship.

His wife, Elin, walked the back nine a month after giving birth to their son. It was her first time watching Woods play since Torrey Pines. Woods found himself more concerned with posting a score than beating one player, as was the case in match play two weeks ago.

The crowd was large, as usual for the Blue Monster, but shouts of “Welcome back!” were replaced by “Vamos, Tigre!”

But as players from all around the globe kept pouring in birdies - relative unknown players like Prayad Marksaeng and Jeev Milka Singh, followed by the familiar name of Phil Mickelson - Woods was stuck in the middle of the pack of an 80-man field.

Mickelson chipped in three times, twice while finishing with three straight birdies, on his way to a 7-under 65 that gave him a four-way share of the lead with Retief Goosen, Marksaeng and Singh. The group one shot behind included British Open and PGA champion Padraig Harrington.

Woods made only three birdies - two of them on par 5s - and had to settle for a 71 that put him in a tie for 40th.

Puerto Rico Open

RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico - Monday qualifier Derek Lamely and 20-year-old Australian Jason Day shot 6-under 66s in windy, sometimes rainy conditions to share the first-round lead in the Puerto Rico Open.

The 28-year-old Lamely, from Fort Myers, Fla., is trying to become the first Monday qualifier to win a PGA Tour event since Fred Wadsworth in the 1986 Southern Open.

Michael Bradley, Cliff Kresge, Bart Bryant, Kevin Stadler and Bryce Molder opened with 67s on the Trump International Golf Club course, framed between mountainous rain forest and the white-capped Atlantic.

U.S. Open playoff loser Rocco Mediate was two strokes back at 68 along with Troy Matteson, Brett Quigley, Alex Cejka, Greg Chalmers and Jonathan Byrd.

New Zealand Open

QUEENSTOWN, New Zealand - Americans Josh Teater, Todd Demsey and Alex Prugh shot 7-under 65s to share the first-round lead in the New Zealand Open.

Teater had six birdies in a seven-hole stretch at The Hills to reach 9 under in the event sanctioned by the Australasian and Nationwide tours, but dropped two strokes on the par-4 18th after hitting into two bunkers.

American Martin Piller, Australia’s Stephen Dartnall and South Korea’s Han Seung-su opened with 67s, and New Zealand’s Steve Alker, the New Zealand PGA winner, topped a large group at 68 that included Americans Jim Herman, Jim McGovern, Chad Collins, Vance Veazey and Justin Hicks and Australian veteran Peter Senior.