IRVING, Texas (AP) ― Peter Hanson made his only back-nine birdie with a 6-foot putt at the 18th hole Thursday, closing out a 5-under 65 for a one-stroke lead over David Duval and two others after the first round of the Byron Nelson Championship.Duval, ranked 890th in the world 15 years after being No. 1, birdied his last three holes ― Nos. 7-9 ― after pitching in from 57 feet for another birdie at the fifth hole.Marc Leishman and Tim Wilkinson matched Duval at 66.The 42-year-old Duval almost wit

Choi Kyung-ju (Yonhap)INCHEON (Yonhap) ― PGA Tour veteran Choi Kyung-ju on Wednesday was named a goodwill ambassador for the upcoming Asian Games to be held in the South Korean city of Incheon.“It’s a great personal honor to be named an honorary ambassador for the Asian Games at home,” Choi said at Sky72 Golf and Resort in Incheon, where he is scheduled to play at the SK Telecom Open, co-sanctioned by the Korea PGA and OneAsia Tour, starting Thursday.“I hope to play well at the upcoming tourname

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida (AP) ― Martin Kaymer produced one of the most unlikely pars on the 17th green at the TPC Sawgrass without ever going in the water. It carried him to a one-shot victory Sunday in The Players Championship that was emotional in so many ways.Kaymer nearly blew a three-shot lead after a 90-minute rain delay until he holed a 30-foot par putt on the famous island green. He got up-and-down with his putter from short of the 18th green for one last par and a 1-under 71. Martin K

Bae Sang-moon plays a shot on the fifth green on Thursday. ( EPA-Yonhap)PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida (AP) ― Martin Kaymer stopped thinking, started swinging and played his way into the record book Thursday in The Players Championship.Kaymer missed only two fairways. He putted for birdie on all but one hole. And the former PGA champion finished with four straight birdies to become only the fourth player to shoot 9-under 63 on the Stadium Course at the TPC Sawgrass, giving him a two-shot lead over R

IRVING, Texas (AP) ― Suzann Pettersen shot a bogey-free 5-under 66 to take the first-round lead Thursday at the North Texas LPGA Shootout. Pettersen, who returned to the LPGA Tour last week after missing a month with back problems, had a one-stroke lead over playing partner Cristie Kerr and Michelle Wie, Caroline Masson, Christina Kim, Cydney Clanton and Dori Carter. Top-ranked Inbee Park, the defending champion, and Stacy Lewis, the highest-ranked American at No. 3, both shot 71 at Las Colinas

Park Ji-sung to hold charity match in tribute to ferry victims

DALY CITY, California (AP) ― With the 18th pin and a championship in sight, Lydia Ko found herself in the rough again in a day filled with off-target drives. The teen told herself she just needed one more important chip with the tournament on the line.Poised and unflappable, Ko made the perfect pitch up to the green and birdied the final hole for her first LPGA Tour victory as a professional and third in all, holding off Stacy Lewis and Jenny Shin on Sunday in the inaugural Swinging Skirts LPGA

Noh Seung-yul becomes fourth Korean to win on PGA Tour

DALY CITY, California (AP) ― Stacy Lewis matched playing partner Lydia Ko with birdies on Nos. 15 and 16 and added another on the 17th to take a one-stroke lead Saturday in the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic.The third-ranked Lewis and fourth-ranked Ko each shot 4-under 68 at Lake Merced. Winless since the Women’s British Open in August, Lewis had a 10-under 206 total.Ko won the Canadian Women’s Open as an amateur the last two years and took the Swinging Skirts World Ladies Masters in December in T

AVONDALE, Louisiana (AP) ― If Noh Sueng-yul can hold on to the lead in the Zurich Classic, he’ll do it front of fans who can appreciate how much bigger Noh’s mission is than simply winning his first PGA Tour event.Wearing yellow and black ribbons on his hat to honor victims of the April 16 South Korean ferry accident, Noh used a string of birdies late in his round Saturday to surge two strokes ahead of Keegan Bradley atop the leaderboard.It is Noh’s first career lead through three rounds on the

DALY CITY, California (AP) ― Karine Icher and her caddie husband, Fred, evaluated the conditions and course at challenging Lake Merced and decided on a Day 1 strategy: stay short of the pin and putt uphill.The move worked beautifully, and Icher delivered the most consistent performance on a day there weren’t many in the debut of the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic.“I think it’s the key on this course,” Icher said. “It’s a tough golf course, especially with the wind and temperature. It gets so cold.