Webb Simpson chipped in from 35 yards in front of the par-4 eighth green for eagle, and then made Tiger Woods shake his head and smile when he holed a 60-foot birdie putt at the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte, N.C.
It led to a 7-under 65 for a share of the lead on Thursday with Stewart Cink and Ryan Moore at Quail Hollow - about one mile from Simpson's home.
Woods failed to take advantage of fine weather conditions - about one-quarter of the field shot in the 60s, and half broke par.
In his first tournament since a tie for 40th at the Masters - his worst performance as a pro at Augusta - Woods made too many mistakes early and had to one-putt three of the last four greens for a 71.
Former PGA Championship winner Shaun Micheel is hoping a new putter will help end a nine-year winless drought after a 5-under 67 at the 100th Spanish Open. Micheel 608th, led by one stroke after eight birdies and three bogeys at the Real de Golf de Sevilla course.
LACROSSE: The Wings travel (7-9) to Rochester on Friday to face the Knighthawks (7-9) in the first round of the National Lacrosse League playoffs. Rochester won the tiebreaker and home advantage by going 3-0 against the Wings this season. The Wings are making their first postseason appearance since 2008. Eight of the nine NLL teams qualified for the postseason in what will be a single-elimination format all three rounds.
SOCCER: American forward Jozy Altidore has a bruised back after colliding with a lightly padded concrete barrier on Wednesday while playing for AZ Alkmaar in a Dutch league game. Altidore, AZ's top scorer with 19 goals, is still planning to play when the U.S. national team begins World Cup qualifying next month after exhibitions against Scotland, Brazil and Canada, according to his publicist.
American businessman Bill Miller, 65, the chairman of a Tennessee towing and recovery equipment company, was named as the preferred bidder for the bankrupt Glasgow Rangers, with the takeover of the Scottish team reported as being worth $18.1 million. The team's administrators say they hope to complete the deal by the middle of May.
COLLEGES: Indiana officials said they will not renew the contract to play Kentucky in one of the nation's best college basketball rivalries because of a disagreement over where to hold the games.
After months of behind-the-scenes bickering over whether to play the games on campus, as Indiana prefers, or at neutral sites, as Kentucky prefers, Hoosiers athletic director Fred Glass ended the debate for now. The teams had played every season since 1969.
Conference USA officially added Texas-San Antonio and people familiar with the league's plans said North Texas, Charlotte, Louisiana Tech and Florida International would also be joining C-USA.
Those five additions in July 2013 will come at the same time Houston, SMU, Memphis and Central Florida are scheduled to leave Conference USA for the Big East.
TENNIS: Former U.S. Open champ Juan del Potro cruised into the quarters of the Estoril Open in Oeiras, Portugal, with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Rui Machado of Portugal. The top-seeded Argentine, who won at Flushing Meadow in 2009, will meet 2009 and 2010 champion Albert Montanes of Spain, who rallied past Bobby Reynolds of the United States 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
BOXING: Miguel Cotto, who heads into his third junior middleweight title defense, against welterweight champ Floyd Mayweather Jr. on Saturday in Las Vegas, tells ESPN.com he's prepared.
"[I'm] ready for anything Floyd brings me. The question is: 'Is Floyd ready for anything Miguel can bring to him?' "
- Staff and wire reports
