Friday On the links

Friday On the links

Pro golf results

DEUTSCHE BANK CHAMPIONSHIP

NORTON, MASS.

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.

SHAW CHARITY CLASSIC

CALGARY, ALBERTA

Tom Pernice Jr. and Bart Bryant shot 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 at Canyon Meadows. 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. David Frost was a stroke back. Bernhard Langer opened with a 67, two days after turning 57.

HOTEL FITNESS

CHAMPIONSHIP

FORT WAYNE, IND.

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.

ITALIAN OPEN

FIANO, ITALY

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.

Associated Press