Tiger Woods stumbles to a 77 in his return

Tiger Woods stumbles to a 77 in his return

WINDERMERE, Fla.

Tiger Woods returned to golf Thursday and it was as if he never left — except that he looked healthy.

Woods flubbed four chips, had only four birdie chances inside 20 feet and stumbled to a 5-over 77 in the opening round of the Hero World Challenge. He was in last place among the 18 players.

It was his second return this year from an ailing back. He missed the cut at Congressional in his first start after back surgery. This time, Woods is coming back from injury and working with a new coach. The score was not a surprise. Woods showed ample amounts of rust, especially around the greens.

His lone birdie came on No. 12 when he spun a wedge back to tap-in range.

NFL’s top overall pick Clowney out for season

HOUSTON

Top overall pick Jadeveon Clowney will have a second knee surgery, ending his season for the Houston Texans.

Clowney visited Dr. James Andrews in Pensacola, Florida, on Wednesday to have his right knee examined and coach Bill O’Brien announced the news on Thursday.

The outside linebacker was injured in Week 1 and had arthroscopic surgery Sept. 8. He has played three games since then, but has never completely recovered from the procedure and said last week that he’s still in a lot of pain. O’Brien wouldn’t address specifics of Clowney’s surgery.

Tim Howard wins player of year award

SAN FRANCISCO

Goalkeeper Tim Howard has won the 2014 Player of the Year award for his work with the U.S. national team.

It is the first time Howard has won the prestigious honor given to a U.S. team member by Futbol de Primera. Howard received 101 first-place votes from a panel of journalists nationwide for a total of 363 points. He beat out Jermaine Jones, who had 160 points, and Clint Dempsey (147).

Howard, 35, made eight appearances for the national team, including some spectacular performances at the World Cup. He made 16 saves in the Americans’ 2-1 loss in extra time to Belgium in the second round in Brazil.

Howard has stepped away from playing for the national team for this season. He is Everton’s keeper in the English Premier League.

Mariners sign OF Cruz to 4-year deal

SEATTLE

The Seattle Mariners have signed slugger Nelson Cruz to a four-year deal, adding a needed right-handed power hitter to their lineup.

Seattle announced the contract signing Thursday morning. Cruz was to be introduced at a news conference later in the day.

Cruz led the major leagues with 40 home runs last season and had 108 RBIs for Baltimore, which signed him to an $8 million, one-year deal. He served a 50-game suspension in 2013 for violations of the major league drug agreement in relation to the sport’s Biogenesis investigation.

In a statement, Cruz says that from watching on the other side of the field, he knows how close Seattle is to making the postseason. Seattle missed the playoffs by one game last season.

Post-Dispatch sports columnist Burwell dies

ST. LOUIS

Bryan Burwell, a longtime sports columnist with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, died Thursday after a short battle with cancer. He was 59.

Sports editor Roger Hensley said in a statement that Burwell was one of the most well-respected journalists in his field. The Associated Press Sports Editors named Burwell one of the top 10 sports columnists in the country in 2007.

Burwell joined the Post-Dispatch in 2002 after working as a correspondent for HBO’s “Inside the NFL.” During a long career, Burwell also wrote columns for USA Today and The Detroit News, and worked in New York at the Daily News and Newsday. In recent seasons, Burwell had begun working in sports video.

Wire reports