On the Links | Thursday’s professional golf results

PHOENIX OPEN

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ.

Rickie Fowler, Shane Lowry and Hideki Matsuyama shared the lead at 6-under 65 on Thursday in the suspended first round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open. After an hour-long frost delay at chilly TPC Scottsdale, Fowler played the first six holes in 5 under. Lowry birdied seven of his first 13 holes, then bogeyed the next two. Matsuyama was in one of the last groups to finish before play was stopped because of darkness. Anirban Lahiri was a stroke back at 66, and Bryce Molder also was 5 under with two holes left when play was suspended. Phil Mickelson settled for a 69 after dropping four strokes in a two-hole stretch. On his back nine, Mickelson bogeyed the par-3 fourth and followed with a triple bogey on the par-4 fifth.

COATES GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP

OCALA, FLA.

Lydia Ko played enough golf Thursday to catch up to the lead. She just didn’t play enough to finish the rain-delayed second round of the Coates Golf Championship. Ko, the No. 1 player in golf making her 2016 debut, was 4-under par for her round and had a 15-foot birdie putt on her final hole at the par-4 ninth hole at Golden Ocala when the horn sounded to stop play because of thunderstorms in the area. Ko was 7 under for the tournament, tied with Ha Na Jang. Jang, who opened with a 65, didn’t hit a shot Thursday. She was to tee off in the afternoon, but within an hour of play being stopped, several greens already were flooded. Play was suspended for the rest of the day and will resume today.

DUBAI DESERT CLASSIC

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Rory McIlroy started the defense of his Dubai Desert Classic title with a bogey but battled back to post a 4-under 68 on Thursday, leaving him two shots off the lead. McIlroy bogeyed two of the easiest holes on the course — the par-5 10th, which was his first hole, and the driveable par-4 second — but also had six birdies to put him close behind leader Alex Noren of Sweden. Ernie Els, the most successful player in the history of the tournament with three titles and eight other top-10 finishes, matched McIlroy’s 68.

Associated Press