golf roundup Thursday’s tournaments

PHOENIX OPEN

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ.

Matt Kuchar eagled the par-5 13th and added two late birdies and a big par save on the rowdy par-3 16th hole Thursday to take the first-round lead in the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Coming off a seven-week break, Kuchar shot a 7-under 64 in perfect afternoon conditions at TPC Scottsdale for a one-stroke lead over defending champion Hideki Matsuyama and Brendan Steele. The crowd was estimated at 103,420 on the stadium layout. Kuchar made a 25-foot eagle putt on 13. The seven-time PGA Tour winner ran in a 6-footer for birdie on the par-5 15th. He got up-and-down for par from the left bunker on the triple-deck stadium 16th, making a 12-foot putt, and chipped to inches from the front fringe on the short par-4 17th to set up his final birdie in the bogey-free round. Matsuyama had a bogey-free round in the morning. Last year, he beat Rickie Fowler in a playoff. He won four times worldwide late last year, taking the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions in China, two events in Japan and Tiger Woods’ unofficial Hero World Challenge in December. Steele holed out from 194 yards for eagle on the par-4 14th.

DUBAI DESERT CLASSIC

DUBAI, UAE

Missing fairways, missing greens and piling up the putts, Tiger Woods got off to a rough start at the Dubai Desert Classic on Thursday. The 14-time major winner finished the first round at 5-over-par 77, failing to record even one birdie at Emirates Golf Club. He would finish in a tie for 121st, 12 shots behind first-round leader Sergio Garcia (65). Woods started on the 10th hole and hit only 10 fairways and 11 greens in regulation. He needed 33 putts to complete his round.Strong wind was forecast for Friday, making the prospect of picking up some strokes in the second round difficult. In his first event of the year last month at the Farmer Insurance Open, Woods didn’t make the cut.

Associated Press