ON THE LINKS Friday’s pro golf roundup

LPGA

Green holds lead in Women’s PGA

CHASKA, MINN.

Hannah Green of Australia twice escaped trouble with par saves and shot 3-under 69, setting a daunting target at Hazeltine National with an early four-shot lead at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.

Green thought luck was on her side when she holed a short-sided bunker shot for birdie near the end of her opening round.

Friday was even better. She holed a flop shot on No. 12 after hitting into the water to save par, and then got up-and-down from inside the hazard line on the 16th hole for another unlikely par.

She was at 7-under 137, four shots ahead of defending champion Sung Hyun Park (71) among those who played early under a cloud cover.

PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS

Kelly ahead by a stroke at hometown event

MADISON, WISC.

Jerry Kelly shot a 7-under 65 on Friday to take the first-round lead in his hometown American Family Insurance Championship.

Kelly played the back nine at University Ridge in 5-under 31. He has three PGA Tour Champions victories after winning three times on the PGA Tour.

David Frost was a stroke back, and tournament host Steve Stricker was at 67 with Kirk Triplett, David Toms, Duffy Waldorf, Corey Pavin and Tom Gillis. John Daly topped the group at 68.

Hall of Fame pitcher John Smoltz opened with a 76 in his third tour start. The former Atlanta Braves star got into the field on a sponsor exemption.

EUROPEAN TOUR

Ex-champ Kaymer shoots 6-under

MUNICH

Former champion Martin Kaymer thrilled home fans with a 6-under 66 that gave him a two-shot lead after the second round of the BMW International Open on Friday.

Kaymer, the only German to win the tournament after his triumph in 2008, had a rollercoaster start with two bogeys and two birdies in his first four holes but putted three straight birdies from holes 11-13 and ended his found with eight altogether.

South Africa’s Christiaan Bezuidenhout is Kaymer’s closest challenger after carding the lowest round of the week — a 7-under 65 — that put him at 9 under altogether, one shot clear of Finland’s Kim Koivu and Sweden’s Sebastian Soderberg.

Gaganjeet Bhullar hit a spectacular hole-in-one on the 17th hole to win a sports car.

Associated Press