MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Lee Westwood took advantage of no wind and a rain-softened course to shoot a 7-under-par 63 on Thursday that equaled his best on the PGA Tour and gave him a one-stroke lead in the suspended first round of the St. Jude Classic.
The world’s No. 3-ranked player tied the course record for the back nine with a 29 with four of his five birdies and an eagle. He parred out his final eight holes.
“Pleased with the start, 63 is always a good start,” Westwood said. “I couldn’t be disappointed with that. Could have been better, but I’m not going to cry too much about missing from 4 feet on the last.”
Casey Wittenberg shot a 64, Padraig Harrington had a 65, and Tim Petrovic, John Senden and Bob Estes were among eight tied at 66 before a severe thunderstorm stopped play for nearly an hour. The round was suspended with 20 golfers left on the course.
Jordan Spieth, the Texas teen who became the sixth-youngest player to make a PGA cut at the Byron Nelson last month, shot a 73.
• Shanshan Feng made five early birdies and shot an 8-under 64, taking a one-stroke lead over Juli Inkster and Na Yeon Choi after the first round of the State Farm LPGA Classic in Springfield, Ill.
• Damien McGrane and Luke Goddard shot 8-under 64s to share the lead after the first round of the Estoril Open in Portugal.
Roddick bows out of Queen’s
LONDON — Andy Roddick made his earliest exit in nine years from the Queen’s Club grass-court championships when he was ousted in the third round by 14th-seeded Dudi Sela. Roddick, a four-time champion at Queen’s, lost 6-4, 7-6 (8).
Three of the top five seeds failed to survive, with No. 2 Novak Djokovic and No. 5 Marin Cilic joining No. 4 Roddick as third-round losers. Djokovic fell 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 to Xavier Malisse, and Cilic was beaten 7-6 (2), 6-2 by 12th-seeded Michael Llodra.
Top-seeded Rafael Nadal advanced after a challenge from Denis Istomin, reaching the quarterfinals with a 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-4 win. Nadal needed a trainer after the second set to work on his upper right leg.
Footnotes.
Olympic silver medalists Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto called it quits on a competitive career that changed ice dance in the United States.
• Kansas athletic director Lew Perkins said he will retire next year.
• Kei Kamara and Graham Zusi scored first-half goals, and the Kansas City Wizards broke an eight- match winless streak with a 2-0 victory over the visiting Philadelphia Union in Major League Soccer.
• Chris Pontius scored his first career hat trick, with two goals late in the first half and another after the break, to give D.C. United a 3-2 victory over the host Seattle Sounders.
• Zenyatta will face five challengers as she goes for her record 17th consecutive victory in the $250,000 Vanity Handicap on Sunday at Hollywood Park in Inglewood, Calif.
• Nicolas Vogondy won the fourth stage of the Criterium du Dauphine in Risoul, France, and Janez Brajkovic finished third to retain the race leader’s jersey.
