CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Bill Haas had stress-free birdies on all the par-5s and did little wrong on the rest of the holes Thursday in the Wells Fargo Championship, matching the tournament record for lowest opening round with an 8-under-par 64 for a two-shot lead at Quail Hollow.
“Putted well,” Haas said, “which leads to everything.”
Tied for second were David Toms and Jonathan Byrd, while Pat Perez and Lucas Glover were another stroke back at 67.
In his first trip back to America after his Sunday collapse in the Masters, defending champion Rory McIlroy opened with a 75.
• Tom Lehman finished the first round of the Regions Tradition — the Champions Tour’s first major of the year — with five birdies, no bogeys and a one-stroke lead over Nick Price, Mark Calcavecchia, Wayne Levi and Chien-Soon Lu (68) in Birmingham, Ala.
• Scott Jamieson shot a 6-under 66 to take a one-shot lead after the first round of the Spanish Open in Terrassa, Spain.
Maryland’s Williams retires
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Maryland basketball coach Gary Williams announced his retirement, saying “it’s the right time” for him to end a career in which he led his alma mater to the 2002 national championship.
Williams coached for 33 years, the last 22 at Maryland, where he played as a guard from 1964-67.
His career record is 668-380, including 461-252 with the Terrapins.
• UC Davis hired former Bradley coach Jim Les to replace Gary Stewart as the Aggies coach.
• John Calipari, who led Kentucky to the Final Four last season, will coach the national team of the Dominican Republic in hopes of qualifying for the 2012 Olympics.
Footnotes.
Gene Gossage, a lineman for the Philadelphia Eagles 1960 NFL championship team, died Sunday in Old Saybrook, Conn. He was 76.
• Brad Nessler and Mike Mayock will replace Bob Papa, Matt Millen and Joe Theismann as the announcing team for NFL Network’s Thursday night games.
• Florida football coach Will Muschamp finalized his contract, receiving a $750,000 signing bonus that made his first year of the five- year deal worth more than $3.25 million. His average salary will be about $2.75 million annually.
• UC Santa Barbara upset top- ranked Southern California 3-1 in the men’s NCAA volleyball tournament semifinals in State College, Pa. The Gauchos (18-14) will face Ohio State (25-6), which eliminated Penn State 3-1, in Saturday’s championship match.
• Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne was released from the Mayo Clinic after being treated for what doctors are calling an inflammatory condition. Bayne is expected to return to racing this season.
• Reigning Major League Soccer MVP David Ferreira of FC Dallas had surgery to repair a broken right ankle and is out indefinitely.
• Real estate mogul Donald Trump said he will not be the celebrity pace-car driver for the Indianapolis 500 on May 29, pulling out because it would be “inappropriate” because “he may be announcing shortly his intention” to run for president.
The Associated Press
