IRVING, Texas — Jeff Overton shot a bogey-free 6-under-par 64 on Thursday to take the first-round lead at the Byron Nelson Championship, a stroke ahead of Ryan Palmer.
A year after tying for second at TPC Four Seasons, Overton started the back nine with four birdies in a seven-hole stretch. He had his best score in 15 career rounds at the Nelson, even after his 22-foot birdie attempt on the closing hole lipped out.
“It’s nice having confidence because of last year,” Overton said. “I knew I played well. I just wanted to keep things rolling.”
Sergio Garcia, who withdrew from a British Open qualifier this week because of an infected fingernail on his left hand, was in a group of nine players at 66.
• Luke Donald shot a 7-under 64 to take the lead in the suspended first round of the BMW PGA Championship in Virginia Water, Eng- land, leaving him eight strokes ahead of No. 1 Lee Westwood in their battle for the top spot in the world ranking.
• Kiyoshi Murota fired a 6-under 66 to grab a one-stroke lead over Trevor Dodds after the first round of the rain-delayed Senior PGA Championship in Louisville, Ky. Half the field was on the course when darkness ended the round.
Buckeye admits selling rings
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Former Ohio State wide receiver Ray Small told the school’s student newspaper he sold Big Ten championship rings and other memorabilia for cash and got special car deals.
Small, frequently benched, suspended or disciplined during a career at Ohio State from 2006-09, confirmed to The Lantern that when it came to getting improper benefits, “everyone was doing it.”
He also said it was no big deal selling personal items given to the team: “We had four Big Ten rings. There was enough to go around.”
• Now that the NCAA has denied Southern California’s appeal to reduce sanctions imposed on its football program, Bowl Championship Series officials will consider whether to strip the Trojans of their 2004 title. BCS executive director Bill Hancock said there is no timetable for that decision, but he expected it to happen “sooner, rather than later.”
• Former Florida running back Mike Blakely transferred to Auburn, where he will have to sit out the upcoming season.
Footnotes.
Brad Keselowski‘s lap of 192.089 mph gave him the pole for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte, N.C.
• New York Islanders captain Doug Weight, who didn’t play after Nov. 17 because of a back injury, retired after scoring 278 goals in 1,238 games with six teams.
• North Carolina State guard Ryan Harrow, who averaged 9.3 points in 29 games as a freshman, said he’s transferring to Kentucky, where he will have three years of eligibility starting in 2012-13.
• The NCAA approved adding an arc 3 feet from the basket, inside which a defender cannot take a charge, and moving the women’s 3-point line to 20 feet, 9 inches — the same distance the men have used since 2008-09.
• Eros Capecchi won a three- way sprint to the line to take the 18th stage of the Giro d’Italia, while Alberto Contador retained the overall lead.
The Associated Press
