NORTON, Mass. — The Deutsche Bank Championship began Friday with two players on opposite ends of the world ranking — Luke Donald at No. 1, Troy Matteson at No. 207 — having their lowest opening round of the year on the PGA Tour that was important to both of them for different reasons.
Matteson, facing elimination from the FedEx Cup playoffs, overcame a bogey on the first hole for a 6-under-par 65 and the outright lead after the first round. Donald, struggling of late to get off to a good start, had a 66 and was among those one shot behind.
Through it all, Phil Mickelson brought attention to himself for two items that looked out of place.
The day after he took batting practice at Fenway Park and wore a Red Sox jersey while throwing out the first pitch before the Yankees’ 4-2 victory, Mickelson wore pinstripes at the TPC Boston.
“Lost a wager with a friend and had to wear these today,” Mickelson said. “What can you say? I’ve got to suck it up and bear it.”
Stranger still was the sight of Mickelson sticking the grip of a long putter into his gut. Mickelson became the latest to try a belly putter, and while he still missed his share of putts in a round of 70, he sounded as though he was willing to stick with it — at least for the rest of the week.
Matteson was one shot clear of Donald, Masters champion Charl Schwartzel, former PGA champion Y.E. Yang and Jerry Kelly.
• Rory McIlroy shot a 2-under 69 to share the lead after the second round of the European Masters in Crans-sur-Sierre, Switzerland.
The U.S. Open winner, who had an eagle two and a double-bogey 7, is 8-under 134 along with Gary Boyd (69), Simon Dyson (68) and Jamie Donaldson (66).
Sooners pondering future
NORMAN, Okla. — University of Oklahoma president David Boren said multiple conferences have shown interest in the Sooners recently, and he expects to decide whether to leave the Big 12 or not within the next three weeks.
• Boise State coaches said three foreign-born players — starting receiver Geraldo Boldewijn, starting safety Cedric Febis and backup defensive lineman Ricky Tjong-A-Tjoe — are being held out of the season opener against Georgia because the players are undergoing a review of their eligibility by the NCAA.
• Oklahoma State receiver Michael Harrison was reinstated and will be able to play tonight against Louisiana-Lafayette.
Footnotes.
Submitting bids to host the 2020 Olympics were Rome; Madrid; Tokyo; Istanbul; Doha, Qatar; and Baku, Azerbaijan.
• Ron Hornaday Jr. raced to his record 49th NASCAR Truck Series victory, pulling it out on pit strategy after Clint Bowyer led much of the race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
• Swiss rider Michael Albasini won the 98-mile 13th stage of the Spanish Vuelta, while Bradley Wiggins of Britain retained the overall lead for a third consecutive day. Boulder’s Taylor Phinney pulled out of the race because of exhaustion.
