ORLANDO, Fla. -- Masters champion Adam Scott was feeling ill when he arrived at Bay Hill. One majestic round with the putter Thursday made him feel a lot better. Scott made five putts from about 20 feet or longer, two of them for eagle and one of them from off the green for birdie, and matched the course record with a 10-under 62 to build a three-shot lead in the Arnold Palmer Invitational. The conditions were close to perfect. So was his work on the greens. "I made a lot of putts today, and a lot of putts from considerable length," Scott said. "I hit a lot of nice shots, too, but it wasnt like I was hitting it 4 feet. I had a round like this in Australia at the end of last year -- in the first six holes, I didnt hit it outside 5 feet. Theres a lot of different ways to get the ball in the hole. But its good for the confidence. Its what I wanted. I sat in here yesterday and said Id like to make some birdies and build the confidence. And today is a good start to that." Ryo Ishikawa, who uses Bay Hill as his home course on the East Coast, birdied the 18th for a 65. John Merrick celebrated his 32nd birthday by reaching 8 under until a late bogey. He also shot 65. Both were 10 shots behind before they hit their first shot of the tournament. "That took the pressure off," Merrick said. "Youre already 10 shots behind, so its not like youre protecting anything. But this isnt the Bay Hill I remember. I dont usually play golf in Florida without 20 mph wind." Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano had his best round of the year with a 66. Brandt Snedeker and Paul Casey were among those at 67. They were all but forgotten with Scotts 62 on the board. Scott walked from the ninth green across the practice range to the scoring trailer as one player after another turned his head and asked how low Scott went on the day. One caddie quipped, "Is there a 10-shot rule when you havent teed off?" It was the lowest round in 30 years at Bay Hill, and it was good enough to make a large gallery following Scott forget for a moment that defending champion Tiger Woods is not here this week because of a back injury. Andy Bean in 1981 and Greg Norman in 1984 are the only other players with a 62 at Bay Hill. After watching Scott make another putt -- this one from 20 feet for eagle on No. 4 -- U.S. Open champion Justin Rose asked if Scott could get to No. 1 if he were to win at Bay Hill. The answer: no and yes. He couldnt overtake Woods this week, but likely would go to No. 1 over the next few weeks if neither played. Scott had reason to be mildly surprised by this round. For one thing, he had not been to Bay Hill in five years. Scott typically plays Innisbrook, but decided to mix it up. And he does have some experience on the bag. His caddie is Steve Williams, who worked for Woods in six of the eight Bay Hill wins. Even more surprising, though, is that Scott said he was coping with flu-like symptoms, and still doesnt feel completely healthy. "Its hard to say that Im sick," Scott said with a smile. "I feel actually better now than when I woke up. Just a bit under the weather. I cant complain." Scott is a believer in the adage, "Beware the injured golfer." He lowered his expectations, concerned himself only with the next shot and was more concerned with his energy than feeling any nerves. It didnt take long for him to realize it was going to be a special day, starting with a 20-foot birdie putt on the 10th to start his round. He got up and down from a bunker on the par-5 12th for birdie, made a 25-foot birdie putt on the 14th, and then rolled one in from 30 feet on the 15th from a collection area right of the green. Scott drilled a 7-iron into 35 feet on the par-5 16th and made that birdie. On the front nine, he hit a pure 3-wood into 20 feet on the par-5 fourth for birdie, and then hit a tough bunker from some 35 yards away to 8 feet for birdie on the par-5 sixth. It was the sixth time Scott has had a 62 on the PGA Tour, the most recent in 2011 at Firestone the year he won. But he didnt want to look at it as anything more than just a great start, especially with half of the field still to play in the afternoon. "Hopefully, with a solid round tomorrow I keep myself right in this golf tournament," he said. "Like at any event, you want to start and put yourself right in it from the get-go and Ive done that here." DIVOTS: Bubba Watson hit three tee shot into the water on the par-5 sixth and made an 11. He shot 83 and withdrew. ... Snedeker had not broken 70 in the first round all year until Thursday. ... Pat Perez opened with a 70, ending his streak of nine straight tournaments in which he shot in the 60s the first round. . - Maynor Figueroa headed in a late goal to give Honduras a 1-1 draw with the United States in an international friendly Tuesday. . Not only that, when Julian de Guzman first stepped on the pitch for Deportivo de la Coruna he became the very first Canadian to play in Spains top tier.
http://www.cheaphornetsjerseysauthentic ... ing-jersey. -- Canada played to expectation up until halftime. .TV Series: Duck Dynasty. .com) - The Grand Slam season will get underway Monday at the Australian Open in Melbourne, where a new champion will be crowned this year. TORONTO -- Injured Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Brandon Morrow doesnt have a timeline in place for his return to the lineup. Hes just happy to have his uniform on and be back with teammates after a long stint away from the club while rehabilitating a finger injury. Morrow returned to Rogers Centre on Tuesday and made 25 throws from 60 feet before the team took batting practice. It was the latest step in his recovery after suffering a torn tendon sheath in his throwing hand on May 2. "Its not 100 per cent but its not painful," Morrow said. "Its just kind of stiff from not really using it for six weeks. It actually feels better after I throw. It loosens it up and the range of motion gets better. "So its been great. Throwing has been good for the last week." Morrow had been rehabilitating in Arizona, spending up to two hours a day doing grip exercises to slowly strengthen his index finger. "Theres a lot of pinching and a lot of Play-Doh squeezing," he said. "Thats it really." Over the weekend, he took another step and started throwing from 45 feet. While the sessions would barely get his shoulder warm, Morrow understands its all part of the slow, long process of regaining strength and mobility. "It can heal back and thats what were hoping for," he said. "If there was no chance of it doing that, then I would have just had surgery that first week. But theres obviously a good chance of rehabbing it naturally I guess, and avoiding surgery and being healthy and getting it back to where I need it to be." Morrow, whos 1-2 with a 5.dddddddddddd3 earned-run average this season, had his finger completely immobilized for two weeks after the injury. He couldnt lift upper-body weights for about four weeks until he felt comfortable gripping things again. Morrow wore a custom brace on his finger while throwing Tuesday. "Theres no doubt that if (his recovery) continues the way it has been that Ill pitch again this year," he said. "I cant put a date on it. They just put together a calendar for me, which I havent even seen. This is my fifth day throwing so its too early to say." The 29-year-old native of Santa Rosa, Calif., was tabbed to be a key part of the Toronto rotation this season. His potential return could give the first-place Blue Jays a nice boost for the stretch drive. "Thats what Im looking to do is to come in at a really crucial point in the season and be able to pitch the way that I have in the past and contribute and add something to the team," Morrow said. There were hugs and handshakes all around Tuesday afternoon as he caught up with teammates in the clubhouse and dugout before Tuesday nights game against the New York Yankees. "I think it was for my own sanity to come back," Morrow joked. "But yeah, Im to the point where I dont need the hand therapy three times a week anymore, where the rehab is more now throwing and getting back into a regular baseball throwing program routine. "It makes sense to make that transition from doing the small stuff to more of the baseball stuff. So it makes sense to come back." ' ' '
