Jason Day Leads In Byron Nelson Championship

Australian golf legend in the making Jason Day was so sick early Thursday that he almost withdrew from the HP Byron Nelson Championship. Instead, he got rest, drank plenty of liquids and took 66 shots. He was under the weather and 4 under par at the TPC Four Seasons at Las Colinas.

He was thinking about withdrawing from the Byron Nelson Championship. Then he realized it looked like rain and he'd left his umbrella in the car. Walking to the parking lot, Day pictured himself getting behind the wheel and heading to his home in Fort Worth. He ended up toughing it out, and "it was probably a good idea," he said with a smile.

Jason Day was long gone before the day actually ended. Play was delayed for 3 hours, 43 minutes because of lighting and rain. Play was suspended at 8:29 p.m. because of darkness and will resume at 7:15 a.m. today with second-round tee times pushed back one hour.

Jason Day birdied four of his first six holes on his way to a 4-under 66 for a share of the first-round lead when play was suspended late Thursday.

The threatening skies that sent Jason Day fetching his umbrella never actually drenched the TPC Four Seasons course, but the radar looked so scary there was a delay of 3 hours, 44 minutes. Joe Durant finished with an eagle and a birdie to match Day at 66. Steve Elkington, Hunter Mahan and Jarrod Lyle were still on the course with scores of 4-under.

Steve Elkington will have two holes left, Hunter Mahan three and Lyle seven when play resumes at 7:15 a.m. Friday, pushing back the start of the second round by an hour. Thursday's late starters are the first to go off Friday, which means it will be a long day for them.

Among those working overtime will be 16-year-old Jordan Spieth, a high school junior from Dallas and the reigning U.S. Junior Amateur champion. He's the first high schooler to get a sponsor's exemption into this event since Tiger Woods in 1993, and he showed he belongs by shooting even par through 11 holes.

Jordan Spieth woke up nervous and held his emotions in check during the delay by playing table tennis, shopping for souvenirs and putting. After a raucous ovation at his introduction, he ripped his tee shot down the middle, beyond his two playing partners. He parred the first four holes, then dropped in a birdie. He finished with a par putt and walked away saying, "I wanted to keep playing, I didn't care how dark it was."

Dustin Johnson was part of a group tied for second at 3-under, one shot behind. He's No. 9 on the season's money list, the top earner in this field.

Defending champion Rory Sabbatini was among a pack at 68. Vijay Singh and Rickie Fowler got off to poor starts in their quests to qualify for the U.S. Open. Both need to be near the top of the leaderboard to get into the top 50 in the world rankings by Monday's deadline, but both were stopped at 2-over. Rickie Fowler had two holes left, Vijay Singh three.

Although the weather made for a long afternoon, it helped Jason Day. He used the down time to recover from the strength-sapping eight-plus holes he'd played.

"I just kind of sat down and rested," Jason Day said. "I just sat down at a table with a bunch of friends and my wife and we sat there and talked, drank a lot of water, tried to keep up with my nutrition at least in there."

After the restart, he sure kept things interesting: two birdies, two bogeys and several scrambling pars — like on No. 1, his first full hole after the break. His tee shot was so poor it landed on the cart path, against a fence.

"I don't think any player has been over there except me today," he said.

Jason Day's season has been a lot like this round, spurts of great shots and bad ones, and ever-present illness. His physical problems began at the season-opening tournament in Hawaii. He's seen about six 6 is and allergies, and he's been given a bunch of different medicines.

Turns out he has a chronic sinus infection. He was given a shot and a batch of heavy antibiotics that should finally clear things up — but only after they threaten to clean him out. That's why he stood on the driving range wondering if 18 holes was a good idea.

"I really didn't think I was going to play this morning," he said.

Now the really weird part: The longer Day's medical woes have dragged, the better he's played. He's had three top-25 finishes this season, all in the last five weeks.

Jason Day suggests it's because he's practiced less and lowered his own expectations.

"I think I'm going out there and trying to play smarter golf," said Jason Day, who is only 22 but grew up being described as Australia's answer to Tiger Woods. "I didn't chip and putt as well as I would like to at the start of the year, and everything is turning around nicely now."

That breakthrough, first PGA Tour win would be even better.

Michael Jordan In Quail Hollow Championship Pro-Am

Reportedly spotted together less than a week ago, the 2 exquisite golf players Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan will go their separate ways for tomorrow’s Quail Hollow Championship pro-am. Michael Jordan opted to team with Fred Couples – a pairing that has its roots at last year’s Presidents Cup, when FredCouples made Michael Jordan a captain’s assistant for the team event at San Francisco’s Harding Park.

They’ll tee off at 12:18 p.m. Tomorrow. Tiger Woods has his usual 7:30 a.m. slot, pairing unknown. Tiger Woods and Micheal Jordan played the 2007 Quail Hollow pro-am together. Peyton Manning was one of tiger Woods’ partners last year.

“Michael and Fred are two great personalities, and I am positive the fans will enjoy interacting with both of them and watching them compete.” golf tournament chief Kym Hougham said and it certainly changes the likely nature of interaction had fans seen Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan together.

It’s been less than a month, remember, since Vanity Fair suggested a former NBA star now a professional golf player Michael Jordan helped nudge Tiger Woods into the multiple-mistress sex scandal that dominated tabloid headlines for weeks and has all but sunk his his marriage. Former Tiger Woods adviser Robert Merchant was quoted in the article as saying he told the golfer long ago to “stay away from that son of a (bleep)”.

According to RadarOnline.com, Michael Jordan spent last Tuesday and Wednesday at Isleworth playing golf with Tiger Woods. The Fred Couples also reportedly joined them, though the report that Couples played 36 holes with the duo in one day raises eyebrows.

Now, a golf player Michael Jordan who bought the Bobcats last month for $275 million, had hoped to be in Orlando on Wednesday for Game 5 of their playoff series. But after the Bobcats were swept by the Magic in four games in the franchise's first playoff appearance, Michael Jordan agreed to play.

It just had a different feel with Tiger Woods playing in an earlier group. "It's not as competitive,Freddie's totally relaxed and enjoying himself and so am I." Michael Jordan said. Micheal Jordan acknowledged he hasn't had as much contact with Woods since his sex scandal hit in November. The Quail Hollow marks Tiger Woods' first event since his return last month at the Masters.

"It's one of those things you can't cure in one moment, It's going to take some time. I think that's what he's been doing — at least from afar where I am. We haven't talked as much as we used to be because I think he's probably trying to get himself right. I'm all supportive of that." Michael Jordan added.

Michael Jordan signed autographs after nearly every hole of his up-and-down round that included some wayward drives early, but also a birdie putt on the fifth hole and driving the green on the par-4 13th.

"His golf game is great, In front of a lot of people it's harder. Of 30,000 people out here, 20,000 are watching Michael. There's a lot of pressure and they're all yelling at him to do this or do that. It's not too focused out there, but it's always fun to play with him." Couples said.

Michael Jordan has even been able to get Couples to buy a couple of season tickets, two of the 845 new orders the Bobcats have closed on as they build off Jordan-fueled excitement, according to team president Fred Whitfield.

Tiger Woods Match Ups: Matt Kuchar And KJ Choi

The golf legend Tiger Woods will play the first two rounds of the 74th Masters Tournament with Matt Kuchar and K.J. Choi and they will form the 31st and penultimate grouping on Thursday with a late tee-time of 1842 BST, returning on Friday to start their second round at 15:35. Tiger Woods' opening shot will be shown live Thursday on ESPN's "SportsCenter." Full television coverage begins at 4 p.m. ET on ESPN.

According to TigerWoods.com, It marks the 16th appearance for the top-ranked Woods, who has four victories, seven Top 3 finishes and 10 Top 10 showings. Woods has a scoring average of 70.91 and is a combined 63 under par.

In his last five starts at the Masters, Tiger Woods won in 2005; tied for third in 2006; tied for second in 2007; finished second in 2008; and tied for sixth in 2009. Tiger Woods has never broken 70 in the first round. He has opened with 2-under-par 70s four times, including last year. 
 

In 1997, Tiger Woods became the youngest winner of the tournament and youngest winner of a major since World War II. He posted scores of 70-66-65-69 and won by a record-breaking 12 strokes. 
 

On Tuesday, Tiger Woods played a practice round at warm and sunny Augusta with Mark O'Meara. The duo also played nine holes together last Sunday. By all accounts, Woods has looked sharper every day, especially with his irons. Tiger Woods has settled on a driver and will use a new Nike VR model. 

 

Tiger Woods' playing partners in their first round of the Masters have played to a scoring average of 74.71, or 2.71 shots above par. Only three times since Tiger Woods turned pro has a playing partner shot a lower score than him in the first round with Ricky Barnes in 2003, Darren Clarke in 2005 and Stewart Cink last year. 
 

"It's funny because I sort of had a feeling when I left Dallas to come here that it would be cool to be paired with Tiger, and it happened. It's a good surprise. For me, I'm used to playing with Tiger. I expect the atmosphere to be what it is going to be. I'm not worried about it. When you play with Tiger, it's hard to explain, but there is an aura that is different than playing with other players. But I'm used to it, so I don't think it is going to bother me at all." KJ Choi said through an interpreter, Michael Yim.

The golf champ from South Korea, KJ Choi is a seven-time winner on the PGA Tour. Tiger Woods has played with Choi 12 times, including 10 times in a stroke-player tournament. KJ Choi's average in those events was 70.8 while Woods' was 68.4. Tiger Woods defeated KJ Choi twice at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. 
 

"If there's anyplace to be paired with him with great crowds, it's here...The beautiful thing about the big crowds here -- it's easier to play in front of a huge crowd than a crowd of 12 people. With 12 people, you can see each individual. With a huge crowd, it just blends in. People can make noise or murmurs, it just kinds of drowns out." Matt Kuchar said.

A two-time winner of U.S. Amateur champion, Matt Kuchar was paired with Tiger Woods, the reigning Masters champion, in the opening round. Matt Kuchar shot a 72 to Woods' 71. The only other time they have played came at the 2005 Deutsche Bank in the third round, when Matt Kuchar shot 70 to Tiger Woods' 72.