Mackenzie rises to the fore
Will Mackenzie would be a natural for the X Games. Now he's out to prove there's room for a kayaking, snowboarding surfer in the sometimes stuffy world of golf.
Mackenzie shot an 8-under par 64 yesterday to take a one-shot lead over Lucas Glover, Steve Marino, Brian Davis, and Jeff Overton after the first round of the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, N.C.
Mackenzie, who spent more than a decade away from the sport, nearly made a hole-in-one and had nine birdies to offset one bogey in taking an encouraging first step toward the second victory of his career.
"People might think that since I quit golf for a while and lived the life of an outdoor enthusiast that, you know, I break the mold, and I'm sure I do," Mackenzie said. "I want my peers to respect me as a golfer, and I think most of them do, but I also like to cheer them up a little bit and do silly things like stand on my head from time to time because that's what I like to do."
Carl Pettersson, John Merrick, Todd Hamilton, Todd Fischer, Greg Kraft, John Huston, and Shigeki Maruyama were two strokes back.
LPGA -- Laura Diaz shot a bogey-free 6-under 65 to take the first-round lead in the Canadian Women's Open in Edmonton, while 17-year-old Michelle Wie opened with a 75.
Diaz made a long birdie putt on the par-4 first hole -- her 10th hole of the day on the Royal Mayfair course.
"It was just really fun for me to make the 33-footer," Diaz said. "It's been what I've struggled with, so it was nice to see that go in. It puts me in a good frame of mind going into tomorrow."
Wie, making her first appearance in the event, closed her late afternoon round with a double bogey on the par-4 ninth. She also had a double-bogey 6 on No. 12, a bogey on the par-5 third and a birdie on the par-4 first.
Kelli Kuehne and Kyeong Bae opened with 66s, 2005 winner Meena Lee topped a group at 67, and Paula Creamer and Juli Inkster shot 68s.
Champions -- Mike Reid and Mark McNulty shot 6-under 66s to share the first-round lead in The Tradition in Sunriver, Ore., the tour's fourth major of the year.
David Edwards was a stroke back, and Tom Watson, Ben Crenshaw, and Bruce Summerhays shot 68s at the Crosswater Golf Club.
Reid's 66 was his lowest score since March.
European -- Scott Strange, a reserve who found out he was playing 45 minutes before tee time, shot a 6-under 64 to take the lead after the first round of the Scandinavian Masters in Stockholm.
Amateur Fredrik Qvicker and Sam Walker were one shot behind. Corey Pavin, Jeff Sluman, and two-time Scandinavian Masters winner Jesper Parnevik shot 70. Defending champion Marc Warren and John Daly shot 72.
Nationwide -- James Driscoll of Brookline fired a 6-under 64 to tie Hunter Haas for the first-round lead in the 