Sports

And that included two bogeys! Bradley entered the week having missed his last two cuts, so today's effort is a welcome return to form and then some. Under the lift, clean and place provision, he split nine (of 14) fairways and hit 15 greens. Starting on the back side, he birdied 11, 12, 13, 15 and 16 before swallowing a bogey at the par-4 18th. He then bogeyed the par-4 first from a fairway bunker before nearly running the table on the way in. His par breakers thereafter included an eagle-3 at No. 7 and birdies at 2, 4, 5, 8 and 9. His eagle and four of his birdies dropped in from outside 10 feet; the highlight was a 14-yard hole-out at the par-4 15th. It's the first course record of 2013 and the 28th 60 in PGA TOUR history. The previous course record at TPC Four Seasons was a 61 shared by four golfers, most recently by Cameron Beckman in 2010.

Due to 1.51 inches of rain that fell overnight, lift, clean and place is in effect today. Palmer pounced, splitting 10 (of 14) fairways and hitting 17 greens in regulation. After a bogey-5 at the 12th hole -- his third of the round at TPC Four Seasons -- he played the remainder in bogey-free 6-under with six birdies. Five among the set dropped in from outside 10 feet, including respective conversions from 30'8", 31'6" and 29'7" at the 17th, fifth and ninth holes. In the last two editions of this tournament, Palmer opened with a 65 (2011) and a 64 (2012) en route to a solo second and T9, respectively. He's also fresh off a T5 at THE PLAYERS and is just one week removed from the sudden death of a long-time friend.

"At the moment, the U.S. Open is going to be a miss for me because the baby is due then," Oosthuizen said, referring to the due date of June 15. He added that he would tee it up at Merion if the baby arrives the previous week. For now, he'll enjoy a four-event stretch in as many weeks ending at the Memorial at the end of this month. He missed the cut in his debut at the HP Byron Nelson Championship last year.

Sigh. It seems that it's no longer a matter of if, but when. He called it quits before his second round at TPC Sawgrass last week due to an injury in his lower back, and that trailed an early WD at Quail Hollow due to an irritated left wrist. UPDATE: Johnson alerted his followers on Twitter of this week's reasoning: "Tried to go but have inflammation in my facet joints. Some rest and daily therapy with my physical therapist, then I should be good!!"

Faldo will turn 56 years of age the same day as the opening round. He hasn't played a PGA TOUR event since missing the cut at St. Andrews in 2010. He hasn't survived a cut in 2006, and he's just 2-for-2 on the Champions Tour, electing to devote his time to other ventures including his broadcasting. "I've been fighting it for years," he told CNN. "I was in the gym (last) Monday, and it suddenly just hit me. I thought, 'Come on, this is one more walk,' and I'll probably never get a chance to walk at Muirfield."

Gangluff buried an eagle and five birdies to offset one bogey to secure his first start on the PGA TOUR since losing his card at the end of the 2012 season. Zack Fischer, Jason Schultz and Bobby Massa shared runner-up honors, all signing for a 5-under 33-34=67 with six birdies and one bogey. It's the third time Fischer has four-spotted this season; he missed the cut in his previous two starts (Valero Texas Open; Zurich Classic of New Orleans). Schultz had status on TOUR in 2006 and 2007 but made just one start since (T63, 2010 Byron Nelson). And in his only career TOUR-sanctioned start, Massa missed the cut at the WNB Golf Classic on the Web.com Tour a month ago. The 25-year-old University of Texas-Arlington product is a native of Irving. The field for the HPBNC is now complete at 156.

Streelman was nearly perfect in his final lap around TPC Sawgrass, circling six birdies to just one bogey. He wasn't even in consideration for the title when he stepped on the 16th tee, but a rather routine birdie at the par 5 followed by an unlikely 36'5" birdie at the par-3 17th thrust him into contention. He tapped in a par at the par-4 18th to close out his round at almost the exact same time Tiger Woods was dealing with a drive in the water at the par-4 14th. He'll needs some help from those still on the course, but he has a puncher's chance at a win and has locked up his fifth top 10 of the 2013 season. He's in no hurry to leave Ponte Vedra Beach, as he is not in the HP Byron Nelson Championship field.