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Rose Keeps It Close and Leads With a 63

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From Associated Press

Justin Rose made five birdies from inside three feet, then capped off his first round with a 15-foot eagle from the fringe for an eight-under-par 63 on Friday and a two-stroke lead in the Deutsche Bank Championship at Norton, Mass.

Vijay Singh and Cliff Kresge had a 65 on the TPC of Boston. The best scoring came from early starters, as strong breezes kept anyone from getting close to Rose.

The PGA Tour returned to the Boston area for the first time in five years, bringing out some 25,000 spectators who were reminded how easy the game can look when the putts don’t have to travel far.

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Rose hit a sand wedge to 18 inches on his opening hole, then added two more birdies with an eight-iron to two feet on No. 4 and another eight-iron to three feet on No. 5. Rose blasted out of a greenside bunker to 18 inches for another birdie on the par-five seventh.

He hit his approach to three feet on the 17th to catch Singh and Kresge, then moved past them with a four-iron from 231 yards that easily cleared the marsh and stopped just on the fringe, setting up his eagle.

Tiger Woods hit the ball well from tee to green but missed five birdie chances inside 12 feet, and the only three putts he made longer than six feet were to save par twice and to save bogey after hitting into the hazard on No. 16. He had a one-under 70.

Six people were injured when a bus crashed as it was shuttling spectators between Gillette Stadium in Foxboro to the tournament. The bus was hit by a parking lot gate that was blown shut by the wind, a Foxboro police spokeswoman said.

The gate hit the bus in an area where passengers were sitting, state trooper David Parsons said. Three people were seriously injured and were taken by helicopter to Boston Medical Center. Their condition was not immediately available. Three others were being treated for minor injuries.

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Tom Watson birdied four of the last five holes in a 10-under 62 that gave him a four-stroke lead after two rounds of the Jeld-Wen Tradition, the final major on the Champions Tour this season. He was a tournament-record 14-under 130 after 36 holes in Aloha, Ore.

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Jim Ahern, the first-round co-leader with Fuzzy Zoeller, shot a 68 and was at 134 with Hale Irwin, who shot a 67. Zoeller shot a 70 and was eight under.

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Candie Kung fought through soggy conditions for a four-under 68 and widened her lead to four strokes halfway through the LPGA’s State Farm Classic at Springfield, Ill. She is at 13-under 132. Jennifer Rosales shot a 67 to move to nine under.

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