Scott Keeps Momentum With 63 at Firestone, Four Clear of Woods

Four days after closing with a 67 for his best finish in a major, Adam Scott made nine birdies over his last 12 holes Thursday for a seven-under-par 63, giving him a two-shot lead over Jason Gore and leaving him four shots ahead of Tiger Woods in the Bridgestone Invitational at Akron, Ohio.

Scott made his charge too late Sunday at Medinah to have any shot in the PGA Championship, where he tied for third.

“That was my hope coming into this week, to keep playing like I did last week,” Scott said. “I just tried to keep working on the same stuff and got it going a little today. I hit a lot of good iron shots and really took the pressure off my putting by hitting them so close.”

Lucas Glover shot a 66 at Firestone Country Club, one better than Woods, Davis Love III, Luke Donald, Michael Campbell, David Toms, and David Howell.

Woods is going after his fourth consecutive victory, a fact that didn’t escape Scott.

“Hopefully, I won’t have to work too hard the rest of the week to keep up with him,” Scott said. “But it would be great to play with him Sunday. That’s what we’re all out here for, to see how good we are and give the guy a challenge once in a while.”

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Will MacKenzie had three eagles for a nine-under 63 and a one-stroke lead over Bob Estes in the first round of the Reno-Tahoe Open.

Rich Beem, who turned 36, putted sharply and watched one of his shots take a lucky bounce off a rock in a creek to shoot 66 along with 2001 Reno-Tahoe champ John Cook, Nick Watney and Australian David McKenzie.

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Defending champion Loren Roberts shared the lead after the first round of the Tradition, the final major on the Champions Tour season.

Roberts, Bobby Wadkins and Wayne Levi each had 67s on the par-72, 7,150-yard course at the Reserve Vineyards and Golf Club at Aloha, Ore. Tom Kite and Keith Fergus were a stroke behind.

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Stacy Prammanasudh took advantage of ideal scoring conditions to shoot a six-under 66 and grab a share of the lead with Jee Young Lee, Kristal Parker-Manzo and Katie Futcher in the first round of the Wendy’s Championship for Children at Dublin, Ohio.

Prammanasudh, Lee, Parker-Manzo -- who announced after her round that she is retiring after this tournament -- and Futcher were a shot better than the top two names on the money list, Karrie Webb and Lorena Ochoa. Natalie Gulbis, Brittany Lincicome, Kris Tschetter, Tina Barrett, Mikaela Parmlid and Soo-Yun Kang joined them at 67.

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Canadian Ryan Yip beat Kevin Tway, 6 and 5, to advance to the third round of the U.S. Amateur Championship at wet and windy Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn.

Play was suspended for nearly 4 1/2 hours because of rain in the morning, and sprinkles were present throughout the afternoon, delaying third-round matches until this morning with quarterfinals to follow. The semifinals are scheduled for Saturday, with a 36-hole championship match set for Sunday.

Yip posted the largest margin of victory in the second round. He is scheduled to face Billy Horschel, a stroke-play medalist who shot 60 on Monday. With a birdie on the 17th hole, Horschel defeated David Merkow, 3 and 1.