Firestone’s not too tough for Sabbatini

Rory Sabbatini continued to make a difficult Firestone golf course look like a breeze Friday, running off three straight birdies toward the end of his round for another three-under-par 67 and a two-shot lead over Masters champion Zach Johnson in the Bridgestone Invitational at Akron, Ohio.

What appeared to be a tuneup for the final major of the season next week at the PGA Championship is starting to look as if it might be an even tougher test. Sabbatini was at six-under 134, with only seven other players able to break par.

Five-time champion Tiger Woods was one of them after an even-par 70 in which he had no complaints until reaching the green. He made only two birdies despite hitting 15 greens in regulation, and those were wiped out by a pair of three-putts from about 35 feet.

“They looked fast, but for some reason they putted a little bit slower than I thought they did [Thursday],” Woods said. “I just had a hard time making the adjustment.”

He was at 138 along with Scott Verplank (68) and Kenny Perry, who had his second straight 69. Johnson and Davis Love III had the best round of the tournament at 65, proving that it could be done. Love wound up in the group at 139 that included Lee Westwood and Chris DiMarco.

Steve Flesch overcame a double bogey and swirling winds with six birdies to shoot a 69 for a two-stroke lead midway through the Reno-Tahoe Open at 12-under 132.

Charles Warren shot a nine-under-par 63 and was two shots back in second place at the 7,472-yard, par-72 Montreux Golf & Country Club on the edge of the Sierra Nevada.

Tadd Fujikawa, a 16-year-old high school junior from Honolulu, shot a 71 Friday but missed the cut at seven over in his professional debut.

Tom Jenkins and Jim Thorpe took advantage of ideal conditions to shoot eight-under 64s and share the 3M Championship’s first-round lead at Blaine, Minn.

The average score was 69.83, the lowest first-round figure in the event’s 15-year history.