Seung-yul Noh leads Deutsche Bank Championship; Tiger Woods in third

Tiger Woods had his lowest opening round in three years Friday in the Deutsche Bank Championship. It still wasn’t enough to be low man in Sean Foley’s coaching stable.

Seung-yul Noh, a rising star from South Korea in his first season on the PGA Tour, ran off four straight birdies early in his round and closed with back-to-back birdies on the TPC Boston in Norton, Mass., for a nine-under 62.

That gave him a one-shot lead over Chris Kirk, whose 23 putts included an eagle on the new 18th hole.

Woods wasn’t too shabby. He stirred up a big gallery with six straight birdies, which featured four putts of at least 12 feet and flop shot executed so perfectly that it cleared a steep bunker and landed in an area of the green no larger than a hula hoop. His lone bogey on the final hole gave him a seven-under 64, putting him in a three-way tie for third with Jeff Overton and Ryan Moore.

The average score was just under 70 on a perfect day for scoring, except for the deceptive wind that swirled through the trees.

Rory McIlroy struggled off the tee, though he judged one of the lies in the rough beautifully on the ninth hole, a seven-iron into tap-in range that led to a 65.

France’s Julien Quesne shot a six-under 65 to take a one-stroke lead in suspended second round of the second round of the European Masters at Crans-Sur-Sierre, Switzerland.

ETC.

Skelton beats Kolb for Cardinals quarterback job

The Arizona Cardinals will go with John Skelton as starting quarterback in their season opener Sept. 9 against Seattle.

Coach Ken Whisenhunt announced his decision to go with Skelton over Kevin Kolb.

Skelton and Kolb had waged a protracted competition for the job over the off-season workouts and through the preseason.

Skelton is in his third season with Arizona after being drafted in the fifth round out of Fordham. Skelton, who grew up in El Paso, Texas, stands 6 feet 6 and has a cannon arm but sometimes struggles with accuracy.

The Cardinals made the decision despite their significant investment in Kolb, who was acquired just before last season in a trade that sent cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and a second-round draft pick to Philadelphia. The Cardinals then signed Kolb to a five-year, $63.5-million contract extension with $21 million guaranteed.

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The NFL and its on-field officials’ union began negotiating again Friday, hoping to end the lockout that resulted in replacement officials working the preseason.

The league locked out the NFL Referees Assn. in early June, then hired replacements, whose work in exhibition games has been heavily criticized.

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A 25-year-old fan died after tumbling about 60 feet from a fifth-floor escalator at Reliant Stadium in Houston during a preseason Texans game, police said Friday.

The man fell to the ground floor during Thursday night’s game against the Minnesota Vikings. The fall appeared to be an accident, police said.

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Backup quarterbacks were prominent among players cut Friday as teams whittled their rosters to the 53-man maximum.

Nine-year veteran Seneca Wallace was beaten out by Colt McCoy in Cleveland, Mike Kafka fell to rookie Nick Foles and journeyman Trent Edwards in Philadelphia, Brian Hoyer got axed in New England, Josh McCown was released by Chicago and 12th-year pro Sage Rosenfels didn’t make the cut in Minnesota.

Other veterans released as team’s prepare for the regular season, which begins Wednesday night with Dallas at the New York Giants, included 2005 Super Bowl MVP receiver Deion Branch and center Dan Koppen in New England; defensive backs Joselio Hanson and O.J. Atogwe in Philadelphia; Pittsburgh offensive lineman Trai Essex and punter Jeremy Kapinos, who were waived injured; Buffalo DT Dwan Edwards; and Giants running back D.J. Ware, who won two Super Bowls with the team.

“Today is the worst day of the year,” said John Elway, executive vice president of football operations for the Denver Broncos. “The second-worst is last week when we get down to 75 because of these guys, they put their hearts and souls into being NFL football players. So, you end a lot of dreams and guys put a lot of sweat and tears into trying to make a team. So, it’s always a very tough day.”

Tenth-year cornerback Drayton Florence was cut when Elway decided to keep three quarterbacks in Denver.

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Ty Dillon raced to his first NASCAR Truck victory, passing Kyle Busch with six laps to go and pulling away at Hampton, Ga.

Busch, who finished second, appeared to be in command with the race winding down, running several truck lengths ahead of the field. But Dillon quickly closed the gap and passed the 30-time Camping World Truck Series winner going into turn one. Busch banged the wall hard a couple of times, damaging his car and causing him to slow considerably.