PALM HARBOR, Fla. (AP) -Garrett Willis made the most of a sponsor exemption to his hometown event Thursday with five birdies on the back nine for a 6-under 65 that put him atop the leaderboard among early starters in the Transitions Championship. Another surprise came from Jeff Maggert. Maggert was the seventh alternate at one point, and was home in Houston clearing out dead palm trees when he decided Wednesday night he should at least show up at Innisbrook. Just his luck, Vijay Singh withdrew... Read more

PALM HARBOR, Fla. (AP) -The PGA Tour proudly points to Shanghai as an example that not all of the World Golf Championships are staged in America. That would be easier to accept if the tour actually counted the HSBC Champions as an official event. Phil Mickelson received $1.2 million and 66 points toward the world ranking, although he was mildly annoyed that this WGC event didn't count toward his PGA Tour victory total. The status of the HSBC Champions as an official PGA Tour event could be... Read more

RABAT, Morocco - Nick Dougherty opened with a seven under par 66 at the Trophée Hassan II in Morocco to establish a one shot lead. Home in 30 with an eagle and five birdies, the 27 year old from Liverpool leads Ireland's Peter Lawrie, Scot Stephen Gallacher, Italian Francesco Molinari, India's S S P Chowrasia, Argentina’s Ricardo Gonzalez and Paraguay’s Fabrizio Zanotti. What Dougherty took most satisfaction from was the fact that his round came on the tougher Red course... Read more