Woods, McIlroy get off to torrid start

Tiger Woods had his lowest round since his last victory more than five years ago, an 8-under 62, with birdie chances on all but two greens and only one bad swing all day.

All it got him yesterday at the BMW Championship was a tie for the lead with Rory McIlroy.

Woods did his part in the scorching air at Aronimink in Newtown Square, Pa., that made the 7,267-yard course feel like a pitch-and-putt. He didn’t hit anything longer than a 9-iron into the par 4s and didn’t miss a green until his 14th hole.

“Got off to a better start than I have most of the season. And as of right now, I’m 1 back,” he said, pausing to smile. “Just the way it goes.”

It didn’t go perfectly for McIlroy, either. He was at 9-under when Woods finished, then made consecutive bogeys followed by a 2-putt birdie for a 62.

They had a 1-shot lead over Xander Schauffele.

“It was one of those days where it was out there,” McIlroy said.

McIlroy reached 9-under through 14 holes, but Woods generated the biggest buzz. Woods failed to break par in the opening round at 10 of his last 11 tournaments. This was a big exception.

The wide fairways and temperatures in the 90s that allowed the golf ball to seemingly fly forever made for such low scoring that 48 players in the 69-man field broke par.

Rickie Fowler opened with a 65 in his first tournament since the PGA Championship. Jordan Spieth couldn’t keep it in play off the tee but birdied three of his last four holes for a 67.

New Bedford’s Peter Uihlein, who only advanced to the third FedEx Cup playoff event thanks to birdies on his last three holes at TPC Boston last week, had a 64 to join a group that included defending FedEx Cup champion Justin Thomas.

Tennis: Serena rolls

Serena Williams will play for her record-tying 24th Grand Slam singles title after advancing to the U.S. Open final with a 6-3, 6-0 victory over Anastasija Sevastova last night.

Williams, seeded 17th, will play No. 20 Naomi Osaka of Japan tomorrow. Osaka made her first career Grand Slam final, beating 2017 U.S. Open runnerup Madison Keys 6-2, 6-4. Keys, seeded 14th, couldn’t convert on any of her 13 break-point opportunities.

Williams, a year after missing the tournament and giving birth to her daughter during it, reached the final in Flushing Meadows for the first time since 2014, when she won the last of her six U.S. Open titles.

Williams would equal Australian Margaret Court’s record for most major titles by winning the final. She missed a chance earlier this summer when she fell to Angelique Kerber in the Wimbledon final.

Williams dropped the first two games to the No. 19 Sevastova of Latvia and then won five straight.

Names: Garnett sues

Kevin Garnett is suing an accountant and his firm, alleging they helped a wealth manager steal $77 million from the retired former Celtics star. The federal malpractice lawsuit in Minneapolis alleges Kentucky-based accountant Michael Wertheim and Welenken CPAs enabled Charles Banks IV

of Atlanta to defraud Garnett through businesses in which Garnett and Banks shared an interest. Banks was sentenced last year to four years in federal prison for defrauding another former NBA star, San Antonio Spurs player Tim Duncan,

of millions of dollars . . . .

The Miami Heat and Udonis Haslem agreed on a one-year, $2.4 million contract, according to a source. Haslem will enter his 16th season with the Heat . . . .

Orlando Magic billionaire owner and Amway cofounder Richard DeVos died in Detroit at 92 . . . .

Tennessee basketball coach Rick Barnes got a three-year contract extension and raise that will earn him $21 million over the next six years. The extension comes after the 64-year-old Barnes, a former Providence coach, led Tennessee to a 26-9 record and a share of the Southeastern Conference regular-season title.

Soccer: Replay plea

U.S. women’s national soccer team coach Jill Ellis is calling on FIFA to use video review for officiating at the Women’s World Cup next year in France. Ellis wants the Video Assistant Referee, also known as VAR, to be used as it was for the men’s World Cup this year. There are questions whether officials could be trained on VAR in time for the tournament . . . .

The next U.S. men’s soccer coach will be announced by the end of the year, said former American midfielder Earnie Stewart, who is leading the search in his new role as general manager. He said there are six or seven candidates. Dave Sarachan has been interim coach since last October when Bruce Arena quit after the Americans failed to qualify for the World Cup . . . .

Argentine great Diego Maradona has been hired as coach of the second-tier Mexican soccer club Dorados of Sinaloa.

NHL: Seattle on hold

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said December is the earliest the Board of Governors will vote on potential expansion to Seattle. Seattle Hockey Partners will make a presentation to board’s executive committee on Oct. 2 . . . .

The Columbus Blue Jackets gave multi-year contract extensions to their three top executives — president of hockey operations John Davidson, general manager Jarmo Kekalainen and assistant general manager Bill Zito, who was promoted to associate general manager.