Kelly shares lead at Champions opener

Fresh off a solid performance on Oahu, Jerry Kelly shot an eightunder 64 on the Big Island to share the first-round lead at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship, the season opener on the PGA Tour Champions.

The 51-year-old Kelly, who tied for 14th at the PGA Tour’s Sony Open last week in Honolulu, birdied five of his final seven holes to shoot 30 on the back nine at Hualalai. He won twice last season, his first on the over-50 tour.

Gene Sauers also shot 64, going bogey-free amid calm conditions. Thirty-two of the 44 players broke par in the limited-field event, which includes winners from last season, past champions of the event, major champions and Hall of Famers.

Rocco Mediate and Colin Montgomerie were one shot back, and Fred Couples, Kevin Sutherland and Kirk Triplett were another shot behind.

Sergio Garcia opened his season with a five-under 66 and a share of the clubhouse lead in the first round of the Singapore Open. Playing his first tournament of the year, the Masters champion rebounded after making an early bogey to collect four birdies and an eagle at the Sentosa Golf Club. He was later joined by American qualifier Kurt Kitayama in the clubhouse lead. ... Rory McIlroy’s patience was tested on his comeback and he needed three late birdies to register a three-under 69 that left him three strokes behind first-round leaders Tommy Fleetwood and Hideto Tanihara at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.