Every ties first-round record at Wyndham

Matt Every matched the Wyndham Championship’s first-round record with a 9-under 61 on Thursday to take a one-stroke lead. Every tied the opening-round mark set in 2010 by Arjun Atwal.

GREENSBORO, N.C. » Matt Every matched the Wyndham Championship’s firstround record with a 9-under 61 on Thursday to take a one-stroke lead.

Every tied the openinground mark set in 2010 by Arjun Atwal, who went on to win the PGA Tour’s final tournament before the postseason.

Henrik Stenson opened with a 62. Former Wyndham winner Webb Simpson was at 63 along with Cameron Smith, Vaughn Taylor, Tim Wilkinson, Harold Varner III, Brian Campbell and Sam Saunders.

Davis Love III — the 53-year-old player who has won this tournament three times, most recently in 2015 — matched Martin Flores and Rick Lamb with a 64.

For Every, a 33-year-old with two career victories on tour, this was a muchneeded strong start to what he hopes is a long week.

“I played good, and have been playing good for a while,” Every said. “So it’s just nice to see it come together.”

Every arrived at par-70 Sedgefield Country Club in a tie for 183rd on the FedEx Cup points list. The top 125 qualify for The Northern Trust next week in New York.

His best finish this season was a tie for 14th at the Canadian Open, and he had a string of seven consecutive tournaments from April-June in which he either withdrew or missed the cut. Both of his victories came at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill in 2014 and ‘15.

Captain Sorenstam

After accomplishing just about everything there is to accomplish in golf, Annika Sorenstam finally got her shot as a Solheim Cup captain.

Leading Team Europe might prove to be a lot more difficult for Sorenstam than playing ever was.

Veteran star Suzann Pettersen is out with a bad back.

Sweden’s Anna Nordqvist, the team’s topranked player, recently dealt with a bout of mononucleosis.

Four of Sorenstam’s 12 players are making their debuts in the biennial tournament between Europe and the U.S. — and the Europeans are 1-6 on American soil.

But Sorenstam, the Hall of Fame player who served as a vice captain in the three previous Solheim Cups, is confident the underdog Europeans can hang with the U.S. when play begins today at Des Moines Golf and Country Club.

Cristie Kerr and Lexi Thompson will be the opening pairing for the U.S., while Team Europe paired Nordqvist with Georgia Hall. American captain Juli Inkster also paired rookie Danielle Kang with veteran Lizette Salas, and Catriona Matthew, Pettersen’s replacement, will also open foursome play Friday.

“It’s been a lot of juggling, to put it mildly,” said Sorenstam, who won 72 LPGA Tour titles, including 10 majors. “I had a plan, I called it plan A. And then we started a plan B ... and when Suzann and I spoke (Wednesday) morning, I kind of threw out plan A, and now we’re sticking to plan B.”

Still, the Americans will have the edge in experience and with a home crowd that is expected to eclipse 100,000.

Half of the U.S. field has played in at least four Solheim Cups, led by Kerr (nine), Paula Creamer (seven) and the resurgent Michelle Wie (five). But Creamer was an alternate for Inkster until Jessica Korda hurt her forearm and withdrew.

The Americans also have the top-ranked player in the event in Thompson, the 22-year-old Floridian who has three wins and 15 topfive finishes since 2015.