GRAND BLANC TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Tiger Woods shot a 1-under 71 on Thursday at the Buick Open, his first tournament since missing the cut at the British Open.

He finished the first round eight shots back of leader Steve Lowery. If Woods fails to break 70 in the second round Friday morning, he will put himself in danger of missing cuts in consecutive tournaments for the first time as a pro.

Lowery took advantage of perfect conditions in the morning by tying a course record with a 29 on the front nine and finishing 9-under 63.

John Senden also did, making five straight birdies in the morning and finishing with nine to end up only a shot off the lead. Y.E. Yang, James Nitties, Vaughn Taylor, Brian Vranesh were two strokes back with 65s.
U.S. Senior Open

CARMEL, Ind. — Greg Norman birdied four straight holes on the front nine in the first round of the U.S. Senior Open, but a bogey on the final hole left him in a four-way tie with Joey Sindelar, Dan Forsman and amateur Tim Jackson at 6-under 66.

Jackson broke the record for low score by an amateur at this tournament, and he did it in his Senior Tour debut.

Andy Bean and Fulton Allem were both one shot back at 67.

Sindelar posted three birdies on each side. Forsman, who started at No. 10, was 4 under at the turn. Neither had a bogey. Jackson charged back with five birdies on the final nine holes.

Tony Pancake, the head pro at Crooked Stick Golf Club, said the 66s were a competitive course record. In the 1991 PGA Championship, won by John Daly, the low round was 67.
Women’s British Open

LYTHAM ST. ANNES, England — Sandra Gal shot a 3-under 69 to grab the lead after the first round of the Women’s British Open.

At 9:15 p.m., at the end of a round that lasted nearly six hours, Gal chipped from the greenside rough over a mound to about a foot from the flag. She escaped with a skillful par and finished a shot ahead of Angela Stanford and Song-Hee Kim, who each posted a 70 earlier.

Stanford birdied the last hole from 30 feet, and Kim – one of 29 South Koreans in the championship field – made a birdie on No. 18 from 20 feet.

Michelle Wie shot a 1-over 73. Paula Creamer carded a 2-over 74 without a birdie.

Top-ranked Lorena Ochoa shot a 3-over 75, U.S. LPGA Tour money-leader Cristie Kerr had 76, and defending champion Jiyai Shin returned a 77.