Woods survives first round at Accenture
On a course where it was important not to fall behind, Tiger Woods found himself among the cactus and desert shrub left of the second fairway. His opponent already was on the green, 12 feet away for birdie.
Woods went from the desert to the fairway and made a 20-foot par putt to halve the hole, setting the tone for a 3-and-2 victory over J.J. Henry in Wednesday’s first round of the Accenture Match Play Championship at Marna, Ariz.
Seven matches went the distance, including fourth-seeded Phil Mickelson holding off fellow lefty Richard Green of Australia.
Jim Furyk, the No. 2 seed, ran off three straight birdies and outlasted Brett Quigley, 2 and 1
Ernie Els was ousted in the first round, making only one birdie in his 4-and-3 loss to Bradley Dredge.
Woods advanced to face Tim Clark, a 3-and-2 winner over Robert Allenby.
Basketball
Smith surrenders
Illinois basketball player Jamar Smith – charged with drunk driving and leaving the scene of an accident – turned himself in to authorities in Champaign, Ill.
Smith surrendered at the Champaign County sheriff’s office. He was processed and released after posting 10 percent of a $10,000 bond set Tuesday by Judge Tom Difanis.
•The WNBA Connecticut Sun traded starting forward Taj McWilliams-Franklin to the Los Angeles Sparks for the rights to center Erika De Souza and the 12th pick in this year’s college draft.
•The Seattle Storm filled a gap in their coaching staff, hiring veteran coach Shelley Patterson as an assistant for the upcoming season.
•Montana guard Mandy Morales is one of 11 finalists for the eighth annual Nancy Lieberman Award, which honors the top point guard in NCAA Division I women’s basketball.
•Barry Stevens, the second-leading scorer in Iowa State basketball history, died of an unknown cause while exercising in Gary, Ind., the school said. He was 43.
Miscellany
Read heads to Dallas
Oregon State assistant football coach Bruce Read has resigned to take an assistant’s job with the Dallas Cowboys.
Read, 44, was Oregon State’s special teams coordinator from 1997-98 and again from 2004-06. He has worked with Lou Groza Award winner Alexis Serna and All-American Sammie Stroughter, who was a punt returner on special teams.
•Sports photographer Richard Raphael, 68, who covered all 41 Super Bowls and shot nine Sports Illustrated magazine covers, has died after a sudden illness in Marblehead, Mass.
•Three Olympic champion Cuban boxers who defected and signed seven-figure contracts with a German promoter have been refused entry to the United States, their manager said.
•Sports announcer Jim Lampley was sentenced to three years of probation after pleading no contest to a misdemeanor charge of violating a restraining order in San Diego.
•Cyclist Jens Voight of Germany outsprinted race leader Levi Leipheimer to win the third stage of the Amgen Tour of California in San Jose, Calif.