Jeff Overton leads Ryan Palmer by one after bogey-free 64 at HP Byron Nelson Championship

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Stephen Hawkins

Associated Press

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Jeff Overton shot a bogey-free 6-under 64 Thursday to take the first-round lead at the HP Byron Nelson Championship, a stroke better than Ryan Palmer.

A year after tying for second at TPC Four Seasons, Overton started his back nine with four birdies in a seven-hole stretch. He had his best score in 15 career rounds at the Nelson, even after his 22-foot birdie attempt on the closing hole lipped out.

"It's nice having confidence because of last year," Overton said. "I knew I played well. I just wanted to keep things rolling."

After a par-saving 10-foot par putt at the 220-yard par-3 second hole, Overton had consecutive birdies.

"That broke a lot and I thought I missed it, and it actually went in," Overton said. "And next thing, I was able to hit a lot of great shots and strike out early. I never had a chance of making bogey from there. "

Palmer has made the cut only once in his seven previous Nelson appearances. This week, he is letting his caddie call all his shots.

Sergio Garcia, who withdrew from a British Open qualifier this week and didn't even play a practice round because of an infected fingernail on his left hand, was in a group of nine players at 66.

The infection on Garcia's ring finger made it difficult to grip a club. His finger was sore a few days ago that he thought he might not even be able to play.

How about this for a cure for Garcia? Antibiotic cream, draining the infection, seeing the new "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie and an opening eagle.

"It's funny how golf is sometimes. Yeah, rarely practice at all and then we get there," Garcia said about holing a sand wedge from 116 yards on his first hole, the 418-yard 10th. "I hit it and I saw guys on the green saying `In' and I thought, `Perfect!' I couldn't have started in a better way."

Overton was part of the Ryder Cup team last year when he had three runner-up finishes, among them being part of a three-way tie for second at last year's Nelson behind Jason Day.

Though he has made the cut in all but one of his previous 13 tournaments this season, Overton has finished better than 20th only once. That was a sixth-place finish at the Honda Classic in March, and he's had his missed cut and finished no better than 26th since then.

"I hope this is the beginning of a good streak for me," he said. "I've been hitting it really well the last three or four weeks, just have not made my putts all year."

The TPC greens were pelted by hail described as half the size of baseballs during storms Tuesday night. Crews worked on the greens before and after a pro-am Wednesday.

During the opening round Thursday, players were allowed to treat hail damage as a ball mark that they could repair. They also took advantage of lift, clean and place being in effect because of potential damage to other areas of the course.

Dustin Johnson, who played in the group with Garcia, was in the group at 66 along with Jeff Quinney, Scott Piercy, Will Strickler, Chris Riley, Josh Teater, Joe Ogilvie and Keegan Bradley.

Johnson's double bogey on his second hole, the 329-yard 11th, came after he hooked his drive into the water going for the green and then hit his fourth shot over the green.

He was bogey-free the rest of the round, starting with a 21-foot birdie at No. 12 and a 22-footer at No. 14. His six birdie putts averaged more than 19 feet each -- the shortest was 8 with a long of 35 feet.

Johnson, who has finished second- and third-place finishes this season, was under par for the eighth time in his last nine rounds at the Nelson.

"The greens were great, so, you know, I got to give props to the grounds crew," Johnson said. "They did a really good job of getting the greens ready, especially after that hail storm. You've definitely got to give them a hand."

Garcia said he fixed several divots on every hole, but said the greens were OK.

DIVOTS: K.J. Choi, who won The Players Championship two weeks ago before skipping Colonial last week, shot a 71 with four bogeys while playing with Garcia and Johnson. ... Defending champion Day shot a 72 that included a double bogey and four bogeys.

Daryl Smith, Corey Graham, James Ihedigbo Want To Return

Posted Dec 30, 2013

Ryan MinkBaltimoreRavens.com Staff Writer@Ravens All Ryan Mink Articles



Three Ravens defensive veterans will be looking for new contracts this offseason.



The Ravens had a lot of turnover on defense last offseason.

Will it happen again this summer?

Baltimore has several key veteran defensive players that will hit the market this offseason: defensive tackle Art Jones, inside linebacker Daryl Smith, safety James Ihedigbo and cornerback Corey Graham.

As they cleaned out their lockers Monday, all of them indicated they would like to stick around.

But as is the case in the cruel free agency salary cap crunch, wishes don’t always come true.

Each player has a good case for coming back, as they were all starters at some point that played very well in Baltimore.

Jones is still dealing with his concussion and declined media interviews. The 27-year-old former fifth-round pick rounded into one of the team’s best and most consistent defensive linemen with 53 tackles and four sacks.



He could be in line to get a big payday somewhere considering his age and that his stock is still rising.

Smith was seen by some in the Baltimore media as the team’s most valuable player this year. The 31-year-old veteran was signed to help fill in for Ray Lewis, and exceeded expectations. He led the team in tackles (123) and was second in passes defensed (19).

“Most definitely [I want to return],” Smith said. “I love it here and would love to be back. We’ll see how it goes, though.”

Smith was asked whether he has had conversations with the front office about staying.

“I think they want me back, but we’ll see,” Smith said. “Only time will tell. I know they’ve got a lot of stuff to do this year, and a lot of guys [whose contracts have ended]. So, we’ll see.”

Ihedigbo has been in Baltimore for two years, and emerged as the team’s starting strong safety this season. He started all 16 games, made 101 tackles, and had 11 passes defensed and three interceptions. Ihedigbo was a definite leader in the locker room and on the field for the defense.

Ihedigbo said the free agency process is out of his hands, and he’ll let his agent handle that. But he feels like he proved he can remain a starter.

“That was a goal personally going into the season is to prove that I’m a Pro Bowl-caliber player,” he said. “With the support of my teammates, I definitely believe I made that impact.”

After finishing last year as a starter, Graham took on the No. 3 role in 2013. He still made a big impact and was on the field often. Graham had 74 tackles and a team-high four interceptions.

Graham went from a Pro Bowl special teams player to a legitimate starting cornerback during his two season in Baltimore. He has been one of the team’s top playmakers at his position.

“Yes, I would like to be here,” Graham said. “When you win a Super Bowl somewhere, you get the opportunity to play somewhere, and things start to go well for you, you want to be in the place where they gave you opportunities. It’s a good organization; they gave me a chance to play.”

As is the case with many players, the end of the season brings sudden uncertainty.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen, whether I’m going to be here or going to be somewhere else,” Graham said before stuffing the last of his locker into a trash bag and walking out the door.