Kite leads Senior Players

Tom Kite shot a 3-under 67 in calmer morning conditions to take a one-stroke lead Thursday over fellow early starters Mark O'Meara, Michael Allen and Joe Ozaki in the Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship at Potomac, Md., the Champions Tour's final major of the season.

After a bogey on No. 7, the 60-year-old Kite - winless since the 2008 Boeing Classic - birdied Nos. 9, 10, 14 and 17 at new-look TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm.

Allen, coming off a second-place finish last week in the PGA Tour's Viking Classic, had five birdies and three bogeys, one on No. 14 that knocked him out of the lead.

Russ Cochran, a two-time winner last month, was three strokes back at 70 along with Jeff Sluman, Eduardo Romero, Loren Roberts, Trevor Dodds and David Peoples.

U.S. Ryder Cup captain Corey Pavin opened with a 76, and Fred Couples shot a 78.

Rollins opens with 63

John Rollins kicked off the new McGladrey Classic with his best round of the year, a 7-under 63 at Sea Island, Ga., to take a one-shot lead over David Toms and rookie Troy Merritt.

It was a fast start for Rollins, inspired by a pep talk from his wife after he was unceremoniously eliminated from the FedEx Cup playoffs. Rollins was poised to advance to the third event until shooting a 79 the final day at the TPC Boston.

Zach Johnson and Matt Kuchar moved a bit slower having just returned from a long, wet week at the Ryder Cup. Kuchar challenged the lead until taking a double bogey on the 16th and shot 67. Johnson had a 70.

Davis Love, the tournament host and a vice captain in Wales, also had a 70.

Kerr leads Navistar LPGA Classic

LPGA Championship winner Cristie Kerr shot a 7-under 65 to take a one-stroke lead over Morgan Pressel, Anna Nordqvist and Dorothy Delasin in the Navistar LPGA Classic at Prattville, Ala.

Kerr, also the LPGA State Farm Classic champion this year, birdied three of the last four holes in her bogey-free round on the links-style Senator course at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail's Capitol Hill complex.

Long-hitting Brittany Lincicome was two strokes back at 67 along with Christina Kim, Vicky Hurst, Giulia Sergas. Silvia Cavalleri was 5 under with a hole left when play was suspended because of darkness.

Bjorn is up by 1 at Dunhill Links

Ryder Cup vice-captain Thomas Bjorn shot a 6-under 66 at St. Andrews to take a share of the first-round lead at the Alfred Dunhill Links in Scotland.

Bjorn, one of Colin Montgomerie's five backups in the victory over America at Celtic Manor, led eight other members of the European Ryder Cup team in their return to stroke play.

The Links Championship was played over three courses, and Bjorn was tied atop the leaderboard with Ricardo Gonzalez of Argentina, who also played at St. Andrews, Maarten Lafeber, who shot 66 at Carnoustie, and Martin Laird of Scotland, who produced the same score at Kingsbarns.