Crane leads The Players Championship

Ben Crane should have known what was coming when he rolled in a 30-foot birdie putt on the first hole of the day. He kept right on pouring them in until he had a 7-under 65 and a one-shot lead in The Players Championship.

Crane made four birdie putts longer than 20 feet, kept his ball on land throughout another wild opening round Thursday on the TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., and wound up atop a leaderboard devoid of the biggest stars.

Tiger Woods couldn't make a putt outside 4 feet.

Phil Mickelson ran off three straight birdies early in his round, then couldn't keep the ball in play.

Defending champion Sergio Garcia opened with a 71 and already was looking forward to going home to Spain.

Crane had a one-shot lead over John Mallinger, Alex Cejka and Richard S. Johnson, with a large group at 67 that included Retief Goosen, David Toms, Camilo Villegas and Scott Verplank, who had two eagles -- one of them from 150 yards out on the 15th fairway, another with a putt that seemed about that long on the par-5 second.

Woods opened his round with four straight birdie chances inside 12 feet and missed them all. He wound up with a 71, keeping alive his streak of never breaking 70 in the opening round at this elite event. Mickelson birdied the 18th to salvage a 73.

LPGA Tour

Lorena Ochoa shot a 7-under 64 to take a one-shot lead over Lindsey Wright after the first round of the Michelob Ultra Open at Kingsmill in Williamsburg, Va.

Coming off a victory two weeks ago in her native Mexico, the top-ranked Ochoa had eight birdies and a bogey on the soggy 6,315-yard River Course at Kingsmill. She's seeking her first victory in the event after finishing second three times.

Hee-Won Han, Sarah Lee and Minea Blomqvist shot 66s.

-- The Associated Press