Scott Piercy launched the US PGA Tour's 2016-17 season with a bang Thursday, firing a 10-under par 62 to take a two-shot lead early in the first round of the Safeway Open. Piercy rolled in 12 birdies with two bogeys en route to a course record at the Silverado Resort in Napa, California. Piercy said it was the putter that let him down as he missed the Tour Championship — the finale of the 2015-16 season in September, as well as the Ryder Cup. His sparkling round, started at the 10th tee and including birdies seven birdies in his first 10 holes, gave him a two-shot lead over England's Paul Casey and American Patton Kizzire. Casey and Kizzire each had eight birdies without a bogey to share second on 64. Johnson Wagner and Kyle Stanley were in the clubhouse on 65, while Spain's Jon Rahm joined Troy Merritt and Bill Haas on 66, buoyed by a hole in one at his second hole, the par-three 11th. The early birdie festival at Silverado lent some excitement to a tournament that threatened to fall flat when 14-time major champion Tiger Woods pulled out Monday. Five-time major winner Phil Mickelson, who would have played alongside Woods over the first two rounds, was seven off the pace and tied for 22nd. Lang leads in Incheon Brittany Lang hit driver for a tap-in eagle on the par-4 15th and birdied the last for a 7-under 65 and the second-round lead Friday in the LPGA KEB HanaBank Championship. A day after Pak Se-ri ended her Hall of Fame career in front of her home fans, Lang nearly aced the 251-yard 15th. Her ball hopped onto the green, curled right toward the pin and missed by a few inches on the high side before stopping a foot away. Lang had a 10-under 134 total. Solheim Cup teammate Alison Lee had a 70 to fall a stroke back. South Korea's Park Sung-hyun also was 7-under after a 65. The Korean LPGA player tied for second behind Lexi Thompson last year, opening with a 62. South Korea's Kim In-kyung was 6-under along with France's Karine Icher. They each shot 70. Thompson was tied for seventh at 5-under after a 69. Jang Ha-na was 3-under after a 70. Shanshan Feng had a 69 to reach 2 under. Top-ranked Lydia Ko followed her opening 75 with a 69 to get to even par. Jutanugarn was 2-over after her second straight 73. Lahiri among leaders India's Anirban Lahiri overcame an early triple bogey to shoot a three-under-par 68 and join four others at the top of the leaderboard after the second round of the $1.1 million Venetian Macao Open Friday. Sharing the top spot with him on an eight-under par 134 were close friend Chikkarangappa S., Australian Kalem Richardson, Scott Vincent of Zimbabwe and Thailand's Sutijet Kooratanapisan. Unheralded Sutijet carded a 66 to put himself in position for a maiden Asian Tour victory. Richardson (67), Vincent (64) and Chikkarangappa (65) also fought into contention. Co-overnight leader Ian Poulter scrambled to a 73 to fall three shots off the pace in his first tournament back from injury while title holder Scott Hend fired a 67 to lie a further stroke back.
