PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico —Will Claxton shot a 5-under 66 in windy conditions Thursday to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Mayakoba Golf Classic.

Making his fifth career start on the PGA TOUR, the 30-year-old former Auburn player had four straight birdies early on his back nine on the El Camaleon course.

Charles Howell III, Greg Owen, John Huh, Marc Turnesa, Alejandro Canizares, Matt Every and Mark D. Anderson were tied for second.

Claxton and Turnesa had the only bogey-free rounds.

“This golf course, it really keeps your attention off the tees,” Howell said. “There’s a lot of trouble out there, and it’s too hard to get ahead of yourself here. The golf course almost helps you stay where you’re at just because it demands a lot of focus and attention on it. Fortunately, I was able to drive the ball in play today, and that gives you a good chance around here to score.”

Kevin Stadler, Josh Teater, Dicky Pride, Seung-Yul Noh, Hunter Haas, David Hearn, Michael Allen and Sunghoon Kang shot 68.

“It’s really relaxing down here,” Stadler said. “Golf course-wise, I think it’s one of the best we play all year. I look forward to coming here every year. I tend to play well here. I think I’m just in a good place mentally down here.”

Champions Tour player Nick Price opened with a 69.

“I don’t feel that this course you need to overpower this course,” Price said. “This course has got a lot of strategy on it, particularly off the tees, putting the ball in the right place. All in all, I played well today.”

Defending champion Johnson Wagner had a 73. Wagner won the Sony Open in Hawaii in January and tied for second the following week in the Humana Challenge in California.

Last year, he beat Spencer Levin with a par on the first hole of a playoff.

Levin also opened with a 73.

Greg Norman, the El Camaleon designer, had a 79. The 57-year-old Norman played in a group with Wagner and Levin.

Mike Weir struggled to a 79 in his second start of the year.

Coming off surgery on his right elbow in August, the Canadian missed the cut two weeks ago in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and failed to secure a sponsor exemption last week for the Northern Trust Open at Riviera.

Mexico’s Jose de Jesus Rodriguez nearly aced the par-3 eighth, but his ball bounced out of the cup. He then made a 25-foot birdie putt, and finished with a 71.

KAPALUA, Hawaii—Steve Stricker has a habit of making things interesting after taking a big lead. On Monday, he managed to slip back into his old habit of winning.

Despite losing most of his five-shot lead in only six holes, Stricker steadied himself in time to kick off the new PGA TOUR season with a three-shot victory in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions on Monday.

Right when it looked as though Stricker was coming unglued, he made back-to-back birdies at the turn. That restored his lead to three shots, and no one got closer than two shots the rest of the way.

Stricker birdied his last hole for a 4-under 69 for his 12th career win, which moved him to No. 5 in the Official World Golf Ranking.

Sweeter than the winner’s lei draped around his neck on the 18th green at Kapalua were his two children, 13-year-old Bobbi Maria and 5-year-old Isabella, there to greet him with a hug.

Stricker held back tears—they usually flow freely after a win—perhaps a sign that he’s getting used to this business of winning. It was his ninth PGA TOUR win since he turned 40, and his eighth title in his last 50 tournaments.

As usual, he didn’t make it easy on himself.

Stricker had a five-shot lead going into the Monday finish on Maui, and it was just about gone when he muffed a flop shot and took bogey on the sixth hole.

Martin Laird, Webb Simpson and Jonathan Byrd each got within one shot of Stricker on the front nine, but not for long. Stricker rolled in a 25-foot birdie putt on the par-3 eighth, pitched to tap-in range at the par-5 ninth and was on his way.

Laird closed with a 67, and his birdie on the last hole put him alone in second place. Byrd kept most of the pressure on Stricker along the back nine of the Plantation Course, but he bogeyed the 17th. He had a 68 and tied for third with Simpson, who had a 68.

Stricker could not have started the new season better—all four rounds in the 60s, and already able to book his room at Kapalua for next year.

“It was tough,” said Stricker, who finished at 23-under 269. “I never let up today. It’s always tough trying to win, and it’s even more tough when you have a lead like I did. I’m very proud of what I did today.

“And it’s always cool to get a hug from your family walking off at the end.”

The PGA TOUR got off to a good start, too. There was so much focus at the start of the week on who didn’t show up at Kapalua for this winners-only event—three major champions, all of whom live overseas, along with three players who are recovering from injury.

Stricker was the highest-ranked American in the field, and played the best golf.

It just didn’t always look that way.

This was the fourth time in the last two years that Stricker led a big lead turn into some nervous moments on the last day.

• At the John Deere Classic last July, he watched a five-shot lead with nine holes to play turn into a two-shot deficit with two holes to play before he rallied to beat Kyle Stanley with an exquisite birdie on the last hole.

• At the Memorial in June, he had a four-shot lead at the turn and was still three shots clear with five to play. He held on to win by one.

• At Riviera in 2010, his six-shot lead going into the final round was down to two shots after only six holes. Stricker steadied himself and went on to win by two.

Monday on Maui was not much different.

Byrd made three straight putts early in the round, two of them for birdie, and Simpson, in the group ahead, made an eagle at No. 5. Stricker settled for pars, which was not a problem as long as he took care of the birdie holes.

But he didn’t. Stricker three-putted for par from just over 30 feet on the fifth, then hit a fluffy pitch that came up short of the sixth green and let to bogey as Byrd made another birdie for a two-shot swing.

Stricker stood at the back of the green while Byrd was making his putt, shaking his head, clearly flustered. It only took six holes for his five-shot lead to shrink to a single stroke, with 12 holes ahead of him. His next birdie putt didn’t even come close.

But on the hole that has given him fits this week, Stricker hit a pure shot into 25 feet on the par-3 eighth and made it for birdie, then birdied the ninth to regain control.

Byrd made the last big run at him by hitting a wedge to 4 feet on the 16th. Stricker followed him with a wedge into 2 feet for matching birdies that kept his lead at two shots with two holes to play.

MARANA, Ariz. (AP)—Luke Donald spoiled Martin Kaymer’s rise to No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking by winning the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship on Sunday with a performance so dominant he never played the 18th hole all week.

Not even the snow and sleet could stop Donald.

On a bizarre final day in the high desert, which began with snow covering the fairways, Donald pulled ahead for good with a birdie on the par-5 11th and a par on the next hole, eventually closing out Kaymer on No. 16 for a 3-and-2 victory.

The consolation prize for Kaymer is going to No. 1 in the career, which he assured by reaching the championship match.

Donald was in more dire need of this trophy, however.

It was his first win in America in five years, and it was only his second win worldwide since he captured the 2006 Honda Classic. The 33-year-old Englishman had done just about everything right except win.

He took care of that in a week like no other in the 13-year history of the Accenture Match Play Championship. Donald played only 89 holes in six matches and never trailed in any of them. In fact, he led after 81 of those holes.

“It feels amazing,” Donald said. “I had a bit of a monkey on my back. I hadn’t won in the U.S. in five years.”

Donald won his first World Golf Championships event, and became the second player from England to capture the Match Play Championship. He goes to a career-best No. 3 in the world to continue a European resurgence in the ranking.

The next world ranking will be Kaymer, Lee Westwood, Donald and Graeme McDowell. It’s the first time since March 15, 1992, that the top four spots have been occupied by Europeans.

Matt Kuchar defeated Bubba Watson in the consolation match and will go to No. 10 in the world.

This World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship will stand out for reasons beyond golf.

A late winter storm dusted Dove Mountain with nearly an inch of snow, and the fairways were blankets of white in the morning. Donald looked out his hotel room and suggested on Twitter that a snowball fight determine who had honors on the first tee.

The snow had melted when they teed off, although dark clouds on the horizon loomed. Sleet began falling when the championship match reached the third green, and play was stopped when sleet covered the fourth fairway.

“Do we have to keep playing?” Kaymer asked chief referee Mark Russell.

Kaymer, who purchased a snood to wear around his neck, pulled it up over his mouth and looked like a real Western gunslinger (except for the pattern of flies on fish hooks). Donald took out his blue-and-white umbrella and crouched beneath it.

After about 10 minutes, when the fairways turned from white back to green, play resumed.

Donald seized on the moment. Already 1 up from his 18-foot birdie on the par-5 second, he watched Kaymer hit a fade over the bunker to about 7 feet, then answered with a shot into 2 feet for a conceded birdie. Kaymer missed, and Donald was 2 up.

On the next hole, Kaymer pulled his drive into the desert and fell another hole down.

Donald three-putted for bogey from below the ridge to lose his first hole, and Kaymer squared the match at the turn with a birdie on the eighth and a bogey on No. 9, where Donald hit his approach into a desert bush and had to return to his original spot in the fairway.

The turning point might have been No. 10.

Kaymer had all the momentum and blistered a tee shot down the middle, while Donald went from a scrubby lie in the desert to a waste area short of the green. Donald, however, blasted out to 3 feet for a conceded par.

He took the lead on the 11th by making an 8-foot birdie putt as Kaymer missed his birdie from just inside 6 feet, and Donald regained all the moment on the next hole when Kaymer came up short into the sand and took bogey.

Donald went 3 up on the 15th when Kaymer missed a birdie putt from inside 4 feet, and the “Germanator” conceded the match on the 16th when he failed to hole a 30-foot birdie putt.

It was the first time the championship match was decided over 18 holes instead of 36.

SHANGHAI—Martin Kaymer made nine birdies over his last 12 holes Sunday and closed with a 9-under 63 to win the WGC-HSBC Champions for the biggest comeback ever in a World Golf Championship.

Starting the final round five shots behind Fredrik Jacobson, with a host of stars around him, Kaymer ran off four straight birdies to start the back nine at Sheshan International. The German finally caught Jacobson with a birdie on the 13th, and then poured it on with key birdies on the final two holes.

Kaymer delivered the lowest closing round by a WGC winner since the series began in 1999, topping the 64 by Hunter Mahan last year at the Bridgestone Invitational.

The former PGA champion hasn’t found golf to be this easy since he shot a 59 his first year as a pro on a mini-tour in Germany, when he was 14 under over his last 16 holes.

“I just played really good golf, and I’m glad that it came together,” Kaymer said. “The last few weeks, I played good golf, but it has not happened yet. And this week, it was nice that it happened here, the World Golf Championship event.”

Kaymer is the 10th player to win a WGC and a major championship.

Adam Scott got within two shots of the lead early in the round beforemaking two bogeys and never recovering. He closed with a 73 and was eight shots behind.

Jacobson led by as many as three shots until a long three-putt bogey on the par-5 8th. As Kaymer made his charge, the Swede came to life with birdies on the 12th and 14th to stay tied. Jacobson’s hopes ended, however, when he pulled his tee shot into the rough left of the par-3 17th and failed to save par. He shot 71 and finished three shots behind.

“I wish I could have made maybe a couple of more putts along the way to really get a little bit of a cushion and put a little bit more pressure on Martin coming down the stretch,” Jacobson said. “I gave it my everything, and overall, a great week.”

Graeme McDowell closed with two birdies for a 67 to finish alone in third, quite a turnaround from last week in the Andalucia Masters when he failed to break 80 over the last two rounds at Valderrama.

Rory McIlroy made a short birdie on the par-5 18th that gave him a 69 and was significant for one other reason. With a three-way tie for fourth, he moved past Lee Westwood to the No. 2 spot in the Official World Golf Ranking. Westwood, playing in the same group, shot 40 on the front nine and closed with a 74 to tie for 13th.

It was the second win of the year for Kaymer, who moves to No. 4.

He won his first tournament of the year at Abu Dhabi and became the top-ranked player at the end of February, holding the spot for eight weeks. Kaymer said he struggled with the attention of being No. 1, and the face of golf in Germany, and now was looking ahead.

“It was an OK year,” Kaymer said. “But now it’s a good year.”

Europe now occupies the first four positions in the world ranking, starting with Luke Donald at No. 1. Donald did not play in the HSBC Champions because his wife is expecting their second child. He remains the favorite for PGA TOUR Player of the Year, however, as PGA champion Keegan Bradley had a 72-72 weekend and failed in his bid for a third victory this year.

Kaymer finished at 20-under 268 and earned $1.2 million.

SHANGHAI—World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational champion Adam Scott holed out for an eagle on No. 18 to cap a birdie-birdie-eagle finish, but still trails Fredrik Jacobson by three shots after 54 holes of the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions.

Scott was 1 over for the day and seven back after 15 holes but charged back up the ranks with his strong finish. At 13 under, Scott will again play in the final grouping with Jacobson and Louis Oosthuizen, who finished Saturday at 14 under.

Jacobson, who won his first PGA TOUR event this summer at the Travelers Championship is on the cusp of adding a big title at Sheshan International.

Jacobson ran in birdie putts of 30 feet and 40 feet on consecutive holes on the back nine, then finished with four pars for a 5-under 67 that gave him a two-shot lead over.

Jacobson was at 16-under 200, breaking by two shots the 54-hole tournament record.

U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy finally got on track with bogey-free round of 65 and was at 12-under 204, along with Lee Westwood, who had a 67. Martin Kaymer (68) and Graeme McDowell (67) were five shots behind.

Westwood and McIlroy will be in the penultimate group, with some small drama. McIlroy two weeks ago left the International Sports Management group that includes Westwood. He has exchanged banter with Westwood on Twitter this year that had a bit of edge to it, and McIlroy stopped following Westwood on Twitter after leaving Chubby Chandler and ISM.

Jacobson took the lead Friday with a 66, and he has not shown any indications that he will stop firing at flags on a Sheshan International course that remains vulnerable with occasional light rain and an overcast sky.

“I think I’ve been playing aggressive all week,” Jacobson said. “It’s one of those weeks I think you’ve got to keep putting good numbers on the board. So you can’t really play too safe.”

Oosthuizen recently returned to form after the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup, and a 63 in the second round put him in the mix. He had another bogey-free round, with a birdie on the final hole keeping him in range.

“Tomorrow, everyone is going to be pumped up because it’s a great leaderboard going into the final round,” Oosthuizen said. “I think everyone wants that title, so you’re going to see some good golf.”

Indeed, it was the strongest leaderboard of all the World Golf Championships this year. Jacobson will playing in the last group with a former British Open champion and Scott, who has won THE PLAYERS Championship and a WGC event. The next group features Westwood, a former world No. 1, a U.S Open champion (McIlroy) and former PGA champion (Kaymer). After that is McDowell, another U.S. Open champ.

Scott’s path into this mix may have been the most exciting.

He was lingering behind Jacobson when his tee shot on the par-5 eighth went left into a creek. Scott saw enough of the ball that he rolled up his pants and stepped into the water to play the shot. But it popped up on him, and stayed in the creek. He had no choice but to go back toward the tee to play his fourth shot. From there, he hit 5-iron over the trees and into the fairway, then 3-iron to the green. He did well to escape with double bogey.

Right when it appeared he was too far back, Scott hit a wedge to tap-in range on the 16th for birdie, hit 5-iron to 8 feet on the 17th for birdie, when ended a wild day—on and off the course—with a wedge from 105 yards that spun back into the hole for eagle.

Just like that, he was three shots behind and still in there with a chance.

FedEx St. Jude Classic champion Harrison Frazar and Xin-jun Zhang had Saturday’s best rounds, each posting 8-under 64s. Zhang is joined by Paul Casey and last week’s CIMB Asia Pacific Classic champion Bo Van Pelt at 10 under through three rounds.

TOUR Rookie Jhonattan Vegas matched McIlroy’s 7-under 65 and heads to Sunday at 9 under, tied with Ian Poulter, Hunter Mahan and Keegan Bradley.

Defending champion Francesco Molinari has yet to break 70 this week and heads to Sunday’s finale at 5 under, tied for 30th.

Round 3 notebook: World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions

Fredrik Jacobson

On his way to a 67, Jacobson reeled off three birdies in a row for a second consecutive day. In the second round, he birdied Nos. 14, 15 and 16. In Saturday’s third round, he parred the opening hole then had birdies on Nos. 2, 3 and 4. In the first round, Jacobson eagled the 16th hole and birdied the 17th and 18th.

To get to 16-under, Jacobson is 9-under on the par 4s for the week. He is 5-under on the par 5s and 2-under on the par 3s.

Jacobson’s 200 broke the 54-hole scoring record of 14-under 202 shared by Phil Mickelson (2009) and Francesco Molinari (2010) since the tournament became a World Golf Championships event. Both Mickelson and Molinari went on to win the HSBC Champions. The tournament 54-hole scoring record is 16-under 200, set in 2007 by David Howell and matched by Jacobson.

Jacobson saw his bogey-free streak end at 37 holes Saturday when he bogeyed the par-4 ninth hole. He averted a bogey on the par-5 eighth hole when he scrambled for a par after driving his ball into the rough and watching as a tree branch knocked down his second shot. His last bogey before Saturday came at the seventh hole in the first round.

Jacobson is in the field this week—marking his first HSBC Champions start—thanks to his first PGA TOUR victory earlier this summer at the Travelers Championship. In his career, Jacobson has three international victories to go with his PGA TOUR title, all coming on the European Tour and all in 2003: the Omega Hong Kong Open, the Algarve Portugal Open and the Volvo Masters.

Jacobson is No. 54 in the Official World Golf Ranking. A win this week would make him the second-lowest ranked player to with the HSBC Champions, behind Y.E. Yang, who was No. 77 when he won in 2006.

This is Jacobson’s second consecutive week playing in Asia. The 2003 Hong Kong Open champion, making his first start in China, finished third last week in Kuala Lumpur at the CIMB Asia Pacific Classic Malaysia, an unofficial PGA TOUR event.

Jacobson’s best World Golf Championships performances are a tie for ninth at the 2003 Accenture Match Play Championship and a tie for 11th at the 2011 Bridgestone Invitational.

Jacobson is looking to become only the second Swede to win a World Golf Championships event. Fellow Gothenburg native Henrik Stenson won the 2007 Accenture Match Play Championship. Jacobson is currently the third-highest-ranked Swedish player in the Official World Golf Ranking, behind Robert Karlsson (No. 24) and Peter Hanson (No. 52).

Louis Oosthuizen

A year after tying for 72nd in the 77-player 2010 tournament, Oosthuizen is in the thick of the chase after shooting a 68 Saturday. He’s at 14-under, two strokes behind Fredrik Jacobson. A year ago, after opening with a 3-under 69, Oosthuizen shot back-to-back 80s in the second and third rounds before finishing with an even-par 72. This week, he opened with a 71, followed by a 63 and Saturday’s 68. His last bogey came on his final hole of the first round.

After bogeying his final hole of the first round (No. 9), Louis Oosthuizen has played bogey-free golf since, turning in back-to-back rounds without a blemish on his scorecard. He’s had 13 birdies and no bogeys since and is tied for second.

Oosthuizen’s best finish in a World Golf Championships event is a tie for ninth at the 2010 Bridgestone Invitational, his lone top 10 in 10 previous World Golf Championships starts.

Lee Westwood

The world’s No. 2-ranked player shot his third consecutive round in the 60s with his 5-under 67. He sits in a tie for fourth place, four shots behind Fredrik Jacobson.

Since the HSBC Champions became a World Golf Championships event in 2009, Westwood has shot nothing but under-par rounds. In 2009, on his way to a tie for eighth, he shot rounds of 70-71-65-71. Last year in finishing runner-up to Francesco Molinari, he shot rounds of 66-70-67-67. His scoring average over his last 11 Sheshan International Golf Club rounds is 68.272.

Although he’s never won a World Golf Championships event, Lee Westwood has runner-up finishes in three of the series’ four tournaments—including the HSBC Champions. A year ago, Westwood finished second outside Shanghai. He tied for second at the 2008 Bridgestone Invitational and was second at the 2000 Cadillac Championship. His top showing at the Accenture Match Play Championship is a tie for 17th (won one match), something he’s done seven times in the match-play event.

Rory McIlroy

McIlroy is looking to make it three consecutive top-five finishes at the HSBC Champions. Playing on a course he calls one of his favorites he plays all year, McIlroy shot a 65 Saturday at Sheshan International Golf Club and is tied for fourth. He’s four strokes behind Fredrik Jacobson. In 2009, McIlroy recovered from an opening 73 to shoot rounds of 68-70-63 to finish fourth. Last year, McIlroy had four under-par rounds and was fifth.

This is McIlroy’s 12th World Golf Championships start, with his fourth-place finish at the 2009 HSBC Champions his top performance. He tied for fifth at the 2009 Accenture Match Play Championship and tied for sixth earlier this year at the Bridgestone Invitational.

Adam Scott

Scott, the reigning World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational champion, remained in contention at the HSBC Champions with a 69 (3-under) Saturday. He struggled on the front-nine, shooting a 1-over 37 after shooting a 31 there Friday. On the back nine, Scott shot a 4-under 32, capped by an eagle on the par-5 18th.

Scott is looking to become only the second player to win back-to-back World Golf Championships starts, joining Tiger Woods, who accomplished the feat six times (including three in a row in 2007-08). Woods owns 16 World Golf Championships titles; the only other multiple World Golf Championships winners are: Geoff Ogilvy (three) and Ernie Els, Darren Clarke and Phil Mickelson (two each). Only Woods and Mickelson have won multiple World Golf Championships titles in a season.

Martin Kaymer

With four consecutive birdies to begin his back nine—and five in a six-hole stretch—Kaymer climbed into contention Saturday with a 68. Kaymer’s previous-best finish at this World Golf Championships event is a tie for sixth in 2009.

Kaymer began his third round with a par on the first hole. He then proceeded to bogey the par-5 second and the par-4 third holes. He finished with an even-par 36 on the front nine and then blistered the Sheshan International layout with a back-nine 32.

Kaymer is ranked fourth in The Race to Dubai—on the strength of his victory at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship in January and three other top-three finishes. He lost in the finals to Luke Donald, 3 and 2, at the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship and was also second at the Omega European Masters. He finished third at the Volvo World Match Play Championship.

Paul Casey

Casey stayed in contention through 54 holes after a third-round 70 left him six strokes behind the leader. He is looking to retain his PGA TOUR playing privileges after not playing the requisite number of events in 2011 and finishing No. 131 on the money list. Should he win the HSBC Champions, he would be fully exempt on the PGA TOUR through the 2014 season as a victory comes with a three-year exemption for current PGA TOUR members.

After an eagle on the par-5 eighth hole, Casey stumbled to a double bogey on the par-4 10th hole then finished with one birdie, one bogey and six pars.

Casey and fellow Englishman Ian Poulter are the only two players to play in all seven HSBC Champions, with the last three falling under the World Golf Championships umbrella. Casey has enjoyed top-10 finishes in 2005 (seventh), 2006 (tied for sixth), 2010 (tied for sixth). Poulter’s career-best finish at this event is a tie for 13th a year ago. He’s tied for 11th after three rounds this year.

In 28 previous World Golf Championships starts, Casey has yet to win, but he has posted 10 top-10 finishes, including back-to-back runner-up finishes at the Accenture Match Play Championship (2009-10).

Miscellaneous Notes

Yuta Ikeda became the third player this week to record a 31 on one of his nines. The Japan Golf Tour veteran did it on the strength of five birdies on the front nine at Sheshan Golf Club. He joins Louis Oosthuizen and Adam Scott with 31s on the front nine this week. After his 5-under front-nine performance, however, he came in with a 1-over 37, with a double bogey on No. 10 and bogeys on Nos. 11, 12 and 17.

The low rounds of the day belonged to Zhang Xin-Jun and Harrison Frazar. Both players shot 64. Zhang, who was bogey-free, had a pair of 32s on each nine. He finished his round with a flourish, making birdie at the final three holes. Zhang is one of four native Chinese players to receive an invitation to play in the HSBC Champions who was not otherwise exempt. The 24-year-old turned professional this year and has no Asian Tour starts in 2011.

Frazar had the low nine of the tournament, with a 6-under 30 to start his third round. Beginning on the back nine, he had seven birdies (five in a row on Nos. 12-16) and was 9-under through 15 before parring the 16th and 17th and bogeying the 18th. Frazar’s low PGA TOUR 18-hole score is 62, something he’s done five times—most recently at the 2005 B.C. Open, when he tied for ninth.

Frazar shot his 65 after switching to a belly putter for the third round.

The World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions is the last opportunity for a player to earn a spot in the PGA TOUR’s season-opening Hyundai Tournament of Champions. Of those in the top 10 on the HSBC Champions leaderboard through 36 holes, six players would need a win this week to qualify for a trip to Maui: Louis Oosthuizen (second), Lee Westwood (tied for fourth), Martin Kaymer (tied for sixth), Graeme McDowell (tied for sixth), Bo Van Pelt (tied for eighth), Paul Casey (tied for eighth) and Zhang Xin-Jun (tied for eighth).

First-round leader Keegan Bradley fired an even-par 72 Saturday. He is tied for 11th.

Bogey-Free Rounds:

Saturday: Zhang Xin-Jun (64), Rory McIlroy (65), Jhonattan Vegas (65), Graeme McDowell (67), Lee Westwood (67), Louis Oosthuizen (68), Hunter Mahan (69)

Friday: Louis Oosthuizen (63); Fredrik Jacobson (66); Martin Kaymer (68); Jonathan Byrd (68); Simon Dyson (69).

Thursday: Keegan Bradley (65)

HSBC Champions and PGA TOUR eligibility

For 2011, the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions will count as an official PGA TOUR victory and offer a three-year exemption on the PGA TOUR—provided it is won by a PGA TOUR member.

If a non-PGA TOUR member wins the HSBC Champions, he would not receive a PGA TOUR exemption, but he would qualify for the Hyundai Tournament of Champions.

Prize money from the $7 million purse does NOT, however, count toward the official PGA TOUR money list, even if a PGA TOUR member wins.

SHANGHAI (AP)—Fredrik Jacobson played bogey-free to shoot a 6-under 66 on Friday and take a one-stroke lead on the soft Sheshan International course at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions.

Under overcast skies on a course that was softened by rain earlier in the week, Jacobson finished a solid round by hitting a 3-iron into the par-4 ninth for a final birdie.

He was at 11-under 133, tying the 36-hole tournament record, and was one shot ahead of Louis Oosthuizen and Adam Scott. PGA champion Keegan Bradley made two key par saves on the back nine when his game started to get away from him and salvaged a 70 to stay in the picture just two shots behind.

Oosthuizen and Scott each birdied half of their holes and were flawless from tee-to-green. Oosthuizen avoided trouble and posted a tournament-best 63, while Scott had two bogeys in his round of 65.

Sixteen players were separated by five shots going into the weekend, a group that included Lee Westwood, CIMB Asia Pacific Classic winner Bo Van Pelt and Paul Casey, who lost his PGA TOUR card in an injury-filled season and now has a chance to get it back by winning.

“I didn’t see those kind of scores when I played my practice round before we had that rain,” Jacobson said. “The greens were quite firm. They were in great shape. I think that they softened up a little bit and then we managed to stay away from the rain for most of the two days. It kind of opened up a little bit of an opportunity to make some more birdies.”

Several players did just that.

Oosthuizen, struggling in the year after his British Open win at St. Andrews, only recently started to find some form when he finished fourth in the McGladrey Classic. Friday was a bonus, especially seeing so many putts drop for a change.

“If you’re hitting good shots, you get rewarded,” Oosthuizen said. “There’s a few holes where you can take it on or lay it up. Today, I really didn’t take much risk. I just made the birdie putts.”

The low scoring was best visible through Scott and two guys in his group—Bradley and Westwood. They combined to make 16 birdies and an eagle, each taking turns going at the flags.

Scott ran off four straight birdies early in his round, capped off by a 7-iron from 190 yards into 3 feet on the par-3 sixth. It looked as though he might make it five in a row until he tried to jam in a 12-foot birdie putt, ran it some 5 feet by the hole and three-putted for bogey. No worries—he birdied the next two holes and kept right on going.

Scott finished with consecutive birdies, rolling in a 20-foot putt on the 17th and a wedge that spun back to 5 feet on the 18th.

“I’m pleased to be in touch, but obviously scoring is low so I’m going to have to play well on the weekend to keep in touch,” Scott said.

The Australian has a chance to join Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson as the only players to win multiple World Golf Championships in the same year. Woods did it five times, while Mickelson won at Doral and the HSBC in 2009.

“That would be a really good year, I think,” Scott said. “These are the tournaments that you want to add up by the end of your career.”

Even more is at stake for Bradley, who didn’t realize until he arrived in Shanghai that he still had a chance at PGA TOUR Player of the Year if he were to win the HSBC Champions for a TOUR-leading third title. It counts as official victory on the PGA TOUR if a TOUR member wins it.

Bradley hit a hybrid 3-iron into 40 feet on the second hole and made the long putt for eagle, then added another birdie on the par-3 fourth hole to reach 10 under. But after a bogey on the ninth, his momentum slowed drastically.

He missed the green to the left on No. 11 and left himself a chip up a steep slope with the pin about four paces on. The chip didn’t quite reach the green, but the PGA champion holed the putt to save par.

On the 15th, from rough so deep he could barely see his ball, Bradley hammered it out just short of the green. After watching Scott come up short with a chip, Bradley sent his putt some 12 feet by the hole, and made that one for par.

He missed his tee shot on the next three holes, but recovered on the 18th by laying up from thick grass and hitting a wedge to 5 feet for birdie to stay easily in range.

“The birdie on 18 was big,” Bradley said. “Today could have easily been even par, and I was 2 under. I’m only two shots back. I’m in a really good spot. I know I could shoot a really good number on this course again.”

Round 2 notebook: World Golf Championships – HSBC Champions

Fredrik Jacobson

For the second day in a row, Jacobson posted a 32 (-4) on the back nine of Sheshan International Golf Club, the low back-nine of the tournament thus far, tied with Keegan Bradley (R1); Alvaro Quiros (R2); Thoman Bjorn (R2); Louis Oosthuizen (R2); Jim Furyk (R2).Jacobson started on No. 10 Friday with a birdie. On Thursday, he started on No. 1 with a bogey, his lone bogey thus far in the tournament.

Jacobson’s 133 (-11) total ties the 36-hole tournament record, set by Kevin Stadler at the 2007 HSBC Champions.

Jacobson is in the field this week—marking his first HSBC Champions start—thanks to his first PGA TOUR victory earlier this summer at the Travelers Championship. In his career, Jacobson has three international victories to go with his PGA TOUR title, all coming on the European Tour and all in 2003: the Omega Hong Kong Open, the Algarve Portugal Open and the Volvo Masters.

Jacobson is No. 54 in the Official World Golf Ranking. A win this week would make him the second-lowest ranked player to with the HSBC Champions, behind Y.E. Yang, who was No. 77 when he won in 2006.

Last week in Malaysia, Jacobson was tied for the lead at the CIMB Asia Pacific Classic after rounds of 65-64. He finished the tournament with rounds of 71-68 to post a third-place finish at the unofficial event.

Jacobson’s best World Golf Championships performances are a T9 at the 2003 Accenture Match Play Championship and a T11 the 2011 Bridgestone Invitational.

Jacobson is looking to become only the second Swede to win a World Golf Championships event (Henrik Stenson, 2007 Accenture Match Play Championship).

Louis Oosthuizen

Oosthuizen is having a much better HSBC Champions experience this time around. In 2010, he posted rounds of 69-80-80-72 to finish T72 in a field of 77 players. This week, Oosthuizen followed up a rather non-descript, first-round 71 with a course-record-tying 63 (-9) in round two. Oosthuizen joined Ernie Els, Daisuke Maruyama and Rory McIlroy, who all carded the Sheshan International Golf Club record in the final round of the 2009 tournament.

Oosthuizen’s bogey-free 31 (-5) on the front nine set the lowest score recorded on the outward nine this week at the 2011 HSBC Champions (Adam Scott tied that mark 40 minutes later). His back-nine 32 (-4) is one of six recorded thus far this week.

Oosthuizen posted nine birdies in round two, just one fewer than he totaled over all four rounds in 2010. His 63 (-9) is his lowest score in a PGA TOUR-sanctioned event this season. His lowest round in an official PGA TOUR event was recorded in the first round of his most recent TOUR start, a 65 at The McGladrey Classic, where he finished fourth.

Oosthuizen’s best finish in a World Golf Championships event is a T9 at the 2010 Bridgestone Invitational, his lone top 10 in 10 previous World Golf Championships starts.

Adam Scott

Scott, the reigning World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational champion, moved into contention at the HSBC Champions with a 65 (-7) performance on Friday. His front-nine score of 31 (-5) tied Louis Oosthuizen for low outward nine of the week. Scott ran off four straight birdies (Nos. 2-6), followed by a bogey on No. 7 and two more birdies on Nos. 8-9. He was one of only four players to post birdies on Nos. 17-18 in round two (with Lucas Glover; Michael Hooey and Aaron Baddeley birdied Nos. 16-18).

Scott is looking to become only the second player to win back-to-back World Golf Championships starts, joining Tiger Woods, who accomplished the feat six times (including three in a row in 2007-08). Woods owns 16 World Golf Championships titles; the only other multiple World Golf Championships winners are: Geoff Ogilvy (3); Ernie Els (2); Darren Clarke (2); and Phil Mickelson (2).

Keegan Bradley

Bradley was the only player in the field without a bogey through round one and extended that streak to 26 holes before recording a bogey on No. 9 during the second round. He made only his second bogey of the week on No. 17, but rebounded with a birdie on No. 18 to move into fourth-place position, two shots behind Fredrik Jacobson.

This is only Bradley’s second World Golf Championships appearance. He tied for 15th at the Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, OH, where he led after the second round (67-65). The following week, he also led after 36 holes at the PGA Championship (71-64) and converted that lead into his first major championship win.

Should he go on to win, Bradley, at age 25 and 4 months, would be the youngest winner of the HSBC Champions. Sergio Garcia was 28 years, 10 months, 1 day when he won in 2008, although the HSBC Champions wasn’t yet a part of the World Golf Championships series.

A win this week would make Bradley the youngest player to capture a World Golf Championships title since Tiger Woods won the 2000 Bridgestone Invitational at the age of 24 years, 7 months and 28 days. Bradley would also be the only player in history to win both a major championship and a World Golf Championships title as a rookie. Henrik Stenson won the Accenture Match Play Championship as a rookie in 2007.

Bo Van Pelt

After winning the CIMB Asia Pacific Classic last week in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Bo Van Pelt has maintained his good play. He has now posted six consecutive rounds in the 60s: 66-64-67-64 at the CIMB Asia Pacific Classic and 67-69 thus far at the HSBC Champions. Van Pelt is 31-under-par over his last six rounds and has recorded only eight bogeys in 108 holes.

This is Van Pelt’s fifth World Golf Championships start, with four of those appearances coming this year. He tied for 17th at this year’s Accenture Match Play Championship, followed by a tie for 35th at the Cadillac Championship. He tied for 23rd at the Bridgestone Invitational. His top World Golf Championships finish came in 2010, when he tied for third at the Bridgestone Invitational.

Van Pelt, a resident of Tulsa, Okla., is ranked 25th in the Official World Golf Ranking and is the 11th-ranked U.S. player. His only PGA TOUR victory came at the 2009 U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee.

Paul Casey

With seven birdies and a lone bogey on No. Paul Casey moved up the leaderboard after a 66 (-6) in round two and trails leader Fredrik Jacobson by three strokes.

Casey and Ian Poulter are the only players in the field who have competed in all six previous HSBC Champions. Casey withdrew after three rounds in 2009, but aside from that year, he has finished no worse than T11 (2005-7th; 2006-T6; 2007-T9; 2008-T11; 2010-T6). Casey’s four top-10 finishes at this event is the most by any player. (Poulter’s career-best finish at the HSBC Champions is a T13 in 2010; he’s currently T11 through 36 holes.)

In 28 previous World Golf Championships starts, Casey has yet to win, but he has posted 10 top-10 finishes, including back-to-back runner-up finishes at the Accenture Match Play Championship (2009-2010).

A year after he finished a career-high eighth on the PGA TOUR money list, Casey failed to remain retain his card for 2012. He withdrew after two rounds of The McGladrey Classic with an illness and wound up No. 131 on the money list. A win this week would take care of that issue, however; the HSBC Champions counts as an official PGA TOUR victory and offers a three-year exemption on the PGA TOUR provided it is won by a PGA TOUR member.

Miscellaneous Notes

The World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions is the last opportunity for a player to earn a spot in the PGA TOUR’s season-opening Hyundai Tournament of Champions. Of those in the top 10 on the HSBC Champions leaderboard through 36 holes, six players would need a win this week to qualify for a trip to Maui: Louis Oosthuizen (T2); Bo Van Pelt (T5); Paul Casey (T5); Martin Kaymer (T7); Thongchai Jaidee (T7); Lee Westwood (T7).

Jim Furyk, the last alternate in the field, improved 10 strokes in round two. He followed an opening-round 78 with a 68 on Friday. Matteo Manassero, the youngest player in the field, improved 11 shots Friday (82 in round one; 71 in round two.

SHANGHAI (AP)—PGA champion Keegan Bradley cares more about counting birdies than votes. He flew halfway around the world with the intention of winning a World Golf Championship, not any kind of an award.

Whatever the case, he sure made this PGA TOUR Player of the Year discussion a lot more interesting Thursday.

Bradley did most of his damage on the par 5s at Sheshan International with three birdies and an eagle, which carried him to a 7-under 65 and a two-shot lead after the one round of the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions.

“A very rewarding round,” Bradley said.

Bo Van Pelt extended his awesome Asian adventure. Coming off a six-shot win at the CIMB Asia Pacific last week, Van Pelt had 67 and was tied for second with the Swedish duo of Alexander Noren and Fredrik Jacobson.

The PGA TOUR felt it should wait until after the HSBC Champions to send out its postseason awards ballot because this tournament counts as official if a PGA TOUR member were to win. If there was one player considered a threat to Luke Donald as Player of the Year , it would be Bradley. Winning in Shanghai would give him a PGA TOUR-leading three victories, including a major and a World Golf Championship.

Bradley only laughed when asked if his opening 65 was enough to make Donald nervous.

“Maybe,” he said. “You know, all I’m trying to do is win this golf tournament. I know there’s a lot on the line, and there’s some awards to be won. I’m sure Luke is not very interested in this tournament. I’m sure he’s sleeping. But I hope to keep playing well, and let those fall where they fall.”

Donald, the No. 1 player in the Official World Golf Ranking, finished his PGA TOUR season in style. He closed with a 64 to win Disney for his second win of the year, giving him the money title and Vardon Trophy for the lowest scoring average. However, he was kept from playing the HSBC Champions because his wife is expecting their second child any day.

The award is determined by the players, who suddenly are paying a lot more attention.

“There’s only two people in the race as far as I’m concerned—Luke and Keegan,” Adam Scott said. “If Keegan were to win this week, it’s probably a tough decision, but I would vote for Keegan. It’s a major, a WGC and a PGA TOUR event in his rookie year. That’s going to be a better year. A major has to hold some weight, and then you add a World Golf Championship.

“Winning the money title and scoring average is nice and an incredible achievement,” Scott said. “But winning tournaments is what it’s about. Keegan would have my vote.”

Nick Watney said he already has made up his mind. No matter who wins this week, he’s voting for Donald.

“I feel as though Luke has earned it,” Watney said.

Bradley isn’t too wrapped up in the discussion quite yet. He found satisfaction in being the only player in the 78-man field without a bogey. And while his length off the tee was an advantage, he made three birdies on the par 5s with a wedge in his hand. He also had another rookie moment when he found himself in awe of playing alongside Lee Westwood and Scott, even as he outplayed both of them.

“For me, every week I’m amazed at who I’m around,” Bradley said. “And to be in a group like that in this tournament, and to play like that on this course is very rewarding and it means a lot to me. … I know I say this a lot. But I feel like I have to pinch myself out here, because of what’s going on and just how much fun I’m having doing it.”

It’s already been a dream season for the 25-year-old rookie, and it might not be over just yet.

Even so, the last World Golf Championship event of the year is just getting started.

David Toms holed out a wedge on the 16th hole for eagle and Justin Rose had two eagles to join the group at 68. Westwood and Scott were each at 69, with Westwook nearly making an albatross when his 5-wood bounced off the pin on the par-5 14th and settled a few feet away for a tap-in birdie.

Rory McIlroy, with Caroline Wozniacki following him inside the ropes, made two late birdies to salvage a 70.

Bradley took advantage with one booming tee shot after another. He opened with a birdie after a wedge to 3 feet on No. 10 and drilled a hybrid 3-iron over the water to 20 feet on the 18th for an eagle. He had three birdies and an eagle on the par 5s, and kept bogeys off his card with a nice up-and-down from the bunker on No. 7 and a two-putt from some 60 feet on his final hole.

Van Pelt got off to a sluggish start and then continued his amazing play in Asia. He won the CIMB Asia Pacific Championship last week by six shots, and is 28-under par in his five rounds during this two-week Asian excursion.

McIlroy is coming off a $2 million win last week in the Shanghai Masters exhibition across town at Lake Maleren. There wasn’t an immediate carryover, as he three-putted for bogey on the opening hole and twice watched short birdie putts horseshoe around the cup.

Without being here, Donald is a focal point in two respects.

He still figures to get plenty of votes for PGA TOUR Player of the Year, although Bradley could affect that. Donald also is trying to become the first player to win the money title on the PGA TOUR and European tours, and he has a $1.8 million lead in Europe over McIlroy.

Despite opening with a 70, McIlroy was only five shots behind with three rounds ahead of him and was not at all discouraged.

“It’s a huge event anyway, but for me, it’s a big event in the course of the season just because I feel like if I can play well this week, I can eat into Luke’s lead a little bit,” McIlroy said.

Round 1 notebook:

Keegan Bradley

Bradley played the back nine at Sheshan International first, and had two birdies and an eagle, making the turn at 4-under. His 32 tied for the low score on the back nine Thursday (with Fredrik Jacobson). Bradley came back with three more birdies on the front nine to shoot a 7-under 65. He was bogey-free Thursday, the only player in the field without a bogey.

This is only Bradley’s second World Golf Championships appearance. He tied for 15th at the Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, OH, a week before he won the PGA Championship earlier this season.

Bradley earned his 2011 PGA TOUR playing privileges by virtue of his 14th-place finish on the 2010 Nationwide Tour money list. He did not win on that Tour a year ago but had a runner-up showing among his five top-10 finishes. Bradley broke through midway through the 2011 PGA TOUR season with a playoff win at the HP Byron Nelson Championship. He won his first major title, at the PGA Championship, with a playoff victory over Jason Dufner outside Atlanta.

Should he go on to win, Bradley, at age 25 and 4 months, would be the youngest winner of this event. Sergio Garcia was 28 years, 10 months, 1 day when he won in 2008 when this wasn’t a World Golf Championships event.

Fredrik Jacobson

Jacobson opened this year’s tournament with a bogey on the first hole but only had one bogey after that (No. 7) and had five birdies and an eagle to shoot a 5-under 67. Last week in Malaysia, Jacobson enjoyed a solo third finish at the unofficial CIMB Asia Pacific Classic.

Earlier this season, Jacobson had his second-best World Golf Championships performance, tying for 11th at the Bridgestone Invitational. He tied for ninth at the 2003 Accenture Match Play Championship for his top showing.

Jacobson finally captured his first PGA TOUR victory earlier this summer, at the Travelers Championship, outside Hartford, CT. In his career, Jacobson has three international victories to go with his PGA TOUR title, with the other three wins coming on the European Tour and all in 2003: the Omega Hong Kong Open, the Algarve Portugal Open and the Volvo Masters.

Bo Van Pelt

After winning the CIMB Asia Pacific Classic last week in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Van Pelt kept his good play going. He shot a final-round 64 in Malaysia to win by six strokes. Thursday, in the first round of the HSBC Champions, he shot a 67—with seven birdies and two bogeys to tie for second.

This is Van Pelt’s fifth World Golf Championships start, with four of those appearances coming this year. He tied for 17th at this year’s Accenture Match Play Championship, followed by a tie for 35th at the Cadillac Championship. He tied for 23rd at the Bridgestone Invitational. His top World Golf Championships finish came in 2010, when he tied for third at the Bridgestone Invitational.

Although he shot two 64s (second and final rounds) at the unofficial CIMB Asia Pacific Classic, Van Pelt’s low 18-hole score this year is 65—something he’s done three times (Crowne Plaza Invitational, final round; Travelers Championship, second round; RBC Canadian Open, third round).

Van Pelt, a resident of Tulsa, Okla., is ranked 25th in the Official World Golf Ranking and is the 11th-ranked U.S. player. His only PGA TOUR victory came at the 2009 U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee.

K.J. Choi

Choi, winner of the C.J. Invitational, an event he hosted in South Korea two weeks ago on the Asian Tour, opened with a 4-under 68 and is tied for fifth.

Choi is a two-time winner in 2011, also winning THE PLAYERS Championship in May in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL. Choi has never won a World Golf Championships event, with his best finishes a tie for fifth at the Accenture Match Play Championship (2008) and a tie for sixth at the Bridgestone Invitational (2007).

Thongchai Jaidee

Jaidee, after a first-round 68, is tied for fifth. He is coming off a tie for 26th last week at the CIMB Asia Pacific Classic Malaysia.

Jaidee, a resident of Lopburi, Thailand, is the eighth-ranked Asian player in the Official World Golf Ranking and is 140th overall. He is a 13-time Asian Tour winner, with his last title coming at the 2010 Johnnie Walker Cambodian Open.

This is Thongchai Jaidee’s second World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions appearance. He didn’t play in 2010 and tied for 19th in 2009, with four under-par rounds at Sheshan International.

Alexander Noren

Like Jaidee, Alexander Noren is playing his second World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions. Like Jaidee, Noren first played in 2009, and like Jaidee, he tied for 19th that year.

He has made three other World Golf Championships appearances, with his best showing a tie for 33rd at the 2010 Accenture Match Play Championship.

Miscellaneous Notes

The 18-hole record at Sheshan International Golf Club is 63 by Ernie Els, Daisuke Maruyama and Rory McIlroy in the final round of the 2009 tournament.

Fifth in The Race to Dubai, Lee Westwood shot a 69 Thursday. Going back to the final round of the 2008 HSBC Champions, Westwood has peeled off 10 consecutive under-par rounds at this event. He had scores of 66-70-67-67 while finishing second a year ago. That was preceded by a 70-71-65-71 in 2009 when he tied for eighth. In the final round of the 2008 tournament, played before it was a World Golf Championships event, he tied for 12th after a Sunday 67.

After a 1-over start while playing the back nine first (two birdies and a bogey), Aaron Baddeley had a stretch of three birdies in four holes (on Nos. 2, 3 and 5) to post a 3-under 69.

Jhonattan Vegas’ 4-under 32 tied him with Rory Sabbatini for the low front-nine score. Overall, Vegas and Sabbatini both shot 69s and are tied for ninth.

There were 11 eagles Thursday, with all but two of them coming on par 5s. The only par-4 eagles were courtesy of Van Pelt and David Toms, who both eagled the par-4 seventh hole. Jacobson drove the green and made a 15-footer for eagle. Toms finished the day at 4-under 68 on the strength of his eagle at 16. After his drive off the tee went into the rough, he had 81 yards to the hole. His approach took one hop and rolled in. The par-5 second hole yielded the most eagles, with six. They came from Harrison Frazar, Peter Hanson, Tetsuji Hiratsuka, Keith Horne, Justin Rose and Rory Sabbatini.

Rory Sabbatini and Jacobson had the best three-hole performances of the day, at 4-under. Sabbatini made eagle at No. 2 and birdies and Nos. 3 and 4. Jacobson, meanwhile, had an eagle at Nos. 16 and birdies at Nos. 17 and 18.

Seventeen of the 78 players in the field broke 70 in the first round; 38 players broke the par of 72, while 11 were at par or better.

Bogey-free rounds: Keegan Bradley (65)

HSBC Champions and PGA TOUR eligibility

- For 2011, the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions will count as an official PGA TOUR victory and offer a three-year exemption on the PGA TOUR—provided it is won by a PGA TOUR member.

- If a non-PGA TOUR member wins the HSBC Champions, he would not receive a PGA TOUR exemption, but he would qualify for the Hyundai Tournament of Champions.

- Prize money from the $7 million purse does NOT, however, count toward the official PGA TOUR money list, even if a PGA TOUR member wins.

SELANGOR, Malaysia—American Jeff Overton shot a course-record 9-under 62 on Friday for a share of the 36-hole lead with Sweden’s Fredrik Jacobson in the CIMB Asia Pacific Classic.

Jacobson had a 64 to match Overton at 13-under 129 at The Mines Resort and Golf Club in the second-year event sanctioned by the PGA TOUR and Asian Tour.

“This golf course is so much fun to play,” said Overton, winless on the PGA TOUR. “It’s really challenging. If you’re hitting it great, you can have scoring opportunities. I’m just having a blast.”

Bo Van Pelt was a stroke back after a 64, and Mark Wilson (66), Stewart Cink (66), Jimmy Walker (67) and Jhonattan Vegas (69) followed at 9 under. First-round leader Robert Allenby followed his opening 63 with a 72 to drop into a tie for ninth at 7 under.

The jet-lagged Overton, a last-minute replacement for David Duval, had a chance to take the outright lead on the final, but missed a 7-foot birdie putt on the closing hole.

“I changed golf clubs a couple of weeks ago and my ball-striking has improved so much. Today everything clicked,” said Overton, the 28-year-old Indiana native who had a scare before the tournament when his clubs didn’t arrive until late Wednesday.

Overton eagled the par-4 15th, hitting a driver to 6 feet.

“I watched Mark Wilson hit it right at the stick, and I’m like, wow, this is a great little hole. Maybe I can hit my driver, too,” Overton said. “I just hit it right at the pin. It came off just perfect, laying there on the front of the green and it rolled up there to 6 feet for eagle.”

Jacobson won the Travelers Championship this summer for his first PGA TOUR title.

“The driving has been setting up a lot of opportunities,” Jacobson said. “I’ve been driving it well and on this course, if you drive it on the fairways, it’s not overly long and it gives you opportunities.”

He saved par on 18 after hitting to a foot from a greenside bunker.

“Growing up, I spent a lot of time in the rough, in the bunker, in different lies. Like in the backyard, I would try to chip over a stone wall,” Jacobson said. “I played a lot of weird shots through my youth and I think that by challenging myself that way, I have learnt a lot of different shots, which come in useful.”

Three-time major winner Vijay Singh followed his opening 72 with a 64 to reach 6 under.

Defending champion Ben Crane was 5 under after a 68.

The winner will receive $1.3 million from the $6.1 million purse.

Notebook: Round 2, CIMB Asia Pacific Classic Malaysia

Weather: Partly cloudy and humid, with the high reaching 93. Winds variable at 6-12 mph.

Fredrik Jacobson

Jacobson’s second round got off to a tough start when he bogeyed the first hole, but he was 8-under the rest of the way and put his name in the record books with his 36-hole score of 13-under 129, easily breaking the previous record of 131 set by Ben Crane and Thailand’s Pariya Junhasavasdikul in 2010. Jeff Overton also is at 129 at the halfway point.

Jacobson has never held a lead on the PGA TOUR after two rounds. Jacobson, who his first TOUR title earlier this year, at the Travelers Championship, was the 54-hole leader at that event in Connecticut.

Jacobson opened 65-66 when he won the Travelers Championship. He shot rounds of 65-64 at The Mines Resort and Golf Club to put himself in a tie for first through 36 holes.

Jeff Overton

The Indiana native opened quickly, making birdie on his first three holes and adding two more to make the turn at 5-under. He picked up two more birdies (Nos. 12 and 17), plus an eagle at No. 15, to share the lead with Fredrik Jacobson. His 8-foot birdie attempt on No. 18 that would have given him a 61 just missed.

After playing at the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals Classic last week in Orlando, where he tied for 37th, Overton received a call a few hours after the final round from his agent who informed Overton he was a sponsor’s exemption into the CIMB Asia Pacific Classic because of a late withdrawal.

Overton flew from Florida to London on Monday, and from London to Kuala Lumpur, arriving Tuesday night. He played in the pro-am, beginning at 7:15 Wednesday morning. Unfortunately, his golf clubs didn’t arrive on his flight. So he still played in the pro-am but used his amateur partners’ clubs throughout the 18 holes.

Overton has never won on the PGA TOUR. The 2010 U.S. Ryder Cup team member has four runner-up performances, the last two coming a year ago, when he was second at both the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and The Greenbrier Classic in West Virginia.

His best 2011 finish this season came at the AT&T National (outside Philadelphia), where he tied for third. He also had top-10s at The Honda Classic and the McGladrey Classic (tied for sixth at both) and the HP Byron Nelson Championship (tied for eighth).

Overton’s bogey-free 62 Friday matches his low round as a PGA TOUR professional. He also had a 62 at The Greenbrier’s Old White Course at the 2010 Greenbrier Classic. His low 2010 round was a 64 in the first round of the HP Byron Nelson Championship.

Bo Van Pelt

Van Pelt followed his 5-under 66 Thursday with a 64 Friday to put him at 12-under 130, a stroke off the pace set by Fredrik Jacobson and Jeff Overton.

Van Pelt has had only one bogey through his first 36 holes. It came on the par-4 fourth hole in Friday’s second round.

Van Pelt’s lone PGA TOUR victory came at the 2009 U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee. His top 2011 performance was a third-place showing at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. His other top-10 finishes were at the RBC Canadian Open (tied for sixth), the Deutsche Bank Championship (seventh), the Masters Tournament (tied for eighth) and the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola (ninth).

Miscellaneous

Defending champion Ben Crane followed up his opening, 2-under 69 with a second-round 68. He is tied for 18th. The 68 represents his sixth consecutive sub-70 round at The Mines Resort and Golf Club. A year ago, Crane won the inaugural CIMB Asia Pacific Classic with rounds of 67-64-66-69.

By bogeying the par-4 sixth hole, first-round leader Robert Allenby saw his bogey-free streak at the CIMB Asia Pacific Classic end at 36 holes (going back to 2010). He also double-bogeyed the ninth hole and made nine straight pars on the back nine after opening his round with birdie-birdie. He is tied for ninth with three other players.

Vijay Singh recovered from an opening-round, 1-over 72 by shooting a 7-under 64 Friday. He moved from a tie for 41st to a tie for 13th. Singh is no stranger to this part of the world, having previously served as an assistant golf professional in Malaysia. He also has three of his 22 international victories in Malaysia—at the 1984 Malaysian PGA Championship and the 1992 and 2001 Malaysian Opens.

On the strength of five birdies, Ryan Palmer joined Jeff Overton with the low nine-hole score this week. Palmer, like Overton, fired a 5-under 30. Palmer played the back nine in 1-under and shot a 65, leaving him tied for 13th.

Jimmy Walker (9 under, tied for fourth) is the only player in the field without a bogey this week.

Malaysia’s Danny Chia and Thailand’s Chinnarat Phadungsil are the low Asian Tour players through 36 holes. Chia shot a 6-under 65 Friday to go with his opening 71. Phadungsil followed his opening 70 with a 66. They are tied tied for 13th, seven strokes behind the leaders.

The other Malaysian in the field, Shaaban Hussin, is tied for 44th.

Miscellaneous Stats

Once again, players feasted on the par-5 third hole. After yielding 28 birdies in the first round and a scoring average of 4.416, Friday’s stroke average was 4.541. There were 24 birdies Friday and two bogeys (Spencer Levin and Chez Reavie). Reavie has bogeyed the hole both days.

The following players had eagles Friday: Stewart Cink (No. 17), Jbe Kruger (No. 8), Jeff Overton (No. 15) and Camilo Villegas (No. 11).

There have been eight eagles through 36 holes, with no player making more than one and No. 17 giving up the most, with three.

Both Overton and Jacobson, the 36-hole leaders, have eagled the short, par-4 15th hole this week. Jacobson made eagle there in the first round, and Overton had an eagle there Friday.

Thirty-three players (out of 48) posted sub-par rounds Friday compared to 32 in the first round. Thirty-nine posted par-or-better rounds Friday compared to 40 Thursday.

Bogey-free rounds:

Second Round: Jerry Kelly (66), Chris Kirk (65), Jeff Overton (62), Ryan Palmer (65), Vijay Singh (63), Jimmy Walker (67)

First Round: Robert Allenby (63), Fredrik Jacobson (65), Jimmy Walker (66), Brendon de Jonge (68) and Kyle Stanley (68).

SELANGOR, Malaysia—Australia’s Robert Allenby shot an 8-under 63 on Thursday to take a one-stroke lead over Venezuela’s Jhonattan Vegas after the first round of the CIMB Asia Pacific Classic Malaysia, the second-year event sanctioned by the PGA TOUR and Asian Tour.

Allenby birdied four of the first six holes and three of the last four in his bogey-free round at The Mines Resort and Golf Club.

“I got away with a nice par on the 18th. I made lots of nice putts and hit the ball really well all day,” Allenby said. “I had just one wayward tee shot at the last, but I made a good par to save at the last.”

Winless since the 2009 Australian Masters, Allenby was a captain’s pick for the upcoming Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne—the 40-year-old Australian’s home course.

“I’ve been playing well for a while, but I just haven’t really put the scores on the board,” Allenby said. “I’ve been making a lot of birdies, but a few others have been slipping in there. So to have a bogey-free round and to shoot 8 under around here is a great score.”

He won his first pro title in Malaysia in the 1992 Perak Masters.

Vegas birdied the final four holes.

“I had a really good round and hit the ball well,” said Vegas, the PGA TOUR rookie who won the Bob Hope Classic in January. “I felt like I hit a lot of good putts as well. Hopefully, I can keep the momentum going for the next three days.”

Sweden’s Fredrik Jacobson opened with a 65, and Americans Bo Van Pelt, Cameron Tringale and Jimmy Walker were another stroke back.

“I hit a perfect bunker shot,” said Jacobson, the Travelers Championship winner this summer for his first PGA TOUR title. “That was a bit of a nice one to get. It was 25 yards, with the bunker a little left of the green. If I could have upped-and-downed it from there I would have been really happy.”

Mark Wilson, Stewart Cink, Jeff Overton, Scott Stallings and John Senden were four strokes back at 67.

Defending champion Ben Crane shot a 69.

The winner will receive $1.3 million from the $6.1 million purse.

SAN MARTIN, Calif.—Bryce Molder knows better than most that there’s no sure thing in golf.

That wasn’t the case when he left Georgia Tech nearly a decade ago after being an All-American all four years. And it certainly wasn’t the case Sunday at the Frys.com Open in the longest playoff of the year on the PGA TOUR.

Molder captured his first tour victory by making a 6-foot birdie putt on the sixth playoff hole to outlast Briny Baird.

“It’s a little surreal right now,” Molder said.

Molder and Baird were stuck in time, going from the 17th hole to the 18th hole in three cycles, matching birdies and pars, both players feeling at various points that they were going to win.

Three times, Molder hit driver on the 284-yard 17th hole over the water and had eagle putts for the win, each one a little closer to the hole than the previous one, all of them sliding by the side of the cup.

On the fourth extra hole, Baird felt like a winner when Molder drove into the hazard. Molder was able to get to the front of the green from the junk, while Baird’s wedge hit the top of the flag and spun back some 12 feet. He missed.

After nearly two hours, Baird blinked and Molder finally made a putt to win.

“You practice and work, and you just hope there’s some validating behind it,” said Molder, who won in his 132nd start on TOUR. “I don’t feel I deserved to win. But I happened to settle myself down to play.”

The playoff was packed with plenty of drama, and so was the rest of the sunny day at CordeValle.

Tiger Woods managed to make news when a fan ran toward the seventh green as he was putting and tossed a hot dog in his direction. The 31-year-old man was arrested and never came close to Woods.

“I guess he wanted to be in the news,” Woods said. “And I’m sure he will be.”

It was the 17th playoff this year on the PGA TOUR, setting a record dating to the modern era that began in 1970.

Baird looked like a winner when he chipped in from short of the 17th green for eagle in regulation to take a one-shot lead. In the group ahead of him, Molder rolled in a 12-foot birdie putt on the 18th to close with a 7-under 64, which got him into the playoff.

Baird, 0 for 348 in his 12 years trying to win on TOUR, shot a 4-under 67. He twice had birdie putts on the 18th in the playoff to win, missing from 8 feet and 12 feet.

They finished at 17-under 267, and then looked as though they would never finish.

“Obviously, it’s more than disappointing right now,” Baird said. “I thought I’d be standing where Bryce is. I had my chances. Given a chance, you’ve got to make putts.”

If there was a consolation for Baird, he earned $540,000. Baird, who started his year with conditional status on TOUR, was at No. 148 on the money list and now is assured of getting his card back for next year.

Bud Cauley, the 21-year-old who turned pro this summer, shot 66 and finished third to earn $340,000, which looks as if it will be enough for him to earn a card next year without having to go through the qualifying tournament.

It was the second straight week that a player won for the first time after a long drought. Kevin Na won in Las Vegas after 210 tries. Molder was regarded as a sure thing when he left Georgia Tech, but nothing comes easily on the PGA TOUR. And as he found out in fading sunlight, nothing comes easily in a playoff.

Woods had three rounds in the 60s for the first time in more than a year on the PGA TOUR, although he finished 10 shots behind in a tie for 30th. In a year lost mainly to left leg injuries, it was his ninth and final TOUR start.

Cauley left Alabama this year to turn pro, and it appeared to be a smart decision. He is projected to be the equivalent of 114th on the money list with two tournaments remaining. He at least gets into the McGladrey Classic next week. Cauley would be only the sixth player since 1980—and the first since Ryan Moore in 2005—to earn a full PGA TOUR card without ever going to Q-school.

Cauley was among five players tied for the lead at some point in the final round. As usual at CordeValle, this tournament was always going to be decided over the final four holes, which offer to eagle possibilities with the par 5 at No. 15 and the tees moved forward on the 17th, making it play 284 yards over the water.

Shane Bertsch surged into the lead alone with an eagle at No. 15 to reach 15 under, only to miss a short putt on the next hole. He failed to make another birdie and tied for fourth with a 64. Ernie Els also tied for fourth. He went bunker-to-bunker on the 15th and had to settle for par and closed with a 68.

Ultimately, the duel came down to Baird and Molder, two players looking for their first PGA TOUR win on a course that tests the nerves because of so many possible swings in momentum.

Molder birdied three of the first four holes on the back nine to take over the lead, and appeared to be playing safe by laying up on the 15th and making par. His 10-foot birdie putt on the 17th spun 270 degrees around the cup.

In the group behind him, Baird reached the 15th green for a two-putt birdie to get within one stroke, then put himself in position for the win with a drive that narrowly cleared the water on the 17th and stayed on the bank.

Trying to get up-and-down to tie for the lead, he chipped in for an eagle—the second straight day he made eagle on that hole—for a one-shot lead. Up ahead, however, Molder recovered by rolling in a 12-foot birdie putt on the last hole to catch him.