Sports FRIDAY, MARCH 21, 2014 Scott ties Bay Hill course record, leads by four shots

FLORIDA: Masters champion Adam Scott Further birdies at the par-five sixth and fired a 10-under-par 62 to tie the Bay Hill par-four seventh took him to 10 under. He course record and grab the clubhouse lead missed a good birdie chance at his penulti- in the opening round of the Arnold Palmer mate hole, before ending his day with a long Invitational in Florida yesterday. two-putt par to match the course record Scott, in his final tournament before he held by Andy Bean and his boyhood idol defends his green jacket at the April 10-13 Greg Norman. Masters, took advantage of his morning tee Scott is playing just his third tournament time at the Bay Hill course in Orlando. since mid-January. He has reduced his tour- Wielding his long putter like a magic nament schedule over the past couple of wand, the Australian mixed two eagles with seven birdies and a bogey to match his career low round on the PGA Tour. He led Spaniard Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano by four strokes with half the field still on the course. “I’m really thrilled with the start today,” Scott, making his first Bay Hill start since 2009, told reporters. It’s maybe a little surprising. “I don’t know where it came from but the putter certainly got hot today. Today was just one of those days where the hole was a like a bucket.” World number two Scott is regarded by many as the best driver in the game, but his short game proved just as good on Thursday as he pulled away from the field. He drained putts from at least 20 feet on five occasions, including a 30-footer from off the green at the par-four 15th, where he Former President of Barcelona Sports Club Juan Laborta (left). threaded his ball between a couple of sprin- kler heads. ORLANDO: Adam Scott of Australia hits his tee Integrated information plan Confident start shot on the 13th hole during the first round of Scott began his round at the 10th, and the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by prepared for Police Sport made a confidence-boosting start by sinking MasterCard at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge yes- a 20-foot birdie right off the bat. He got up- terday in Orlando, Florida. — AFP By Abdellatif Sharaa tecting fans and secure sports competitions. and-down from a greenside bunker at the Al-Hashash, who is the head of the public par-five 12th to go two under, before picking years in order to prepare for the majors in KUWAIT: Director of Public Relations and relations unit of the security committee of the up further birdies at the 14th and 15th holes. peace and quiet. Moral Guidance, Acting Director of Security conference, said among the measures taken An eagle at the par-five 16th, where he hit The 33-year-old is the top-ranked player Information Department at the Interior by the Interior Ministry to fight sports arenas a mid-iron from 200 yards to 35 feet, took at Bay Hill in the absence of defending cham- Ministry Colonel Adel Al-Hashash said an inte- violence is intensifying awareness campaigns him to six under, while his lone bogey came pion Tiger Woods, who withdrew from the grated information plan has been prepared in cooperation with all media which at the par-four 18th, where he hit his tee shot event earlier this week with a bad back. for the first Police Sport and Security expressed full cooperation in this regard. left and also missed the green left with his Former Masters champion Bubba Conference to start next Sunday under the He said the awareness campaign comes as second shot. Watson withdrew from Bay Hill citing aller- patronage of HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al- an implementation of the directions of But that proved a minor hiccup, as he gies following an opening-round 11-over- Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah at Regency Hotel. Deputy Premier, Interior Minister Sheikh roared back with a birdie at the par-four par 83 that included an 11 at the par-five Al-Hashash said the conference that is Mohammad Al-Khalid and instructions of third, followed by a 20-foot eagle at the par- sixth and a triple-bogey seven at the par- being held for the first time in Kuwait in the Undersecretary Lt General Suleiman Al-Fahad, five fourth. four 18th. — Reuters presence of specialized people in fighting who heads the Higher Security Committee for violence and disorder from the USIP which is the conference. He added that there will be headed by Lt. General Sheikh Ahmad Al- an integrated media center that will offer all Nawaf, will confirm the ability of security and information services to the conference sports authorities to organize such events guests, journalists, and media in order reflect which is an important step in the field of pro- the media role in limiting violence and the means of dealing with drawbacks in this regard. He said the Ministry of Interior is keen on the general image during the conference and that focus was placed on the security aware- ness and facilitating the job of the media and journalists in covering this event. Meanwhile former President of Barcelona Sports Club Juan Laborta expressed gratitude for the invitation he received from USIP to attend the conference, but he apologized due to prior commitments and the classic match between Barcelona and Real Madrid, which is on Sunday. Laborta thanked the conference organiz- ers and USIP president Lt. General Sheikh Ahmad Al-Nawaf and wished the success and that they get the sought of results in finding solutions for the arena violence. He said that he visited Kuwait during the Late Mushari Al-Roudhan indoor soccer tour- TOKYO: South Africa head coach Neil Powell (R) answers questions beside captain Kyle Brown nament and had good time among his (L) during a press conference for the Rugby Sevens tournament in Tokyo. The Tokyo Sevens Adel Al-Hashash Kuwaiti friends. 2014, the sixth leg in the IRB Sevens World Series, will be held on March 22-23. — AFP