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Scottsdale, AZ (SportsNetwork.com) - Ryan Palmer fired a 7-under 65 in Thursdays opening round and stood alone atop the leaderboard as play at the Phoenix Open was suspended due to darkness. Palmer, who is coming off a tie for 10th last week at the Humana Challenge, is a three-time winner on the PGA Tour. Tiger Woods returned to action for the first time in an official event since last years PGA Championship. He rallied from a poor start for a 2-over 73, which left him tie for 104th. Woods opened with a pair of bogeys at one and two. A poor chip led to a double-bogey, which dropped him to 4-over par through four holes. He got one stroke back with a 13-foot birdie putt at five, but he tripped to a bogey at nine as his drive stopped on the edge of a bunker and he had a poor stance. Around the turn, Woodss drive at 11 stopped under a small bush and that led to another a dropped shot. After a solid drive on the par-5 13th, he stuffed his second shot inside a foot. The tap-in eagle got Woods back to plus-3. He parred the next two, then drove the green at the drivable 17th. He 2-putted for birdie from 20 feet out. A par at the last left Woods at 2-over par and nine strokes off the lead. Im just having a hard time finding the bottom. Because of my old pattern, I was so steep on it that I have new grind on my wedge, and sometimes its hard to trust, Woods explained of his poor chipping. I got into the flow of the round, but it was just trying to get committed to this new swing change. I struggled with it in the beginning. I just need tournament rounds like this, where I can fight through it and turn it around, grind through it and make adjustments on the fly. Major champions Keegan Bradley and Bubba Watson share second place at minus-6. They were joined there by Daniel Berger, who was through 16 holes of round one at the TPC Scottsdale. Former Masters winner Zach Johnson carded a 5-under 66. He was joined in fifth place by Martin Laird, Robert Streb and Ben Martin. Phil Mickelson, a three-time winner of this event, also started slowly as he was 3-over par through six holes, but he carded five birdies over the final 11 holes for a 2-under 69. He is in a large group tied for 29th. Play was suspended for the day by darkness with nine players left on the course. They will return to TPC Scottsdale at 10 a.m. ET on Friday to complete their opening rounds, while round two will start as scheduled at 9:30 a.m. Palmer played the back nine first on Thursday and he got going with a 9-foot birdie effort at the 12th. Like Woods, Palmer dropped his second at the 13th to kick-in range and that eagle quickly moved Palmer to minus-3. The 38-year-old rolled in a 19-footer for birdie at the raucous par-3 16th and made it two in a row with a short birdie effort at 17. After a par at 18, Palmer turned at minus-5 and he was one shot off the lead. Palmer dropped his approach to nine feet at No. 2 and he drained that to gain a piece of the lead. He made it two in a row as he also birdied the third to move atop the leaderboard at minus-7. After taking the lead, Palmer closed with 2-putt pars on the final six holes. In that span, his shortest birdie chance was from 27 feet out. NOTES: Palmer matched the second-lowest 9-hole score in PGA Tour history last week at the Humana as he fired a 9-under 27 on the back at nine of the Nicklaus Private course at PGA West ... Woods, who is winless since the 2013 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, carded his first eagle on the PGA Tour since that same WGC event in 2013 ... Thursdays attendance was 118,461, which set the Thursday record by 30,000 fans. Alvin Kamara Saints Jersey . A veteran of 16 NHL seasons, Prospals career was highlighted by him ranking fourth in points scored, third in assists and sixth in games played among all Czech Republic born players in NHL history. Willie Roaf Youth Jersey . This is the final meeting of the season between these teams.? The Capitals were 5-4 winners in a shootout Oct. http://www.saintsrookiestore.com/Saints-Willie-Roaf-Jersey/ . A criminal complaint filed in Hennepin County District Court said his girlfriend told police they got into the argument early Thursday at his suburban Minneapolis home. Erik McCoy Jersey . -- Center Max Unger and tight end Zach Miller are both probable for the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday against the New York Giants and Percy Harvins recovery continues to be slow. TreQuan Smith Saints Jersey .During the week, McCoy told reporters he respected Hoyer for his intelligence, athleticism and how he conducts himself on and off the field. This wasnt an act, some attempt at psyching out Hoyer.BOSTON -- Bradley Beal stood at his locker near the middle of a noisy Washington locker room and expressed a thought that Wizards players havent felt for a few years. "I was sitting here after the game and talking to Glen (Rice) saying, Its a great feeling knowing youre going to keep playing," Beal said after scoring 27 points to help the Wizards grab the Eastern Conferences No. 5 seed with a 118-102 win over Boston on Wednesday night. "You dont have to go home now and not know what youre doing," he said. "Its a great thing for us to be in the situation were in. For me being my second year, a lot of guys havent been through it." The Wizards, who closed the regular season by winning seven of their last 10 games, will be facing Chicago in their first playoff appearance since 2008. "I just thought the way we ended it, thats what we talked about," Wizards coach Randy Wittman said. "We didnt want to worry about whos chasing who." The Wizards jumped over Brooklyn and into fifth place after the Nets lost in Cleveland. Trevor Booker scored 20 points, Marcin Gortat had 15 with 10 rebounds, and John Wall 15 points for Washington, which finished the regular season 44-38. Its the most wins for the franchise since 45 in 2004-05. "I thought we had a pretty good season," Washington forward Trevor Ariza said. "We had our ups and we had downs, but for the most part its definitely been a step in the right direction." Boston sat injured guards Rajon Rondo and Jerryd Bayless, and injured forwards Kris Humphries and Jared Sullinger, finishing with a 25-57 record. It was the clubs worst since going 24-58 in 2006-07, the year before acquiring Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and winning its 17th NBA title. "Im not concerned that we arent going to strive to get better," Boston first-year coach Brad Stevens said. "I think we will work. I think their work ethics are good, and I think their coach-ability is pretty good." One player that may be wondering if hell be back is Rondo. When asked if he wants to be with the club next season, he said: "Next question." The point guard will be in the final year of his contract. Rookie Kelly Olyynyk led Boston with 24 points and seven boards.dddddddddddd Jeff Green scored 20 points and Avery Bradley 18. The Celtics closed the season, filled with fans talking a lot of "tanking" and "pingpong balls," by losing 11 of their last 13. Stevens wants his players that return to come ready to fight for more playing time next season. "So, theres a couple of different ways to look at it: Are you going to get better in your role, or are you going to expand your role?" he said. "What I mean by that is: Are you going to get better at what you do well, or are you going to get better at some other things that make you, give you the chance instead of being the eighth guy to be the fifth? Or instead of being the fifth to be the third?" Washington, which never trailed, led by 12 at halftime before the Celtics opened the third with a 14-6 run, closing it to 74-70 on Brandon Bass jumper from the left wing. But -- behind Gortats eight points -- the Wizards answered by scoring 13 of the next 16 to move ahead 87-73. Washington led by 16 entering the final quarter and coasted to the win. Behind Wall scoring their initial six points, the Wizards had opened a double-digit lead (23-11) on Gortats jumper midway into the opening quarter. They shot 66.7 per cent (18 of 27) and led 38-24 at the break. Both teams had a hot shooting second quarter, with neither below 55 per cent as the Wizards lead ranged between five and 15 points en route to a 68-56 halftime edge. NOTES: Wall started all 82 regular season games after missing the start of last season with a left knee injury. "Coming off a tough year, last year injury-wise, to be able to play all 82 games is a heck of an accomplishment," Wittman said before the game. "You look at all the really good players that have played the game and they play all 82." ... Bass won the teams Red Auerbach Award thats given to the player or coach who best exemplifies the spirit of what it means to be a Celtic through performance on and off the court. ... Sullinger spoke to the crowd from midcourt before the game, saying: "We want to thank you for your endless support and passion throughout the whole season. Hopefully well come back better next year." ' ' '