Daily Wrap-up: Tiger Woods has up-and-down day at WM Phoenix Open

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Daily Wrap Up

SCOTTSDALE, AZ - JANUARY 29: Ryan Palmer celebrates after a birdie putt on the 16th hole during the first round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale on January 29, 2015 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images)

Written by The Associated Press

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) -- Ryan Palmer, opened with a 7-under 64 to build a one-shot lead when play was suspended by darkness.

The attendance was 118,461 -- more than the Super Bowl will get on Sunday -- and broke the Thursday record at the Phoenix Open by just over 30,000.

Palmer was 10-under par through 10 holes last week in the Humana Challenge and settled for a 61. He was 7 under through 12 holes on Thursday and then closed with six consecutive pars for a 64.

That gave him a one-shot lead on Keegan Bradley, who made seven birdies in the morning, and Masters champion Bubba Watson, whose tee shot on the 17th hole rolled a few inches from the cup and settled 4 feet away.

"It was a fun day. It was awesome," Palmer said of Thursday. "I hit it great. Drove well, hit my irons solid."

Palmer is also well-aware of the roll he's on -- and how rare it is.

"I'm having a blast playing this game, and when you're having fun your confidence is high," Palmer said. "I hate using the word "easy," but at times it feels like I can't miss from tee to green, for sure."

Tiger Woods, who struggled Thursday, shooting 73, was in the group ahead of him, and it's customary for players to step aside when they're on the 17th green to let the others hit their tee shots. Woods smiled when Watson approached and told him, "Good shot."

Watson also got caught up in the crowd, a benefit of playing so close to Woods.

"I could feel his crowd was really big," Watson said. "You could feel it, the energy, even with the weather the way it was. People still showed up. People still had a blast. And obviously, Tiger created a lot of that."

Bradley could sense it, too, even though he played on the opposite side of the draw. Bradley finished his round on No. 9 and hit what he thought was a great approach, except that he wasn't sure because no one was clapping. He turned to his caddie and asked him if it went over the green, or maybe even short of the green. And then he walked up to the green and saw it was 10 feet away. That's when the light came on.

"Tiger was on the second green. No one was watching me," Bradley said with a laugh. "It's just amazing to see the draw that Tiger has. Wow, there was a lot of people."