US PGA TOUR REPORT AND FIRST-ROUND SCORES

• CRANE LIFTS HIS GAME TO LEAD WITH A 63 AT ST JUDE CLASSIC

  
  

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    By Sean Martin, PGATOUR.COM
• Ben Crane shot a 7-under 63 on Thursday to take the lead at the FedEx St. Jude Classic. (Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

MEMPHIS, Tennessee – There was a time late last year that back problems had Ben Crane doubting that he would play golf this season. 
Crane sneaked into last year’s FedExCup Playoffs at No. 125 in the standings, but the pain forced him to withdraw from The Barclays after a first-round 67.
Crane’s golf swing was the culprit, so he’s been making swing changes in an attempt to fix the problem. His back has been good, but his form has not. He is 150th in the FedExCup standings with just one top-25 in 16 starts this season.
“To be playing has been a blessing, but I haven’t played well at all,” Crane said. “I’m excited to be healthy and start finding my game. It’s really encouraging.”
He shot 63 on Thursday – his low round of the season – at the FedEx St. Jude Classic to take the lead when play was suspended due to darkness. Play was delayed by more than three hours because of a storm earlier in the day.
“Being the first group off (in the afternoon) was nice because we got great weather,” Crane said. “And finishing today allows us to start 40 minutes later tomorrow, so we’ll get some extra sleep and maybe be able to watch some NBA Finals tonight.”
FEDEX ST. JUDE CLASSIC: Leaderboard | Daily Wrap-up | Mickelson's fast start | TOUR Report | Photo gallery

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MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: Phil Mickelson accomplished two goals in the first round of his final event before the U.S. Open: he was able to finish strongly and better visualize his shots.
 He shot a fairly steady 67 in the first round of the FedEx St. Jude Classic. A T2 at this event last year helped him contend at last year’s U.S. Open, where he held the lead over the final nine holes before finishing T2.
He made five birdies and two bogeys Thursday at TPC Southwind.
"I'm trying to take a little more time behind the shot, doing a better job visualizing the shot," he said. "The thing that's really helped me, I've been more creative, curving the ball more with the irons to try to get it close to the hole rather than just hitting a stock shot without curvature."
Some help from his caddie, Jim Mackay, helped Mickelson finish strong. He asked for Mackay's help in reading a putt on the third hole, his 12th of the day, and asked for Mackay's aid on virtually every putt for the remainder of the round.
"It's kind of a win-lose for him," Mickelson joked. "He did his job great but that means now I'm going to have him work a little bit harder."

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MOTHER KNOWS BEST: Donna Malnati noticed a change in her son, Peter, when she caddied for him at a Web.com Tour event a couple weeks ago.
" 'I've never seen you like this before. You're really negative, you're down,' " Peter recalled his mother saying. "Coming from my mom, that was a kick in my butt."
He needed that motivation. Malnati shot 5-under 65 in the first round of the FedEx St. Jude Classic to take the lead after the morning wave.
It’s been a tough rookie season for Malnati. He’s made just three of 11 cuts this season, including just one of his past eight, and is 172nd in the FedExCup. He’s tried to keep things in proper perspective, though.
“Twelve months ago, I was playing a mini-tour event,” said Malnati, who turns 27 on June 13. It’s been a rapid rise through pro golf’s ranks in the past year. He started 2013 with no Web.com Tour status, but was able to parlay starts on that circuit into a US PGA Tour card.
He used Thursday’s three-and-a-half-hour rain delay to clear his head, then returned to birdie two of his final three holes.
“It had been some negative thoughts rolling around in my head for most of the year, honestly,” he said. “Just in the last couple of weeks I’ve kind of gotten it turned around. (During the delay), I kept telling my wife I was going to wander around in (the clubhouse). I was actually thinking good thoughts.”

LEADING SCORES IN CLUBHOUSE
Par 70. Players from USA unless stated
63 Ben Crane
65 Peter Malnati
66 Retief Goosen (S Africa), Joe Durrant
67 Freddie Jacobson (Sweden), Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Troy Merritt, Hudson Swafford, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (Spain), Luke Guthrie

SELECTED SCORES
68 Padraig Harrington (Ireland) (T23)
70 Paul Casey (England), Martin Laird (Scotland), Lee Westwood (England), Greg Owen (England) (T66)
72 Russell Knox (Scotland (T99)
73 Thorbjorn Olesen (Denmark), Darren Clarke (N Ireland) (T122).
 

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(a lot of players had still to complete their rounds on Friday morning, USA time).

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