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Palmer leads by 1 in Phoenix; Tiger shoots 73

David Wallace / Arizona Republic

Scottsdale, AZ - Ryan Palmer fired a 7-under 65 in Thursday's opening round and he 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 year's PGA Championship. He rallied from a poor start for a 2-over 73, which left him tie for 104th.

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.

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