American John Mallinger produced a sizzling burst of six consecutive birdies to charge into a six-way tie for the lead in the Viking Classic first round in Madison County, Mississippi Thursday. In pursuit of his maiden victory on the PGA Tour, the 31-year-old Californian took advantage of rain-softened conditions and preferred lies on the fairways to card a seven-under-par 65 at Annandale Golf Club. Mallinger launched his birdie run at the par-four ninth before ending the round level with compatriots Tim Petrovic and Bobby Gates, Zimbabwe's Brendon de Jonge, Australian Peter Lonard and South Korean Kang Sung-hoon. PGA Tour veteran Kenny Perry and Argentina's Fabian Gomez were among nine players who opened with 66s on a stifling hot mid-summer's day in Mississippi. De Jonge, who tied for third in last year's Viking Classic, recorded seven birdies in a flawless display after being grouped with Americans Reavie and Tommy Gainey for the first two rounds. Woods at charity event Tiger Woods, missing a second straight major golf championship this week with an injured left leg, plans to play in his buddy Notah Begay's charity event August 31, Begay said Thursday. Woods did not immediately confirm his participation. But Begay, a fellow golfer who was a teammate of Woods at Stanford, said in a statement that Woods would play in the Notah Begay III Foundation Challenge at Turning Stone Resort near Verona, New York. Begay rescheduled the event from its original July 5 date in hopes that Woods would be able to take part. Woods, a 14-time major champion, is skipping this week's British Open as he continues to recover from a sprained ligament in his left knee and strained Achilles tendon.
