Mahan takes lead

 Former OSU golfer Hunter Mahan opened with an unlikely eagle after spinning in a sand wedge from 98 yards and never let up, shooting a 9-under-par 62 Thursday to take the first-round lead at The Barclays in the FedEx Cup playoff opener.
He took a four-stroke lead with a round that included eight birdies at Ridgewood Country Club.
England’s Paul Casey shot a 66, and Bo Van Pelt, Kevin Streelman, Mathew Goggin, Charley Hoffman and afternoon starter Dudley Hart had 67s. Steve Stricker, the winner last year at Westchester Country Club, topped the group at 68.
Trying to earn a spot on the Ryder Cup team as one of Paul Azinger’s four captain’s picks, Mahan hit 11 of 14 fairways, 15 greens in regulation and needed only 23 putts.
Mahan, 31st in the FedEx Cup standings, established the course record in the first PGA Tour round on the A.W. Tillinghast-designed layout — a composite of Ridgewood’s three nine-hole courses.
The top 120 in FedEx Cup standings after the tournament will qualify for the Deutsche Bank Championship next week in Norton, Mass.