Rory McIlroy bounced back from a rough start for a 4-under 66 that gave him a one-shot lead Friday in the PGA Tour's Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
Tiger Woods had to scramble to narrowly make the cut.
McIlroy made six birdies in a 10-hole stretch to take the lead into the weekend of a PGA Tour event for the first time in 18 months. He was at 11-under 129 after two rounds.
Brendon de Jonge was tied for the lead until making bogey on his final hole for a 64. He was one behind.
Woods hit only two greens in regulation on the back nine of PGA National. His only birdie was on the 13th, when he chipped in. He shot 69 and made the cut on the number. Because 79 players made the cut, there will be another cut to top 70 and ties on Saturday.
NFL
Sharper surrenders to L.A. police
Former NFL All-Pro safety Darren Sharper surrendered to Los Angeles police after being named in a warrant involving a rape case in New Orleans.
Sharper, 38, also is under investigation in sexual assault cases in Florida, Nevada and Arizona and has pleaded not guilty to rape charges in Los Angeles.
Sharper's surrender had been arranged in advance, an LAPD spokesman said.
In a bail motion filed in the California case, a Los Angeles County investigator described a pattern in which the former football star, who played for the Vikings, Packers and Saints, met women at clubs or parties and lured them to hotel rooms, where they were allegedly drugged and raped.
NFL sets salary cap at record $133 million
The NFL's salary cap has been set at $133 million, the highest amount in league history. Each team must be compliant with the cap number by March 11 when the league's free agency period begins. The cap amount announced Friday, which applies to active players' salaries, is up from $123 million last season and surpasses the previous high of just under $128 million in 2009.
Saints give Graham franchise tag
• The Saints placed their franchise tag on tight end Jimmy Graham and the Panthers did the same with defensive end Greg Hardy.
• Receiver Sidney Rice and defensive end Red Bryant were released by the Seahawks for salary cap reasons. Rice, formerly of the Vikings, was released with a "failed physical" designation; a knee injury kept him out after Week 8 last season.
• Jeremy Maclin and the Eagles agreed on a one-year contract.
TENNIS
Federer tops Djokovic in Dubai
Fourth-seeded Roger Federer beat top-seeded Novak Djokovic's 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the semifinals of the Dubai Championship.
Federer will play third-seeded Tomas Berdych in Saturday's final. Berdych advanced with a 7-5, 7-5 semifinal win over seventh-seeded Philiipp Kohlschreiber of Germany.
Auto racing
Keselowski grabs pole in Phoenix
Brad Keselowski took the pole for Sunday's CNBC 500 at Phoenix International Raceway, making it through NASCAR's new knockout-style qualifying. Keselowski had a fast lap of 139.384 mph, earning a spot on the front row next to Joey Logano. Jamie McMurray qualified third. NASCAR changed its qualifying process for this season to a multiple-round process in which the top drivers in each round advance. There were two rounds Friday; on bigger tracks there will be three rounds.
College basketball
Player suspended after brawl
New Mexico State suspended guard K.C. Ross-Miller indefinitely for his role in a postgame brawl Thursday during a game against Utah Valley.
Ross-Miller hurled the ball at Utah Valley's Holton Hunsaker seconds after the Wolverines' 66-61 victory over the Aggies. Some of the fans who stormed the court following the victory got caught up in the chaos, and punches were thrown.
AROUND THE HORN
College football: Illinois starting defensive end Houston Bates is leaving the team, hoping to find a school closer to his home in Louisiana for his final season. Because he will have his degree he'll be able to play right away when he transfers.
Baseball: Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke is expected to miss his next scheduled start in spring training because of a strained right calf. Greinke was hurt Thursday while throwing only four pitches and had been scheduled to start Tuesday against Seattle.
Skiing: Bill Marolt will step down as president and CEO of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association on Monday, to be replaced by former Alpine skier Tiger Shaw, who competed in the 1984 and 1988 Olympics. … Olympic super-G champion Kjetil Jansrud of Norway and Austrian rival Georg Streitberger shared a World Cup downhill title in Kvitfjell, Norway, each finishing in 1 minute, 5.72 seconds.
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