GOLF

Woods loses in first round at Match Play tournament

Tiger Woods was eliminated Wednesday in the first round of the Match Play Championship, losing 1 up to Thomas Bjorn at Marana, Ariz.

It was only the second time Woods, the No. 3 seed, has been eliminated in the opening round.

Moments after Woods made an 8-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to extend the match, he hit a 3-wood so far to the right that it landed in a desert bush. It took two shots just to get it back onto the grass and after badly missing an 18-foot bogey putt, he conceded to Bjorn.

Top-ranked Lee Westwood never trailed in his 3-and-2 victory over Henrik Stenson, and fourth-seeded Phil Mickelson won 6 and 5 over Brendan Jones.

Matteo Manassero, the 17-year-old Italian, became the youngest winner in this tournament with a 2-and-1 victory over eighth-seeded Steve Stricker.

HIGH SCHOOLS

BOYS’ SOCCER: Fazal Nabi of Portland High was named Maine Gatorade boys’ soccer player of the year.

Nabi, a senior midfielder, helped the Bulldogs reach the Class A championship game with 20 goals and 20 assists during the season. He was an all-New England selection and is a three-time All-State selection.

Nabi plans to attend Providence.

BOYS’ BASKETBALL: Tickets for Saturday’s Western Class A final will go on sale at the Cumberland County Civic Center box office at 10 a.m. today. Reserved seats are $8, and general admission seats are $7 for adults and $4 for students, cash only.

PREP SCHOOLS

GIRLS’ BASKETBALL: Caitlyn Winders made two foul shots to force overtime and Berwick Academy (5-16) made 5 of 6 free throws in overtime for a 43-40 win over Pingree School (7-12) at South Berwick. Rebecca Siegel had 16 points to lead the Bulldogs.

FOOTBALL

NFL: Houston running back Arian Foster, the NFL’s leading rusher last season, had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, a person with knowledge of the procedure said on condition of anonymity because neither Foster nor the team publicly disclosed the details.

• Jacksonville signed defensive end Paul Spicer to a one-day contract so he can retire as a member of the team. He was placed on the reserve/retired list.

• Linebacker LaMarr Woodley signed Pittsburgh’s one-year franchise tender offer.

TENNIS

DELRAY BEACH INTERNATIONAL: Qualifier Ryan Sweeting upset third-seeded Sam Querrey 7-6 (5), 6-4 in the second round at Delray Beach, Fla.

DUBAI CHAMPIONSHIPS: Four-time champion Roger Federer of Switzerland defeated Marcel Granollers of Spain 6-3, 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals at Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

QATAR LADIES OPEN: Top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark defeated Nadia Petrova of Russia 6-3, 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals at Doha, Qatar.

SOCCER

MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER: The top three teams in each of the league’s two conferences will be joined in the playoffs next fall by the next four teams with the highest point totals. The playoffs expand by two teams to 10 with the league increasing to 18 teams with the addition of the Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps.

AUTO RACING

TRUCK SERIES: NASCAR penalized the team Michael Waltrip drove for in the season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway.

Waltrip won the race for Vision Aviation Racing, but NASCAR found that his spoiler had broken over the closing laps.

NASCAR fined crew chief Doug Howe $25,000 and placed him on probation until Dec. 31, and team owner Billy Ballew was docked 25 owner points. Waltrip was not penalized because he did not receive any points for the event. He’s only collecting points in the Sprint Cup series this season.