ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Shane Lowry knows he’s playing good golf. He also knows he has a horrible record at Bay Hill. Good golf mattered more in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Lowry opened with a 66 on Thursday and has a one-shot lead. That not only is his best score at Bay Hill, he had never broken 70 the previous five times he played. Lowry had a share of the 54-hole lead last week, so he knows his form is good. He leads by one shot over Hideki Matsuyama and Justin Lower. Jordan Spieth had another wild day of bogeys and birdies and shot 69.

WILLIAMS LOSES AT BNP OPEN

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. (AP) — Venus Williams has played a match on tour for the first time in about six months.

The 43-year-old owner of seven Grand Slam titles gave away the lead and the last 10 games in a 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 loss to qualifier Nao Hibino at the BNP Paribas Open. Thursday was Williams’ first competition since a first-round exit at the U.S. Open on Aug. 29.

When the defeat ended with Williams getting broken for the seventh time in 12 service games, she walked to the net to congratulate Hibino, then left the court with a smile and a wave as much of the sparse crowd stood to applaud.

SUNS GET 2027 ALL-STAR GAME

PHOENIX (AP) — The Phoenix Suns will host the 2027 NBA All-Star game, giving owner Mat Ishbia a marquee event for the city roughly one year after he purchased the franchise. This will be the fourth time Phoenix has hosted the All-Star game and first since 2009. The Suns also hosted in 1975 and 1995.

Ishbia agreed to buy the Suns and WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury from the embattled Robert Sarver for about $4 billion in December 2022. The 2025 All-Star Game will be in San Francisco while the 2026 game will be in Inglewood, California.

FRENCH UNION THREATENS STRIKES

By The Associated Press

A major French union is warning of possible strikes in the public sector, including at hospitals, during the Paris Olympics. The general secretary of the CGT tells France Info media that the union will give notice of a possible strike in public services during the Games, which are held in July-August.

The social situation in France remains tense amid protests from teachers, police officers and farmers in recent weeks after huge demonstrations against the rise in retirement age last year.