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LA QUINTA, Calif. -- Zach Johnson asked his short-iron approach on the par-4 18th to "Do something right, baby." It did. With just a hint of a draw, Johnsons shot landed to the right of the right-side pin and spun to 2 feet to set up a birdie Thursday that left him two strokes behind first-round leader Patrick Reed in the Humana Challenge. Thriving on great driving, even better wedge play and putting, Johnson has three worldwide wins in his last seven starts. He began the run in the BMW Championship in September, and beat Tiger Woods in a playoff in December in the World Challenge after holing a wedge for par on the final hole of regulation. Johnson followed that with a victory two weeks ago in Kapalua. "I dont think Im the best," Johnson said when asked if hes the best wedge player. He pointed to Ryder Cup teammate Steve Stricker. "Hes the first one that comes to my mind," Johnson said. "Phenomenal wedge player. ... But my wedges are clean. ... Ive worked on it a lot. Ive worked on it in a number of different ways, but the main way is really just trying to dial in yardages and trajectories." Johnson finished with a 7-under 65, hitting all 14 fairways at La Quinta Country Club -- the most-demanding driving layout in the three-course event. He hit 15 of 18 greens in regulation and had 27 putts in his bogey-free round. "The greens over there are, I dont even know how to explain them, its like carpet," Johnson said. "I mean, theyre just so good. I dont know what they do over there, but they look artificial. Theyre like this every year, but theyre as good as Ive ever seen." Johnson has 11 PGA Tour victories. Dating to his rookie season in 2004, only Woods, Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh have more. "It means that Im doing something right," said Johnson, the top-ranked player in the field at No. 6. Reed had a 9-under 63 in perfect scoring and weather conditions. He ran off five straight birdies in the middle of his bogey-free round on PGA Wests Arnold Palmer Private Course and tied his career low. "The course is in perfect shape," said Reed, the Wyndham Championship winner in August. "The rough isnt very high, the fairways are perfect and the greens are rolling very true." Reed started on the back nine and birdied Nos. 16-18 and 1-2 to get to 7-under. He added birdies on Nos. 6 and 7. "I started out a little struggling with the driver, had some lefts in it, but luckily I missed it in the right spots," Reed said. "I was really confident with my irons, kept hitting greens and all of a sudden, 10-, 12-, 15-, 20-foot putts started going in." With wife Justine pregnant with their first child, her brother, Kessler Karain, is subbing as Reeds caddie. Justine has walked every hole with her husband this year and plans to rejoin him inside the ropes after the baby girl arrives. The due date is Memorial Day. "We cant wait for that," Reed said. "Im excited to be a dad." Ryan Palmer, Justin Hicks, Daniel Summerhays and Charley Hoffman shot 64. Palmer birdied his final six holes and nine of his last 12 on the Palmer course, the site of the final round Sunday. "I wasnt making a whole lot of long putts, just hitting it close," Palmer said. Hicks had an eagle, seven birdies and a bogey on the Jack Nicklaus Private Course. "Just trying to give myself as many opportunities as I can," Hicks said. Hoffman, the 2007 winner, had an eagle and six birdies at La Quinta. "I love this golf course," Hoffman said. "I think this is probably one of the better tracks we play all year when its said and done." Summerhays birdied seven of his last 10 on the Nicklaus course. "Its fun to make birdies," Summerhays said. "Thats one of the fun things about this tournament is that the courses are a little easier. Theyre in perfect shape, which makes them almost even easier." With a high temperature in the mid-80s and only a gentle morning breeze off the Santa Rosa Mountains, the players averaged 69.692 on the Palmer course, 69.431 on the Nicklaus layout, and 70.192 at La Quinta. Ottawas Brad Fritsch carded a 67 at the Palmer course. David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., also on Palmer, had a 68. Calgarys Stephen Ames and Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., each shot a 73 on the Palmer course. Keegan Bradley opened with a 69 at La Quinta in his first start of the year. Hes fighting a cold and struggled with his distance control and accuracy. "Im still a little tired. Getting better every day," said Bradley, paired with Johnson the first three days. "Im happy with todays round for the first round of the year." Defending champion Brian Gay also had a 69 at La Quinta. Nike Vapor Max Plus . American Lindsey Jacobellis was third, while Japans Yuka Fujimori finished just off the podium. Maltais, from Petite-Riviere-St-Francois, Que., earned bronze at the 2006 Olympic Games and is set to return to the Games this February in Sochi, Russia. Nike Vapor Max Plus Triple Black . Venus Williams advanced to the ASB Classic final in Auckland on a walkover when fellow American Jamie Hampton withdrew from their semifinal Friday with a right hip injury. http://www.vapormaxplus.com/.Cameron sustained his third concussion in three seasons last week on a hit by Oakland safety Brandion Ross, who was fined $22,050 by the NFL for the helmet-to-helmet blow. Nike Vapormax Plus Bleached Aqua .com) - Nicklas Backstrom scored a pair of goals and Alex Ovechkin notched a highlight-reel tally, leading the Washington Capitals to a 4-0 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Saturday at the Prudential Center. Nike Vapormax Plus White . They all do actually — Joel-Hans Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) July 22, 2014There is no confirmation that the date is actually happening, but that didnt stop Embiid from getting dressed up. Fresh cut..... Getting ready for dinner http://t.co/NNIfKyZQzx — Joel-Hans Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) July 23, 2014 Almost 930.. PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- Rory McIlroy is 18 holes away from his first PGA Tour victory in 18 months, a chance to show the world he is back on his game. Thats not the way McIlroy views the final round at the Honda Classic. McIlroy started strong, avoided a big number with a brilliant bogey in the middle and took on the wind and water on the 16th hole for one final birdie Saturday that gave him a 1-under 69 in the toughest conditions and a two-shot lead over Russell Henley at PGA National. The 24-year-old from Northern Ireland has come to expect this kind of performance. He finished one shot behind in Abu Dhabi. He played in the final group in Dubai, where nothing went well in the final round. And here is again, making key shots and big putt to keep his nose in front in the Honda Classic. "Ive been building and building toward getting my game to a level where I feel it should be," he said. "And Im pretty much at that point now." Saturday wasnt easy. McIlroy might have saved his day with a bogey on the par-3 seventh. He took a penalty drop from under a palmetto bush, and faced a shot off the pine straw across 20 yards of rough to an elevated green with the pin toward the back right. The shot came off perfectly, and he holed the 8-foot putt for bogey. "It was one of the best up-and-downs Ive ever had, I guess," McIlroy said. "And it was almost like a momentum builder. I just bogeyed the last, but walking off that seventh green with a bogey almost felt like I had saved par or I had almost gained a shot on the field. It kept any momentum that I had going to the next few holes." He closed out his round with a 5-iron into the wind to 10 feet of the flag on the 16th for a birdie, and then narrowly missed two birdie chances on the closing holes. McIlroy was at 12-under 198. Asked about the importance of winning on a major tour for the first time since the World Tour Championship in Dubai at the end of 2012, and the first time since the BMW Championship at Crooked Stick in 2012 on the PGA Tour, Boy Wonder grappled for the right answer. "It would be nice. It would be my seventh PGA Tour win," he said. "Thats what it is. No bigger, no smaller. And Ill go home and have a nice night and get up the next morning and go play the Seminole Pro-Member. So its all good." He also knows its not over. Henley wasnt doing anything special until he holed out from 150 yards for eagle on No. 14, and then rammed in a 50-foot birdie putt from just off the green at the 17th for birdie that gave him a 68 and put him in the last grroup for the first time since he won the Sony Open last year.dddddddddddd Thats the only time Henley has won -- in his debut as a PGA Tour member -- and he hasnt been in this situation since then. Henley has only two top 10s since that win down from Waikiki Beach at the start of 2012. Now he has to chase one of golfs biggest stars, on a course where only one players -- Ernie Els in 2008 -- has come from behind on the final day to win. "Im trying not to pay attention to what Rory is doing," Henley said. "Obviously, hes playing great and hes been in this situation a little bit more than me. But I still have a lot of confidence and Im just going to try to play my game and not worry about what hes doing too much." Russell Knox of Scotland had a 68 and was three shots behind, while Jhonattan Vegas of Venezuela had a 66 and was another shot back. David Hearn (70) of Brantford, Ont., was tied for 35th at 3 under. Tiger Woods is still in the game, but just barely. Woods matched the low round of the day. He was among five players who shot 65, all before the leaders teed off and the wind kicked into gear, but it was enough to move the No. 1 player 49 spots up the leaderboard and into a tie for 17th. Even so, he was seven shots behind. Woods has never won a PGA Tour event when trailing by more than five shots entering the last round. "Today was a positive day," Woods said after his lowest score in 10 rounds this year. "Hit the ball well and made some putts and got myself back in the hunt." It doesnt figure to be easy for Woods or anyone to track down McIlroy, who has converted the 54-hole lead in his last four PGA Tour wins dating to the 2011 Masters, where he blew a four-shot lead. That streak includes the Honda Classic two years, which he won to rise to No. 1 in the world for the first time. "Definitely not a coincidence," McIlroy said. "I learned a lot that day. I learned not to protect a 54-hole lead. I should have just stuck to the game plan, stuck to my process, not look at the leaderboard, not look at what other people are doing. ... And thats the reason that every 54-hole lead that Ive had since, Ive been able to close the deal. Hopefully, I can keep that run going tomorrow." It would be a remarkable turnaround for McIlroy, who a year ago was so frustrated with his game and high expectations that he walked off the course after 26 holes, a mistake he vowed to never repeat. "Theres still 18 holes to go," he said. "But Im feeling comfortable with where I am." ' ' '