Adam Scott was losing ground Saturday at Firestone

Adam Scott was losing ground Saturday at Firestone when he decided to stick with what was working. Four birdies later, he had a 4-under 66 and a one-shot lead in the Bridgestone Invitational.

On a day when seven players had a share of the lead at one point, Scott went back to a left-to-right shape off the tee and surged through the back nine to take a one-shot lead over Jason Day and Ryo Ishikawa, the 19-year-old from Japan who will try to become the youngest winner of a PGA Tour event in 100 years.

Scott was at 12-under 198, the lost 54-hole score at Firestone in 10 years.

About the only thing Tiger Woods can now get out of this week are four rounds and some points to help him qualify for the FedEx Cup playoffs at the end of the month. Woods, a seven-time winner at Firestone who hasn't played in nearly three months, struggled again with his putting and had a 72. He was 13 shots behind in a tie for 38th in the 76-man field.

"I've just got to put together a good round and let it build," Woods said.

Scott atop the leaderboard should be compelling enough, especially with Woods back to golf. It was only two weeks ago when Woods announced he had fired his caddie, and Scott picked him up on a full-time basis.

But that's became old news because of the youngest player in the field.

Ishikawa might be the only other player in golf to appreciate what it's like to get attention like Woods. He has been a star in Japan since he won his first tournament as a 15-year-old amateur, and his 10 wins on the Japan Golf Tour include shooting a 58 in the final round to win The Crowns.

Ishikawa opened with three birdies on the front nine and never eased up, shooting a 64 that put him in the final group.

A win would make him the youngest winner of a PGA Tour-sponsored even since John McDermott won the 1911 U.S. Open at 19. McDermott was one week younger.

• Reno-Tahoe Open: At Reno, Nev., Scott Piercy reeled off eight consecutive birdies to post a 28 on the front nine and eagled the 616-yard closing hole to break the course record with an 11-under 61.

Piercy, winless in three years on the PGA Tour, enters the final round of the Reno-Tahoe Open at 13-under 203, two ahead of Josh Teater and three ahead of a group that includes 1995 PGA champion Steve Elkington.

• Champions Tour: At Blaine, Minn., Peter Senior shot a bogey-free 67 and John Huston birdied No. 18 for a 68 that left them tied for the lead at 12-under after the second round of the 3M Championship.

Jay Haas, the co-leader after the opening round, shot a 69 and was one shot back.

Mark Calcavecchia (68), who finished second in last year's event, and Minnesota native Tom Lehman (69) were two behind.

Tommy Armour III (67), Mark O'Meara (68), Kenny Perry (70), Nick Price (68), Dan Forsman (69), Bobby Clampett (69) and Hal Sutton (69) trailed by four.

Play was delayed 1 hour, 56 minutes due to rain and lightning at TPC Twin Cities.

The European Tour will host the Avantha Masters

Taking forward its long and cherished association with premier golf tournaments around the world, Volvo Auto India today announced its partnership with 1.8 million euro Avantha Masters 2011 in India as a hole-in-one sponsor, for the second consecutive year. Volvo Auto India would present its technologically advanced SUV XC60 to the first hole-in-one player for the 11th hole and soon to be launched luxury Sedan S60 to the first hole-in-one player for the 16th hole. The European Tour will host the Avantha Masters from 17th-20th February, 2011 at the DLF Golf and Country Club, Gurgaon, Haryana, India.

Expressing his enthusiasm on the tournament, Paul de Voijs, Managing Director, Volvo Auto India said, “This is our second year of sponsoring Avantha Masters and we continue to view this as an excellent platform for exposure and making acquaintance with potential customers. Golf is a sport which aptly personifies Volvo’s core values of quality, integrity and fair play.”

India’s pride Jeev Milkha Singh will be playing against Andrew Dodt of Australia for the Avantha Crown.  Indian duo Gaganjeet Bhullar and Anirban Lahiri will display their star quality as well. Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand and Korean sensation Noh Seung-yul are also expected to create waves. Others players to look forward to are Thailand's Thaworn Wiratchant, Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Namchok Tantipokhakul, Japan's Tetsuji Hiratsuka and young guns Baek Seuk-hyun of Korea and Ben Leong of Malaysia.

Expressing his views on golfing in India, de Voijs, further added, “Golf as a profession has gained a great thrust in recent times. Today India is being represented by enviable players in the global arena. With continued endeavour, India is not far behind from becoming a mainstream golfing destination globally.” The event is tri-sanctioned between the Asian Tour, the European Tour and the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI). Avantha Masters is the first event in a new joint venture between Asian and European Tours to be known as EurAsia Golf Ltd.

The tournament will be extensively covered on major sports channels in Asia, Europe, Middle East and Australia via major broadcasters such as SkySports, CCTV, FoxSports and Viasat amongst many others. Volvo pioneered the development of European Tour as it is known today, the Volvo Tour, the Volvo Order of Merit, the Volvo PGA Championship and until 2008, the Volvo Masters. In 2009, Volvo remained a title sponsor on the European Tour. And that is not all; Volvo also has a passion for amateur golf, club golf, the game played by over 60 million people on over 30,000 golf courses in most countries on the globe.