Wyndham Clark handled a stressful day at Bay Hill by eliminating as much trouble as possible. Two late birdies as the wind finally waned carried him to a 5-under 67 and a two-shot lead Thursday in the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, Fla.

It was clear from the start Bay Hill was going to be a beast with cold weather and strong wind on a course with thick rough and putting surfaces that already had a yellow sheen to them.

Clark, with a pitching wedge to 2 feet on the 18th for one final birdie, had the highest score to lead the tournament in eight years.

Only 14 players broke par, the fewest in 36 years at Bay Hill with an asterisk — this now is a signature event with only 72 players in the field, compared with 120.

But it was tough.

“Pick your poison out here — you can probably create a story with whatever it is,” defending champ Scottie Scheffler said after he shot 71. “The greens are tough, the rough is high, and the wind is up.”

Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley, Shane Lowry, Corey Conners and Christiaan Bezuidenhout were the only other players to break 70, each with a 69. Rory McIlroy was poised to join them until a bogey on the final hole to join the group at 70.

Kevin Roy returned from an hourlong rain delay and holed a bunker shot for his 10th of 11 birdies en route to a 10-under 62 and a one-shot lead in the PGA Tour’s Puerto Rico Open.

Ayaka Furue, A Lim Kim and Auston Kim were atop the leaderboard at the LPGA’s Blue Bay tournament with opening round scores of 4-under 68 in Sanya, China. Jeeno Thitikul, the world No. 2, was a shot back with seven other players on China’s southern island of Hainan.

NFL

Six-time All-Pro linebacker Bobby Wagner is returning to the Washington Commanders after being a big part of their franchise-best turnaround and a trip to the NFC championship game in quarterback Jayden Daniels’ rookie season. Wagner, 34, has agreed on a contract for the 2025 NFL season, multiple sources reported.

Financial terms were not immediately available, though reports indicated the deal was for $8 million guaranteed and could be worth up to $9.5 million.

The Jacksonville Jaguars found a trade partner — a division rival, no less — for receiver Christian Kirk before officially releasing him. The Jaguars agreed to trade Kirk to AFC South opponent Houston for a seventh-round draft pick in 2026, multiple sources reported.

The Jaguars also are releasing two-time Pro Bowl tight end Evan Engram and returner/receiver Devin Duvernay as part of an offensive makeover under new coach Liam Coen.

Deshaun Watson’s contract was reworked again by the Cleveland Browns as the team looks to clear salary cap space with the new league year less than one week away.

The latest restructuring of the quarterback’s contract will clear nearly $36 million in cap space for the Browns, multiple sources reported.

The Browns were nearly $22 million over the cap before restructuring Watson’s deal.

It is the second time in three months that Watson’s contract was reworked. In December, the sides added void years through 2030 to give the Browns additional financial flexibility to spread out dead money on the contract instead of taking a huge hit in one season.

Watson, 29, may miss the entire 2025 season after rupturing his right Achilles tendon for the second time in three months in January. He originally injured it during an Oct. 20 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Browns have insurance that protects the contract and could get some cap relief from the NFL if he is out for the season.

Watson has played in only 19 games since the Browns acquired him from the Houston Texans in 2022 and signed him to a fully guaranteed $230 million contract.

All-Pro edge rusher Trey Hendrickson, who led the NFL in sacks this past season with 17 1/2, received permission from the Cincinnati Bengals to seek a trade, multiple sources reported.

The Minnesota Vikings re-signed safety Theo Jackson to a three-year contract portending a larger role for next season. Jackson’s agency, Equity Sports, announced that the deal running through 2027 is worth $12.615 million,

The Washington Commanders re-signed kicker Zane Gonzalez, who took over the job after a series of injuries and roster moves and helped the team reach the NFC championship game, gaining some national attention along the way for playing with obsessive-compulsive disorder. The contract is for the 2025 NFL season and worth the league minimum salary of $1.17 million, multiple sources reported.

The Buffalo Bills released punter Sam Martin in their first offseason move to free up salary cap space before the NFL’s new business year opens next week. Martin, 35, had one year left on his contract, and his release saves Buffalo approximately $2 million in salary cap space.

BOXING

Olympic boxing bronze medalist Cindy Ngamba said she is “very disappointed” that she won’t make her professional debut today after her promoter announced her withdrawal because of a medical issue.

Ngamba was set to face Kirstie Bavington in a super welterweight bout as part of an all-female card headlined by the Natasha Jonas vs. Lauren Price welterweight world title unification fight at London’s Royal Albert Hall.

“Cindy Ngamba will not be making her professional debut on Friday night after a pre-fight medical examination revealed an issue requiring further investigation,” Boxxer said in a statement. “The health and safety of fighters remains the highest priority, and Cindy will undergo further tests in the coming days.”

At the Paris Olympics, Ngamba, 26, became the first athlete competing as a refugee to earn a medal when she took bronze in the middleweight category.

Boxxer did not respond to a request for more information.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Utah hired Dallas Mavericks assistant coach Alex Jensen to be its men’s basketball coach.

Jensen, who was the top target for the Utes, replaces Craig Smith, who was fired in late February in his fourth season at Utah. Jensen has been an NBA assistant coach for 12 seasons. He spent 10 years with the Utah Jazz before joining Dallas in 2023. Utah will be his first head coaching job since leading the Canton Charge in the NBA D-League from 2011-13.

TENNIS

Marketa Vondrousova, the 2023 Wimbledon champ, will take a few months off the tour because of continuing problems with her surgically repaired left shoulder, she wrote on social media.

Pregnant players on the women’s tennis tour now can receive 12 months of paid maternity leave, and those who become parents via partner pregnancy, surrogacy or adoption can get two months off with pay, under a program sponsored by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia and announced by the WTA.

DEATHS

Fred Stolle, a winner of two Grand Slam singles titles and 17 major doubles trophies, has died, Tennis Australia said. He was 86.

Stolle was an “iconic figure” in tennis as a player and later as a commentator for Australia’s Nine Network and U.S. broadcasters, Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley said. Tiley did not provide a cause of death.

The 6-foot-3 Stolle was part of Australia’s successful era in the 1960s as tennis progressed from an amateur to professional sport.