Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland made two eagles over his final four holes to grab a share of the first-round lead at the Chubb Classic on Friday in Naples, Fla.

Clarke and Australian Michael Wright posted 7-under-par 65 at Tiburon Golf Club’s Black Course with two rounds to go. Tied for third one stroke behind are defending champion Justin Leonard, Scott Parel, Rob Labritz and Argentina’s Ricardo Gonzalez.

Clarke already had a busy round when he reached the par-5 15th hole, with five birdies and two bogeys on his card. He reached the green in two on that hole, and again at the par-5 18th, sinking eagle putts both times.

“The one on 15, I hit driver, 3-iron from 237 (yards) to 12 feet and holed it for eagle,” said Clarke, 57. “Then the last one I hit driver, 3-wood. The 3-wood was from 241 or something straight into the wind. Hit it to 15 feet behind the hole. So they were both pretty good. Take those any day.”

Wright, 51, is newer to the tour and is well-positioned to go for his first win.

He sank nine birdies, including four of his last five holes, helping absorb a double bogey at the par-4 13th. He said his son Charlie carried his bag and read most of his putts for him Friday.

“This is his first Champions event and his first event ever was three weeks ago in Australia,” Michael Wright said. “He’s doing a great job. I love having him on the bag.”

Leonard posted four birdies on each nine. After a bogey at No. 17, he bounced back at No. 18 when he stuck his approach shot a few feet from the hole to set up birdie.

“I hit a lot of greens today,” Leonard said. “I think I may have only missed one or two greens. Did make a couple bogeys, but I played well on the par-5s and got off to a good start. I kind of did all the things you need to do around here.”

Leonard won by four shots here in 2025.

Two shots off the pace at 5-under 67 are Bo Van Pelt, David Toms, Germany’s Alex Cejka and South Korea’s K.J. Choi.

–Field Level Media

William Byron will need to rely on a backup car on Sunday when he tries to become the first driver to win the Daytona 500 in three consecutive years.

Byron’s preferred No. 24 Chevrolet took enough damage during qualifying Thursday to relegate him to a backup car for the Great American Race.

The bright side for Byron? He drove a backup car in 2024 when he won the first of his two Daytona titles.

“We’ve won this race with a backup car, so I’m not super worried on that aspect,” Byron said. “But it does suck that you put a lot of work into the primary and you don’t get to race it.”

The Hendrick Motorsports driver is attempting to achieve a three-peat that Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough, Sterling Marlin and Denny Hamlin had chances at over the years before each fell short in Year 3.

Byron, 28, will start 39th in the 41-car pack.

–Field Level Media

North Carolina State, which is 5-1 after a loss this season, is hoping to rebound Saturday afternoon when it hosts Atlantic Coast Conference rival Miami in Raleigh, N.C.

The Wolfpack (18-7, 9-3 ACC) have won six of their last seven games but are coming off a 118-77 loss at No. 24 Louisville.

Head coach Will Wade said it was “hard to find silver linings” in a 41-point defeat.

“They whipped us every way possible,” Wade added. “We got torched. We got hammered.

“But we have to move forward.”

In the wake of that loss, Wade is surely focused on NC State’s defense, which ranks 14th in the ACC (74.3 points per game). The Wolfpack are also 12th in rebounding margin.

Offensively, NC State ranks third in the league (85.3 ppg), and Quadir Copeland, who averages 13.9 points, leads the ACC with assists 6.9 per game.

Darrion Williams leads NC State in scoring at 14.4 per game, and Paul McNeil and Ven-Allen Lubin are two more players to watch. They both average 13.6 points, and McNeil ranks second in the league in 3-pointers and first in percentage (43.0), while Lubin ranks first in field-goal percentage (68.0).

Meanwhile, Miami (19-5, 8-3) is coming off an impressive 75-66 home win over No. 11 North Carolina.

Miami has won two straight games and four of five. The Hurricanes lead the ACC in field-goal percentage (50.9) and rank fourth in scoring offense (83.8) and fifth in scoring defense (69.8).

The Hurricanes’ problem is that they sit 14th in 3-point shooting and 16th in 3-point defense. Additionally, Miami lacks depth, although guard Tru Washington might return Saturday after missing three games for personal reasons.

Malik Reneau (19.8 ppg) is tied for fourth in the conference in scoring, Ernest Udeh Jr. is second in rebounds (9.6) and Tre Donaldson is tied for third in assists (6.1).

First-year head coach Jai Lucas said the Hurricanes — who are 5-1 on the road — are wary of NC State, which is 10-3 at home.

“They are coming off a big loss,” Lucas said. “They’re going to be breaking fire.”

–Field Level Media