DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Rory McIlroy hit wedge into 5 feet for birdie on the 18th hole for a 2-under 70 to regain the outright lead in the Dubai Desert Classic on Friday. Kyle Richardson Jersey . The chief challenge for McIlroy came from an American -- but it wasnt Tiger Woods. Brooks Koepka, who earned his European Tour card last year by winning three times on the Challenge Tour, made seven birdies against no bogeys for a 65 that left him one shot behind McIlroy going into the weekend. Woods, meanwhile, hit only four fairways and had to rely on some key putts to salvage a 73. He was in a tie for 44th, eight shots out of the lead. McIlroy was at 11-under 133. He appeared to be in control at Emirates Golf Club, leading by three shots after his birdie at No. 10. But he drove wildly into the waste area on the par-5 13th and the par-4 16th holes, both leading to bogeys, before recovering on the 18th. "It was nice to birdie the last and at least give myself a one-shot lead going into tomorrow," McIlroy said. "I will just go back tonight and sort of regroup and realize I am still leading the tournament. I was more frustrated on the back nine, as the back nine is where you want to build your score after playing the harder front nine." Danny Willett of England, who began his week by jumping out of a plane at 4,000 metres (13,000 feet), had a 65 and shared third place with Damien McGrane of Ireland (70) and Julien Quesne of France (70). Henrik Stenson, who won the Race to Dubai and the FedEx Cup last year, had a 67 and was four shots behind. Woods, trying to join Ernie Els as the only three-time winners of the Dubai Desert Classic, opened with a birdie on his third hole and the highlights were few after that. His only other birdie was on the par-3 11th, with a shot into 2 feet. Instead of going to the practice range after his round, he conducted a clinic with Mark OMeara. "I was on so many parts of the golf course today that I got to meet so many people, signed so many autographs out there and gave a lot of balls away," Woods joked with the crowd. "Seriously, I was just hitting it sideways." He even joked about the 79 he shot last week at Torrey Pines to miss the 54-hole cut on a course where he had won eight times previously, including a U.S. Open. "I have to tell everyone here I never made a 10-footer for not shooting 80," Woods said. As for his round on Friday, he said he putted well, but had too many putts from 40 and 50 feet, which is "not exactly the best thing." "I just didnt hit it close enough and didnt hit it well," Woods said. "I struggled with it and had a bad warm-up, as well. Just one of those days." Koepka is in his first full season on the European Tour. He came close to winning the Frys.com Open last autumn in America before struggling on the back nine. He is roommates in Florida with another American on the European Tour, Peter Uihlein, who bogeyed his last hole to miss the cut. "Winning is winning," said Koepka, who has four Challenge Tour wins. "Ive been able to do it on the Challenge Tour, so hopefully I can get it done with week." It should be more difficult with McIlroy, a two-time major champion, starting to regain his form. McIlroy ended a year without winning in December when he edged Adam Scott at the Australian Open. He finished one shot behind in Abu Dhabi two weeks ago. "Im leading the golf tournament. Ive been in this position before and Ive went on to win," McIlroy said. "Ive led from the front quite well in tournaments that I have won. I feel like I am still playing well and I know the course just as well as anyone else. Im now expecting to go out there and shoot two good scores over the weekend and hopefully lift the trophy." Willett, along with his wife and caddie, began the week with an assisted sky dive on Monday in a charity event. He feels it might have helped with his golf. "If you stand on the first tee, trying to hit a drive into the fairway seemed a little bit less nerve-racking than jumping out of a plane at 13,000 feet," Willett said. "You never know, might have prepared us quite well." Bradley Bozeman Jersey . -- Chris Crawford hit a 3-pointer with 1:36 left to put Memphis ahead to stay, and the 21st-ranked Tigers beat seventh-ranked Louisville 72-66 Saturday, sweeping the season series from the Cardinals. L.J. Fort Jersey . However, Therrien added that Galchenyuks status for next Wednesdays game against the Detroit Red Wings is questionable. Galchenyuk has been out since Jan. 6 with a broken right hand.Quarterback Travis Lulay starts his first game of the season tonight when the B.C. Lions visit the Ottawa Redblacks, almost a full year after injuring his throwing shoulder last September. Watch the game live on TSN1, TSN3, TSN4, TSN5 and on TSN GO tonight at 7pm et/4pm pt. You can also listen to the game on TEAM 1040 in Vancouver and TSN Radio 1200 in Ottawa. It was hoped Lulay would be healthy in time for training camp after undergoing off-season surgery, but he instead takes charge nine games into a campaign that has seen the Lions wobble to 5-4 record in the CFLs ultra-competitive West Division. "Im excited. This is why you play the game - to have an opportunity to play," Lulay said this week. "I dont take a minute of it for granted. If I learned anything during (the last year), it was that I feel fortunate to be able to do what I do. I just love being out here with the guys." Lulay said going on the six-game injured list at the start of the regular season gave him a chance to refocus, and it was towards the end of that period when he finally started to feel like he was getting back to normal. "I knew it was a process ... I didnt know exactly when that process would come to an end," he said. "I do feel confident in my ability to play well. "There was so much unknown going into (training) camp, knowing there was a chance that I may be ready early (and) knowing there was a chance it might take a while into the season." Lulay has dressed the last three games as a backup -- seeing action late in the last two -- and with the team coming off a bye week, head coach Mike Benevides felt the time was right for the 30-year-old to take over from Kevin Glenn. "Hes as good as Ive seen him in a long, long time ... a long, long time," Benevides said of Lulay. "Hes not going to be as smooth as he wants to be a month from now, but he looks as good as Ive seen in a long time." Lulays return comes at a critical juncture for B.C., which has been consistently inconsistent so far in 2014. The Lions have road victories over the Calgary Stampeders (8-1) and Saskatchewan Roughriders (7-2), but are an uncharacteristic 2-3 at home. Giving the Lions a much-needed boost in a variety of areas is Stefan Logan, who is leading the league with 1,264 combined yards, the only player in the CFL with more than 1,000 yards in that department. Sam Koch Jersey. Defensively, the Lions are still paced by Solomon Elimimian who, despite leaving early a couple weeks ago, still paces the league in tackles with 74, 26 more than Ottawas Jasper Simmons who is second on the list. Elimimian practiced on Wednesday and will start tonight. The Redblacks, all alone in last place in the dismal East Division where not one of the four inhabitants has even a .500 record, have just one win in nine tries to this point and that came by only a single point against visiting Toronto back on July 18 (18-17). Since then it has been a downhill run for Ottawa, losing most recently to a woeful Montreal group on the road in Week 10, 20-10. In that game, the Redblacks actually scored the first points of the contest, a 30-yard field goal by Brett Maher, but from there the team was held scoreless until the final frame when Henry Burris hooked up with Wallace Miles on a 28- yard TD pass play. Burris, who recently moved up the CFLs all-time passing list, finished the contest 21-of-34 for 245 yards, shaking off three sacks along the way. The signal caller was one of two players credited with rushing attempts for the Redblacks as he posted eight runs for 29 yards, two less than Chevon Walker who carried the ball seven times. Miles managed to pull down seven passes for a 101 yards, but even that effort was not enough to offset a staggering 16 penalties for a loss of 135 yards in the outing. The Redblacks continue to bring up the rear in terms of scoring this season with only 15.1 ppg, the team generating just 294.6 ypg which is second-lowest in the CFL after 10 weeks of action. On the defensive side of the ball, there is no team as lenient as Ottawa, with the squad giving up a hefty 412.8 ypg, close to 80 ypg more than the closest competitor (Montreal). As far as an all-time series is concerned, British Columbia is on top by a count of 39-18-2, taking into consideration only regular-season meetings dating back to 1961. The most recent matchup between the Lions and a team representing the city of Ottawa was back on Sept. 8, 2005 when BC hammered the opposition, 61-27, on the road. The Lions, who are set to host Ottawa on Oct. 11, have won nine consecutive meetings and 14 of the last 15 overall. ' ' '