A tale of two openers: A slow walk and a fast drive

Saturday brought two opening days east of Interstate 75 for sports fans.

In the morning, the Lakewood Ranch National Golf Club opened for play for the first time. A foursome (above) takes advantage of Saturday’s good weather and the limited-time reduced greens fees to get in a round. The facility off Uihlein Road is a little east of the Premier Sports Campus at Lakewood Ranch.

Later in the day, the sounds of racing cars returned to Desoto Speedway as the  3/8-mile banked oval began its 2017 season with a full race card that had the fans coming through the front gate at midafternoon (right).

For more photos from both events, check out Bradenton.com

Herald Staff Report

This story was originally published January 22, 2017 at 1:36 AM with the headline "A tale of two openers: A slow walk and a fast drive."