HOYLAKE, England -- Rory McIlroy had everything go his way Thursday in the British Open. Nike Roshe One NM BR . A lovely summer day in England with abundant sunshine and minimal wind allowed him to attack Royal Liverpool. He made half his six birdies on the par 5s and kept bogeys off his card. And on the day Tiger Woods made a promising return, McIlroy took the lead with a 6-under 66, his best score in nearly two years at a major. Now if he can only find a way to get to the weekend. McIlroy either set himself up for a good run at the claret jug or another dose of Friday failures. In what already has been an unusual year for golf, no trend is more mysterious than Boy Wonder going from awesome to awful overnight. Six times in his last eight tournaments, he has had a nine-hole score of 40 or higher on Friday that has taken him out of the mix. "Its not like Ive shot good scores in first rounds and havent backed them up before," McIlroy said. "Im used to doing that. I just havent done it recently. Well see what tomorrow brings and what weather it is and try and handle it as best I can. "Hopefully," he said, "its just one of those things and Im able to turn it around tomorrow." Woods also would like to keep moving in the right direction. He got off to a troubling start with two quick bogeys, nearly made another one on the fourth hole, and then looked like a 14-time major champion when he ran off five birdies in six holes toward the end of his round for a 69. Not bad for guy who had back surgery March 31, who started taking full swings only a month ago and who had not played in a major in 11 months. "It felt good to be back out there competing again," Woods said. Such pristine weather -- how long it lasts is the big unknown -- gave just about everyone a chance to score. Matteo Manassero broke par in The Open for the first time since he was a 16-year-old amateur. He began his round by hitting into a pot bunker, blasting out to the fairway and holing out from 160 yards for birdie. He made five birdies on the back nine, three on the par 5s. That made him low Italian -- barely. Francesco Molinari and Edoardo Molinari have games that are nothing alike, though they shot the same score. They were in a large group at 68 along with Jim Furyk, Sergio Garcia, Brooks Koepka, Shane Lowry and Adam Scott. Scott stands out as the No. 1 player in the world, and because he was the only player in the top 10 who played in the afternoon when the wind made Hoylake tougher. Scott went out in 31 and was slowed only by two bogeys on the back nine. Even in tame conditions, the British Open can mete out punishment -- to players, to spectators and even a golf club. Phil Mickelson was trying to get back to even par when he hooked his approach to the 18th beyond the out-of-bounds stakes down the right side of the hole and had to scramble for a bogey and a 74. He hasnt broken par at a major since winning at Muirfield last summer. That still doesnt top the bad day of Ernie Els. His opening tee shot hit a spectator in the face, and the sight of so much blood shook the Big Easy. When he got to the green, he missed a 1-foot putt, and then carelessly tried to back-hand the next one into the hole and missed that one. The triple bogey sent him to a 79. Henrik Stenson knocked a 30-foot birdie putt off the 12th green and made double bogey, and then took two hacks out of the shin-high grass left of the 17th fairway. Walking to his next shot, he snapped his gap wedge over his thigh like a baseball player -- Bo Jackson comes to mind -- who had just struck out with the bases loaded. Through all this activity, two names came to the forefront -- McIlroy and Woods, both trying to restore their games from different circumstances. McIlroys only victory this year was at the BMW PGA Championship, where he started his week by breaking off his engagement with Caroline Wozniacki. He could have had more chances to win except for that 40 on the front nine at Quail Hollow, the 42 on the front nine at The Players Championship and the 43 on the back nine at the Memorial. He met with Jack Nicklaus, and the topic of his freaky Fridays came up. "I didnt mention it to him," McIlroy said. "He mentioned it to me -- How the hell can you shoot 63 and then 78? No, I think what we talked about was just holding a round together. And he was never afraid to make a change in the middle of the round ... to get it back on track." The trick for McIlroy is to not get derailed in the second round. For the year, he is 55-under par in the first round and 15-over par in the second round. Woods gave a light fist pump when he rolled in a 30-foot putt from just off the green on No. 11. He then hit a beautiful approach to 6 feet for birdie on the 12th. That put him under par in a tournament for the first time since March 9, the final round of Doral. OK, the sample size is small -- that was the last tournament he played until returning to Congressional three weeks ago after back surgery. Even so, he was playing with such rhythm late in his round that he might have wanted to keep going. That makes Friday a big day for Woods, too. Air Huarache Womens .This time, they took down one with a more impressive resume.Al Horford scored 21 points, including a huge jumper with just under a minute remaining, and the streaking Hawks won for the 10th time in 11 games with a 93-86 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Monday night. Nike Roshe One Gray .com) - Darya Domracheva of Belarus secured her third gold medal of the Sochi Olympics Monday after gliding to victory in the womens 12.OTTAWA - Torontos Patrick Chan is giving the world championships a miss, but he isnt finished with competitive figure skating just yet. Chan captured two silver medals at last months Sochi Winter Games — mens singles and the inaugural team event. But he doesnt have the urge to resume training to defend his world title when the event is held in Saitama, Japan, later this month. However, the 23-year-old said hes committed to chasing a fourth world championship at some point. "Honestly, I know in my heart I want to win another world championship ... I really dont feel like this is the end," Chan said during a conference call. "(After Sochi) I asked myself if I could see myself training at the immediate moment, like right now could I go into training like I did before the Games? "I really didnt see that as a possibility. I already went to a world championships after an Olympic Games (2010 in Vancouver) so I really wanted to enjoy coming home and enjoying the medal and enjoying it with the rest of Canada this time because I didnt have that chance last time. I really wanted to enjoy myself with these two medals." Ice dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, who also earned two silver medals in Sochi, wont compete at the world championships either. Both were non-commital about their future but the expectation is the two-time world champions and 2010 Olympic champions will retire. "We werent sure how wed feel after the Olympics in Sochi and we ended on such a high note," Virtue said. "We were so pleased with our performances, both short and free dance, and just thrilled with the experience we had at the Olympics it just seems like the right way to end the season. "Kind of a nice way to say good-bye to those two programs." Virtue and Moir finished second in Sochi to Americans Meryl Davis and Charlie White, with the two teams sharing the same coach, Russian Marina Zoueva. Afterwards, the Canadians publicly questioned Zouevas loyalties. "Some of the things we were honest about at that press conference would come as no surprise to Marina," Virtue said. "She was very aware of the situation. "We travelled to Moscow and did two shows after the closing ceremonies and Meryl and Charlie also did their shows and it was a really nice way to cap off the Olympics with spending time with the two of them in a care-free, fun environment where we could just talk about our experiencees. Nike Roshe LD-1000 SP. I think we probably talked more in that day than we have in the past few years because the pressure was off and we were able to just chat as friends again. It was a nice way to end that chapter with them." While their competitive seasons are over, Moir, Virtue and Chan wont be hanging up their blades. All three will tour and perform with Stars on Ice. "I think were more comfortable trying to take advantage of some of the opportunities after an Olympic Games," Moir said. "Were very much at peace with where were at." Chan was second at the 2010 world championships after finishing fifth at the Vancouver Games, winning his first global crown the following year. The 23-year-old had a glorious opportunity to win gold in Sochi after 19-year-old rival Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan struggled in his free skate. But Chan couldnt take advantage. Twice he faltered during jumps, putting his hand on the ice to keep from falling, and stumbled on a third in settling for the silver behind Hanyu. Chan said he, Virtue and Moir attended a function Monday with Caroline Ouellette, a member of Canadas gold medal-winning womens hockey team. Chan admitted he was somewhat envious of Ouellettes medal. "A gold medal is really, really nice and its different and I definitely get a spell of jealousy," he said. "At the same time I have to look at the experience I had and how different of a sport figure skating is. "These silver medals were not easy to get, they were probably just as hard as a gold medal is. One or two mistakes too many and just in that moment it came out of my grasp. Its a bit of a reminder but again its also a good challenge to kind of stay positive and look at the brighter side of things." Canada will send a 17-member team at the world championships. Olympian Kevin Reynolds, who was 15th at Sochi, will lead Canadas three-man singles team in Japan when the competition begins March 24. Both of Canadas women from the Sochi Games are entered in the worlds. Kaetlyn Osmond was 13th in Russia, and Gabrielle Daleman 17th. Other Canadian Olympians who will compete at Saitama are Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford, who were seventh in pairs; Kirsten Moore-Towers and Dylan Moscovitch, who were fifth; and Paige Lawrence and Rudi Swiegers, who came 14th. Ice dancers Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje, seventh at Sochi, and Alexandra Paul and Mitchell Islam, 18th, will compete at the worlds. Cheap Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys ' ' '
