before completing the trip

Geregistreerd op: 07 Mrt 2018 Berichten: 510

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. Danny Ainge Jersey . -- The Champions Tour players put on long-sleeved pullovers and tried to figure out which way the wind was swirling from hole to hole. They left Shoal Creek with little separation at the top. Jay Haas, Mark Calcavecchia, Olin Browne and Chien Soon Lu shared the first-round lead at 3-under 69 on Thursday in the Regions Tradition, the first of the 50-and-over tours five majors. Nine others were within two strokes of the lead. With windy, unseasonably cool conditions, it was the highest score for first-round leaders at the Tradition since three players tied at 3-under in 1990 at Desert Mountain Club in Arizona. The course absorbed more than an inch of rain heading into Thursday and the players were allowed to lift, clean and place their golf balls. The Tradition hasnt been so tightly bunched in the top spot after the first round since a seven-way tie in 2008 and the average score was about two strokes higher than last years first round. "The winds were very tricky," the 60-year-old Haas said. "I kind of had a handle on it, I thought, on the front nine. And then by the time we got to about 13, 14, 15, I had no idea which way the wind was blowing. "With all the trees and the valley and everything, you get a lot of swirling winds and you just have to be extra careful and think it out and then hit the shot that youre planning to hit, which I did most of the time." Calcavecchia birdied three of the final nine holes and came within a whisker of a fourth and the solo lead on No. 18. "When it was about 10 feet short, I didnt think it could miss," he said. "It was just dead centre the whole way and the last couple of feet, it was still in the middle of the hole and it just dribbled just a shade to the right and singed the right lip. "That would have been nice to walk that one in to end the day. Those are the ones that make the rest of the day go by a little bit better, dinner taste a little better." Haas capped a run of three straight birdies with a 50-foot putt on the 12th hole to move to 5 under. He finished with six birdies and had bogeys on three holes, including two of the next four after the long putt. The sun actually shone much of the day but the wind and wet course did make for some challenges. "There was no roll in the fairways," Calcavecchia said. "We had to play lift and place. The ball was just caked with mud every time you picked it up in the fairway. The wind was very tricky." Lu did manage to birdie the final hole and two of the last three to grab a share of the lead The native of Taiwan has two second-places in the Tradition, 2010 in Oregon and 2012 at Shoal Creek. Calcavecchias history at the scenic course has been up and down, though he says its his favourite stop on the Champions Tour. He lost a six-shot lead in 2011, including a pair of weekend double bogeys on No. 12. This time he avoided a bogey on his most troublesome hole but tweaked a rib on a shot from the fairway bunker. "The 12th hole is not my favourite out here, Ill tell you that right now," Calcavecchia said. Brownes only win on the 50-and-over circuit came in the 2011 U.S. Senior Open Championship. He missed five months of last season with a stress fracture in his back, playing only 14 events. Browne, who tied for second at the ACE Group Classic in February, had a bogey-free round with his final birdie on No. 17. "It was blustery and it was difficult to gauge, but my caddie and I did a decent job," Browne said. Steve Elkington, Willie Wood and Corey Pavin were one stroke off the lead at 70 and six players were two shots back. DIVOTS: Defending champion David Frost had a 72. ... Tom Lehman, the 2011 and 2012 winner, opened with a 73. ... Fred Couples shot 74. ... Bart Bryant withdrew after a death in the family while Craig Stadler and D.A. Weibring dropped out because of back problems. Stadler played nine holes before withdrawing. Rick Fehr replaced Bryant, and Doug Garwood filled Weibrings spot. Jaylen Brown Jersey . For the first time all night, as the Raptors were on the clock to make the 20th overall selection, no one had the slightest idea what was about to happen. No leaks, no whispers, nothing. Bill Russell Jersey . Vonn punctuated her near-perfect season in perfect fashion Friday, earning her fourth overall World Cup title with a dominating giant slalom victory. http://www.authenticcelticsproshop.com/Bob-Cousy-Jersey/ . But qualifying for her first Scotties Tournament of Hearts after years of falling short in tough Manitoba provincial championships is as good as consolation prizes get for the 29-year-old from Winnipegs Fort Rouge Curling Club.The Calgary Flames hope to put together a winning streak as they host the Phoenix Coyotes at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Wednesday night. The Flames recently halted a two-game slide with Saturdays road victory over Los Angeles, giving Calgary its third win in six games after suffering through an 0-5-1 drought from Nov. 5-16. Mike Cammalleris backhander with 23 seconds left lifted the Flames to a 2-1 win over the Kings on Saturday. Cammalleri took a pass from Mikael Backlund in front of the net and managed to shovel a backhander past Ben Scrivens as he fell to the ice. Flames rookie goaltender Karri Ramo was able to hold strong the rest of the way to seal the win. Blair Jones also scored and Ramo made 21 saves in the win, which came with many of the fathers of the Flames players in attendance at the Staples Center. "To get the win was special. We wanted to get a big one for them (the fathers) tonight, and against a good team," Cammalleri said. Calgary will try to make it two wins in a row on Wednesday, but the club hasnt been able to string together consecutive victories since beating Montreal and New Jersey on Oct. 9 and 11, respectively. That two-game stretch still stands as the Flames only winning streak of the season. Mark Giordano will be back in the lineup. Giordano has missed the last 18 games since suffering a broken ankle on Oct. 21 in Los Angeles. Despite playing in only eight games in 2013-14, Giordano still ranks third in scoring among Calgary defensemen this season with nine points on two goals and seven assists. Beginning with tonights tilt, the Flames are playing two straight and four of their next five games at home. Calgary is 4-5-3 at the Saddledome this season. Kevin Mchale Jersey. Phoenix recorded a 4-2 home win against the Flames on Oct. 22, but Calgary has claimed four of the past six encounters in this series overall and three straight at the Saddledome. Phoenix began a four-game trip in impressive fashion on Tuesday, as the Coyotes slammed the Edmonton Oilers, 6-2, at Rexall Place. Mikkel Boedker and Mike Ribeiro each had one goal and two assists to help Phoenix match its highest goal output of the season. The Coyotes also scored six times in a 6-3 triumph over visiting Tampa Bay on Nov. 16, but then lost three of their next four games before Tuesdays rout in Edmonton. Radim Vrbata, Shane Doan and David Moss each added one goal and an assist for the Coyotes and Keith Yandle also lit the lamp. Mike Smith stopped 31-of-33 shots in the victory after yielding four goals on 35 shots in Saturdays 5-2 home loss to Chicago. "Obviously after the Chicago game, we wanted to make sure we came out and played more to our identity, especially on the road," said Coyotes coach Dave Tippett. "Were starting a tough trip, we wanted to come in and play well tonight. I thought for the most part, we did a lot of good things." Coyotes backup goaltender Thomas Greiss could give Smith a rest tonight by getting the start in the second game on back-to-back nights. Greiss has one career appearance against Calgary, as he took the loss for San Jose in a 4-1 setback on March 6 of last season. Phoenix is 7-5-2 on the road this season and will try to win its third straight as the guest in tonights clash at the Saddledome. The Coyotes will continue this swing with Fridays outing in Vancouver before completing the trip Tuesday in Colorado. Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys Jerseys From China Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys ' ' '