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cut in from the right and slotted through Stekelenburgs

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LONDON, Ont. Cheap Tigers Jerseys Authentic . - Winter was not kind to the London Hunt and Country Club, and Stacey Lewis heard stories about the poor condition the course was in. But when the No. 1-ranked golfer on the LPGA Tour arrived for this weeks Canadian Pacific Womens Open, she didnt notice the effects of the snow and cold weather. "The fairways are probably some of the best fairways weve had to hit off all year," Lewis said. "You really cant tell." Sixteen of 18 greens were unplayable, and course superintendent Jayson Griffiths said four or five were "over 90 per cent injured," including the 18th hole. Of the four acres of greens, three of them were gone. Players who walked the course in recent weeks could tell there had been damage, and they raved about the improvement. "Coming into this week I was pleasantly surprised of how well (the greens) were rolling," Canadian amateur Brooke Henderson said Wednesday. "I cant imagine the amount of work they must have put in to get this course in such immaculate condition." Griffiths said it took "countless hours." Those were spent preparing, seeding, watering, maintaining and waiting. The result was something he is proud of going into this tournament, which features nine of the top 10 players in the world. "Its just a humbling experience, it really is, and its just a lot of hard work," Griffiths said Tuesday. "I dont think there was a weekend where both Brent McDougall and Deb (Dale), my assistant, left this golf course. We were watering from morning till night if need be. It was 24/7, 14 weeks to get here. It was just a lot of extraordinary efforts." Griffiths began to realize in November how bad a winter this could be, and over time he saw the "worst-case scenario" develop. With the ground frozen "well below four feet" and no irrigation system as a result, he and his staff had a three-day window in April to get the greens back up to par. A crew of about 18 people seeded, germinated, watered the greens through 10,000-square-foot covers and waited. For a while, the course had just two greens to play on and 16 temporary ones, and members only got to play all of them beginning June 27. "We keep calling it the fifth season: patience," Griffiths said "We know that foot traffic on new seedlings, it just would not work. We would not be where we had if we had traffic." By the time players saw the course this week, it was tournament-calibre again. Thats essential with a field that features Lewis, LPGA Championship winner Inbee Park, two-time defending champion Lydia Ko and Suzann Pettersen, the top four players in the world. Tournament director Brent McLaughlin of Golf Canada said the field is "second to none," as usual. "We obviously want the best," he said on a conference call last week. "We are so lucky to have a long laundry list of such great players." Among the top-10 womens golfers, only 2010 champion Michelle Wie is not here. Wie withdrew last week because of a hand injury. Wies absence makes it a bit easier of a tournament on the other top players, but Ko — who won this event the past two years, in Edmonton and Vancouver — would like to beat the best. "We would never say that, Oh its good that shes out," Ko said on a conference call. "Its really unfortunate that she has a fracture. Shes such an awesome player, and it wouldve been great to have Michelle there." Eight former champions will tee off Thursday: Ko, LPGA Championship runner-up Brittany Lincicome, Pettersen, Katherine Hull-Kirk, Cristie Kerr, Meena Lee, Karrie Webb and Laura Davies. Kerr won this tournament in 2006, the last time it was at London Hunt and Country Club. How the course plays out the rest of the week, Griffiths said, will depend on how much it rains. Storms moved through the area Wednesday, and there were more in the forecast for Friday. Ko, a 17-year-old from New Zealand who seems to bring her best golf to Canada, said no matter the weather its important to play the courses giant greens as if theyre in sections. "If the pin is on the left side you kind of want to think that the green is only that left half," she said Wednesday. "But its going to be tough especially when you miss a couple shots, because even around the greens its not like there is fairway and then rough. Its just rough straight on." Its a difficult course because of that, but Canadian Jennifer Kirby expects a low-scoring tournament. "The rough is thick, but its not too, too bad," Kirby said. "I think that the scores will be pretty low, but the greens are massive, so I guess it all depends on where they put the pins." --- Follow @SWhyno on Twitter Cheap MLB Jerseys . Yup, he definitely needed this one. Craig homered twice and had three RBIs Wednesday night to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 7-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Craig went 4 for 5 and Yadier Molina added three hits for the Cardinals, who salvaged the final game of a three-game set in hopes of staying within shouting distance of front-running Milwaukee in the NL Central. Cheap Tigers Jerseys . These days, just about anyone can get a taste of the friendship that has blossomed between All-Star Kevin Durant and Oklahoma City Thunder teammate James Harden, most famous in the past two weeks or so for the elbow to the head he took from the Los Angeles Lakers Metta World Peace. LONDON -- Manchester City substitutes Jesus Navas and James Milner recovered a 4-2 victory at Fulham on Saturday after the visitors threw away a two-goal lead in a rain-lashed English Premier League encounter. Yaya Toure put City in front with his fourth goal from a free kick this season and captain Vincent Kompany fired in Citys second just before halftime. But five minutes after the break City conceded possession near the Fulham penalty area, and Kieran Richardson completed a rapid counterattack to begin the hosts fightback. In wild, windy conditions on the banks of the River Thames, Fulham was gifted an equalizer in the 69th. Kompany inexplicably sliced the ball past his own goalkeeper Joe Hart, who was recalled after being dropped in league games since October. But Navas restored Citys lead in the 78th when he slotted through goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburgs legs. And City ripped through the Fulham defence again five minutes later as Milner scored to condemn Fulham to an eighth loss in nine league games. While Fulham is next from bottom, City rose provisionally into second place, a point behind Liverpool. "It was a really difficult match because the pitch wasnt good and it was very windy," City manager Manuel Pellegrini said. City can be overtaken by either Arsenal or Chelsea, who play on Monday, but the teams status as the leagues most formidable attack was reinforced here against the most porous defence. While City has a leading-leading 55 goals, Fulham has conceded a high of 32. But away from the Etihad Stadium, City has averaged only a point a game this season, and the intensity from the hosts was greater from the outset. The City defence was easily beaten after 13 minutes, as Adel Taarabt forced Hart into making a fine diving save -- one of several that convinced Pellegrini to retain the goalkeeper for Thursdays match against Liverpool. "At the moment he deserved to play today and he also deserves to conttinue," Pellegrini said. Cheap MLB Jerseys Authentic. "When I put (Costel) Pantilimon in the starting XI I spoke with Joe and he understood that he was not in a good moment. "Maybe seven games after, one month after, hes working very hard, and I thought that he deserved another opportunity, and I think he did it well." Citys opener came in the 23rd minute from a set-piece. After Silva was brought down on the edge of the area, Toure curled in a free kick off the underside of the crossbar. City extended its lead in the 43rd. Silvas free kick was met by the unmarked Martin Demichelis at the far post. An initial header was saved well by Stekelenburg, but the ball was pushed straight to Kompany to fire in. "The goals that we concede, from set plays, its not good enough defending, especially the one just before halftime," Fulham manager Rene Meulensteen said. "I was hoping the experience would kick in a bit from some of these players, to steady the ship." That appeared to happen at the start of the second half. Silva was tackled near the Fulham penalty area by Scott Parker, allowing Fulham to surge forward and score. Taarabt rampaged down the left flank past Demichelis who squared into the centre for Richardson to sweep the ball in. City responded by taking off ineffective striker Dzeko, and bringing Navas on, leaving Negredo as the lone striker. But Hart was beaten again, this time by his own player. Sascha Riether whipped a cross into the penalty, and Kompany managed to turn the ball into his own goal. Kompanys blushes were spared, though, by Navas. The winger raced onto Silvas throughball, cut in from the right and slotted through Stekelenburgs legs from a tight angle. And Milner ensured a comfortable conclusion for City, meeting Negredos cross and netting his first league goal of the season. Fulham did not risk playing Dimitar Berbatov after the striker picked up a groin injury in training. Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' '