singles before his AL-high 28th double in the from zgr123's blog
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. Gareon Conley Raiders 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." David Sharpe Womens Jersey . The game was the first of two international friendlies that Canada is playing during the international break, with the second game against Slovenia set for Tuesday in Celje. Canada looked uncomfortable defensively throughout the game, and every free kick that came into Canadas penalty box looked like ending up in the back of the net. Eddie Vanderdoes Raiders Jersey .What they got was a bevy of players chipping in to pick up the slack.Josh Smith scored 18 points and James Harden added 17 as the Rockets used a balanced scoring effort to outlast the Mavericks for a 99-94 victory.ARLINGTON, Texas -- Rick Porcello went to his normal spot on the Detroit Tigers bench after the eighth inning. He had every intention to finish what he started. With a few pitches to spare, Porcello got his first career shutout, a 6-0 three-hitter over the sinking Texas Rangers on Thursday night for Detroits seventh consecutive victory. "This is extremely special to me," Porcello said. Porcello (10-4) threw 105 pitches through eight innings. With relievers moving around in the bullpen, manager Brad Ausmus and pitching coach Jeff Jones discussed what to do with the right-hander, who did his best to avoid eye contact and then needed only 10 pitches in the ninth to get three groundball outs. "You just worry about the pitch count. We dont want him going much above 115, maybe top out at 120," Ausmus said. "A 15-pitch inning is a good inning, so its kind of a tall task to ask him to get through the inning, but he was able to do it." Porcello limited the Rangers to three singles and benefited from three 4-6-3 double plays (second baseman Ian Kinsler to shortstop Eugenio Sanchez to first baseman Miguel Cabrera), including one after Texas had consecutive hits in the sixth. "The ability to get two outs with one pitch is huge. I was able to execute those sinkers," Porcello said. "Without those guys, I dont know that I would have been able to go nine." The right-hander struck out six and walked three, throwing 72 of his season-high 115 pitches for strikes. It was only the second complete game for Porcello in 164 major league starts -- all for the Tigers since 2009, and he has won at least 10 games in each of his six seasons. Miguel Cabrera had four hits and Austin Jackson hit a two-run single for the AL Central leaders, who completed a three-game sweep. While the Tigers have the longest winning streak in the majors, Texas has the longest losing streak at eight in a row. The Rangers, who last lost eight in a row in August 2005, are 1-6-1 their last eight series overall and 16-22 at home. "We know were a way better team than the way were playing right now," said shortstop Elvis&nnbsp;Andrus, who grounded into that double play in the sixth. Amari Cooper Raiders Jersey. . "Hes got a pretty good sinker. We all knew that. He made the right pitch at the right moment." Rangers rookie Nick Martinez (1-5) allowed six hits and walked five of the 18 batters he faced in 2 1-3 innings. Detroit went ahead to stay in the second when Torii Hunter drew a bases-loaded walk before Cabreras deep inning-ending flyout with the bases loaded. Victor Martinez drew a walk to start the third before a double by Nick Castellanos set up Jacksons two-run single. After two more walks, Nick Martinez was pulled and Kinsler greeted reliever Scott Baker with an RBI single that made it 4-0. Kinsler, the three-time All-Star for the Rangers who was traded to Detroit for Prince Fielder last off-season, homered in his first at-bat Tuesday in his return to Texas as an opponent. Kinsler went 6 for 14 in the series with four runs and four RBIs. With two hits in all three games, Kinsler extended his streak of multihit games to five and is hitting .302 on the season. He has 31 multihit games, one behind Houstons Jose Altuve for the most in the majors. J.D. Martinez had a sacrifice fly for the Tigers, but went 0 for 4 to snap his 14-game hitting streak that was the longest active run in the majors. Cabrera had three singles before his AL-high 28th double in the eighth drove home Kinsler. "Were playing good baseball as a team, and were confident as a group right now," Kinsler said. "Its just a lot of fun playing ball that way." NOTES: It was the fourth shutout for the Tigers this season. Texas was held scoreless for the fourth time. ... Rangers LHP Derek Holland, on the DL since off-season left knee surgery, took fielding practice off the mound. He is scheduled to throw a simulated game Saturday in Arlington. Holland said he feels great, "like I can do everything." ... Texas GM Jon Daniels said his team cant focus on all the injuries -- a major league-high 14 players on the disabled list. He said a big thing right now is player development at the big league level with the youngsters having to play. Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys ChinaCheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '
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