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Killarney, Ireland (Sports Network) - Jeev Milkha Singh fired an eight-under 63 on Thursday to take the first-round lead of the Irish Open at Killarney Golf & Fishing Club. cheap jerseys . Alexandre Kaleka posted a six-under 65 and is alone in second place, which was one stroke better than former U.S. Open champion Michael Campbell, Christian Nilsson and Marcel Siem. Now that Northern Ireland has become golfs new powerhouse, it was somewhat shocking that none of its three major champions in the last two seasons threatened the top of the leaderboard. British Open champion Darren Clarke, playing for the first time since his major breakthrough at Royal St. Georges, shot a two-under 69 and is tied for 27th. Walking up the 18th fairway, Clarke was greeted much like he was a few Sundays prior. "I felt like I was winning a tournament - its been very special," said Clarke. "I didnt come here to make up the numbers. I hit a lot of good shots and had lots of chances, but didnt quite have the speed of the greens." U.S. Open winner Rory McIlroy, an eight-shot victor at Congressional last month, was four-under par through 10 holes, but a bogey at 11 and a disastrous double at the last sent him to a one-under 71. The final member of the Northern Ireland major trio, 2010 U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell, battled some back issues en route to a one-over-par 72. "It generally loosens out, but didnt really this morning and I got a little stuck with a few irons shots," said McDowell. "Its not alarm bells, just a little bit of stiffness. I might have a couple of medicinal pints tonight just to loosen the back." Before this Northern Irish surge, Padraig Harrington led the Irish charge at majors. He won three in two years from 2007-08 and was the runner-up at this championship last year, but fell all the way down to 64th in the world rankings after some tough years. The struggles continued on Thursday. Harrington only managed a two-over 73 and shares 114th place. "Golf is a strange game," said Harrington, a Dublin native. "At one-under (after 10), I was thinking four-under and it turned around very quickly." Things never turned sour for Singh on Thursday. He broke into red figures with a birdie at the fourth, but his play at the par-five seventh jumped him up the leaderboard in a hurry. Singh drained a 30- foot eagle putt, then birdied No. 8 to reach four-under par for the championship. Singh, who shared sixth last week at the Nordea Masters, continued his excellent form right after the turn. He birdied the 10th and 11th holes, then holed out from a bunker at the par-four 12th to keep his consecutive birdie streak alive at three. It ended with a par at the 13th, but he tapped in a short birdie putt at the 14th to get to eight-under par. Singh had a chance at 59 with four birdies in his last four holes and the dream of golfs immortality crept into his head. "I dont know whether it was a good thing or a bad thing, but 59 did cross my mind," said Singh, a three-time European Tour winner. Singh, who battled wrist and back injuries in recent years, couldnt get the birdies he needed and in fact, parred his last four, but it was enough to get the first-round lead. "I hit a lot of good shots, plus, I think the putting was amazing today," Singh said in a televised interview. "I just holed everything. I said if I can birdie the last four holes, Ive got a chance for 59. I had a chance, I didnt do it, but Im still happy with eight-under." Defending champion Ross Fisher headlines a group tied for sixth place at four- under 67. NOTES: Colm Moriarty leads the Irish contingent as he is part of the group that shares sixth...Eighty-nine of the 150 starters on Thursday shot even-par or better. cheap jerseys from china . Bouchards high stick hit Blue Jackets winger Matt Calvert in the face following a faceoff in the Wilds 4-2 season-opening victory over Columbus. Calvert lost teeth and needed stitches on his lip but returned and got an assist in the third period. nfl jerseys china . The team says Paul is day to day and is questionable for Mondays game against New Jersey. Paul is averaging 18.0 points, 8.4 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 37.3 minutes in nine games for the Clippers, who beat Miami and the Lakers in their last two games.TAMPA, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Lightning are disappointed, though not discouraged. Despite being swept in the first round of the NHL playoffs, the young team led by Steven Stamkos has plenty of reasons to feel encouraged about the future. One year after struggling to the 28th-best record in the league, the Lightning finished second in the Atlantic Division and posted the third-best mark in the Eastern Conference. The Montreal Canadiens eliminated them from the post-season in four games, but coach Jon Cooper said none of his players should hang their heads because the Lightning had a successful season. "Its been a transition year for us in an unbelievably positive way," said Cooper, whos completing his first full season behind the bench. "I dont want this series to be looked at as they were a failure," Cooper added. "Those guys got swept in the first round, but they had a heck of a year." Stamkos missed 45 games because of a broken right leg but still amassed 25 goals and 40 points in 37 games to help Tampa Bay return to the playoffs for the first time since 2011. The 24-year-old captain has scored more goals than any NHL player since the start of the 2009-10 season. His absence from early November to just before a late-season trade sent Martin St. Louis to the New York Rangers created unexpected opportunities for several young players who helped the team stay afloat while Stamkos was out. Goaltender Ben Bishop set a franchise record with 37 victories before a left elbow injury sidelined him for the final week of the regular season and the playoffs. Rookie Ondrej Palate led the team with 59 points and another first-year player, Tyler Johnson, set a club record for rookies with 24 goals. In all,, Tampa Bays rookies combined for 201 points, more than twice as many for first-year players from any other team. wholesale nfl jerseys. "Its been well documented what this team has gone through this year," Cooper said, adding that few people gave the Lightning much of a shot at making the playoffs when the season began. Stamkos said its important young players learn from their post-season experience. The Lightning dropped the first two games to the Canadiens at home and didnt feel they played their best hockey until the third period of Game 4 in Montreal on Tuesday night. "Everyones probably feeling a little embarrassed. But in the long run, you probably had to go through something like this," Stamkos said. "I think we will learn," the captain added, "that sacrifice, determination and work ethic is what wins at this time of year." Ryan Callahan, the former Rangers captain obtained in the deal that sent an unhappy St. Louis to New York, agreed. "This means nothing if as a group (the Lightning) doesnt realize how hard the playoffs are and how consistent you have to be moving forward," Callahan said. "Its a waste if you dont learn from it." Eight rookies made their playoff debut in Game 1, while another key player -- goalie Anders Lindback, standing in for Bishop -- entered the series with just 13 minutes of post-season experience. Six first-year players notched their first playoff points in the opener, won by the Canadiens 5-4 in overtime. The next step is returning next season and proving this years success wasnt a fluke. "The amount of youth that we have here is very promising," Stamkos said. "We want to be a perennial playoff team. This is a start." cheap nfl jerseys cheap jerseys ' ' ' |
