PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- Golf is starting to feel easy again for Rory McIlroy, who bounced back from a sloppy start Friday in the Honda Classic for a 4-under 66 that gave him his first 36-hole lead on the PGA Tour in 18 months. Tiger Woods is making it look hard. McIlroy recovered from two early bogeys by running off six birdies in a 10-hole stretch. He looked solid from tee-to-green, hit putts with growing confidence and wound up with a one-shot lead over Brendon de Jonge. "I knew that with the way Im playing and the confidence in my ability, I would be able to get those shots back," McIlroy said. "I didnt panic. I didnt try to do anything different. Just tried to keep playing the way I was." He was at 11-under 129. Woods felt fortunate to still be playing. He was over the cut line after scrambling for a bogey on the 11th hole and wound up with a 69 to make the cut on the number. Woods hit only two greens over his last nine holes. His lone birdie on the back nine was a chip-in on the 13th after he missed the green with a wedge. "It was a grind, theres no doubt about it," Woods said. "I didnt hit it very good. Just one of those days where I fought out a number, which was good." Because 79 players made the cut, there will be another cut to top 70 and ties on Saturday. Woods missed the 54-hole cut the last time he played on the PGA Tour at Torrey Pines. David Hearn (70) of Brantford, Ont., is tied for 23rd at 3 under. Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., did not make the cut after shooting a 72 and a 70. Calgarys Stephen Ames was also out after a 73 and a 75. And at least hes still playing the weekend. That wasnt the case for Phil Mickelson. Playing the Honda Classic for the first time in 12 years, he had a 71 to miss the cut. So did Henrik Stenson, the No. 3 player in the world, with rounds of 73-76. McIlroy knew the feeling a year ago, when he took a steep fall from No. 1 in the world while changing equipment and trying to live up to high expectations, leading to his snap decision to walk off the course after 26 holes last year at the Honda Classic. A growing gallery in warm sunshine at PGA National saw a familiar game -- the McIlroy who won the Honda Classic two years ago. Swinging freely and putting beautifully, McIlroy hit his stride on his back nine with four birdies in five holes, including the par-5 third when he smashed a drive some 35 yards past Adam Scott and had only a 6-iron into the green on the 539-yard hole. De Jonge, who has never won on the PGA Tour, played early in the afternoon when the wind picked up and put eight birdies on his card in a 64. He was tied for the lead when he missed the green with a wedge on No. 9 and made bogey. Even so, hell be in the last group Saturday with McIlroy. "I think I might have got a little bit of switch in the wind," de Jonge said. Russell Henley had a 68 and was three shots behind. Russell Knox of Scotland had the low round Friday at 63 and was four shots back along with Lee Westwood (65). But the focus is clearly on McIlroy, who each week looks to be getting better. "This year is obviously a lot different," McIlroy said. "Got off to a good start. Im confident. Im playing well. This is the second straight tournament Ive opened with a 63, so if I can keep building on these good starts, then hopefully I can start converting." After a 63 in Dubai, he said he was pressing too much in the final round and wound up in a tie for ninth. Friday was another step in the right direction, despite two errant tee shots on the 11th and 12th holes that led to bogeys. His round changed with a tee shot into 6 feet on the 16th hole for a birdie, and then a 12-foot birdie on the 18th to wrap up his front nine and earn back the two shots he had dropped. After a 45-foot birdie attempt on the second hole rimmed all the way around and out of the cup, Boy Wonder took off. He two-putted the par-5 third. He hit a wedge into 4 feet on the next hole. He rolled in a 30-foot birdie putt down the hill at the par-5 fifth. Then, after a tough par save on the sixth, he sank another 30-foot birdie putt that McIlroy made look routine. The gallery is kept 100 yards from the green, so the only applause came from a few marshals. It sounded like a tap-in for par. McIlroy reacted that way, too. "Watching Rory play is amazing when hes swinging like this," Scott said after his own great recovery. The Masters champ put shots in the water on the 16th and 17th holes, both times making double bogey, and it looked as though his return to golf after a six-week break would be a short one. But the Australian ran off four birdies on the front nine for a 70. It will take a lot more to catch McIlroy, who has taken only 49 putts through two rounds. "Thats probably the lowest putting total after 36 Ive probably had, maybe in my career," he said. "So its obviously going in the right direction." . 1-9 on TSN. With more than 65 hours of exclusive live coverage, TSN delivers all the action beginning with Draw 1 on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 2 p. . Setting United on its way to a 2-0 victory, Rooney sent the ball high from inside the halfway line over goalkeeper Adrian after just seven minutes. "Its just instinct, Ive turned and had a quick look and seen the goalkeeper off his line," Rooney said.
http://www.cheapnhlrangersjerseysauthen ... agr-jersey. Tortorella told The Vancouver Province hell be cheering for Team Sweden to win gold when they take on the defending Olympic champions on Sunday morning. "I hope Sweden wins, cause I dont think Hammer (Dan Hamhuis) is going to play, judging by whats happened. . Minutes before the final whistle of Sporting Kansas Citys 3-0 victory over a shorthanded Montreal Impact squad on Saturday afternoon, Saputo tweeted: "Our fans deserve better. . PAUL, Minn – The clock lingered for what seemed like an interminable two minutes and 51 seconds before Mark Fraser finally escaped to the bench during a wildly one-sided first period of an eventual loss to Boston.VICTORIA - Myles Bell scored twice in three minutes as the Kelowna Rockets went on to defeat the host Victoria Royals 5-3 on Saturday in Western Hockey League action. Bells goals came midway through the first period and put the Rockets ahead 2-1 after falling behind early. Mitchell Wheaton, Rourke Chartier and Marek Tvrdon also scored for Kelowna (37-6-0), the leagues top club, while Madison Bowey chipped in with two assists. Ben Walker led the Royals (30-16-2) wish a goal and an assist and Axel Blomqvist and Brandon Magee scored the others. Kelownas Jordon Cooke made 27 saves for the win. Victorias Patrik Polivka started in net, but was pulled 1:38 into the second period after giving up four goals on just 12 shots. Coleman Vollrath stopped 20-of-21 shots in relief. --- OIL KINGS 7 COUGARS 6 (SO) PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. -- Henrik Samuelsson scored the winner and Reid Petryk had a pair of goals in regulation as Edmonton came from behind to defeat the Cougars. Cody Corbett, Riley Kieser, Edgars Kulda and Curtis Lazar also scored for the Oil Kings (31-13-1), who trailed 6-2 heading into the third period. Todd Fiddler had three goals and an assist for Prince George (17-24-7), Marc McNulty scored twice and Jordan Tkatch scored the other. Edmontons Tristan Jarry gave up six goals on 21 shots and was replaced by Tyler Santos to start the third period. Santos made four saves to earn the win while Ty Edmonds stopped 36 shots in a losing cause for the Cougars. --- PATS 4 RAIDERS 2 PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. -- Morgan Klimchuk scored three times and Daniel Wapple made 38 saves as Regina doubled up the Raiders. Dryden Hunt also scored for the Pats (24-18-5) and Dyson Stevenson tacked on two assists. Sawyer Lange and Reid Gardiner scored for Prince Albert (22-21-2), which lost for the first time in three outings. Cole Cheveldave turned aside 23-of-27 shots for the Raiders. --- ICE 5 BRONCOS 2 SWIFT CURRENT, Sask. -- Sam Reinhart had two goals and an assist as Kootenay downed the Broncos. Luke Philp and Jaedon Descheneau each had a goal and two assists for the Ice (24-20-4) and Tim Bozon added a goal and an assist. Swift Current (23-18-6) got goals from Glenn Gawdin and Nathan Burns. Kootenays Mackenzie Skapski made 34 saves for the win while Landon Bow stopped 28-of-33 shots for the Broncos. --- WHEAT KINGS 4 BLADES 3 SASKATOON -- Rihards Bukarts scored twice, including the winner, as Brandon edged the Blades for its third straight win. Richard Nejezcheleb and Ryan Pilon also scored for the Wheat Kings (25-17-4) and Rene Hunter had two assists. Logan Harlaand recorded a pair of goals for Saskatoon (13-32-4) and Connor Sanvido had a goal and an assist.dddddddddddd Brandons Curtis Honey made 33 saves while Alex Moodie turned away 43-of-47 shots for the Blades. --- REBELS 5 HURRICANES 2 RED DEER, Alta. -- Patrik Bartosak stopped 35 shots and Scott Feser scored twice as the Rebels handed Lethbridge its fourth straight defeat. Brady Gaudet scored once and assisted on two more for Red Deer (23-21-2) while Mason McCarty and Lukas Sutter had the others. Riley Sheen and Reid Nemeth scored for the Hurricanes (9-34-5). Jonny Hogue started in net for Lethrbidge but left at the 16:36 mark of the first period, giving up two goals on six shots in the process. Jarrod Schamerhorn took the loss, stopping 35 shots in relief. --- TIGERS 6 HITMEN 2 MEDICINE HAT, Alta. -- Curtis Valk and Miles Koules each scored twice as the Tigers defeated Calgary. Blake Penner and Tyler Lewington also scored for Medicine Hat (26-15-3) and Trevor Cox chipped in with three assists. Jake Virtanen and Adam Tambellini supplied the scoring for Calgary (30-11-5) while forward Greg Chase was ejected in the third period for a checking-from-behind major. Marek Langhamer made 22 saves for the Tigers as Chris Driedger stopped 22-of-27 shots for the Hitmen. Kyle Dumba made 10 saves on 11 shots in relief. --- THUNDERBIRDS 3 BLAZERS 2 KAMLOOPS, B.C. -- Taran Kozun made 30 saves as Seattle slipped past the Blazers for its sixth straight win. Kevin Wolf, Justin Hickman and Roberts Lipsbergs scored for the Thunderbirds (28-14-5) while Ryan Gropp had two assists. Joe Kornelson had both goals for Kamloops (10-31-5) and Cole Ully assisted on each of them. Bolton Pouliot stopped 27 shots for the Blazers, who lost for the seventh straight time. --- SILVERTIPS 4 WARRIORS 3 (SO) EVERETT, Wash. -- Manraj Hayer scored the winner and Cole MacDonald had a goal and an assist in regulation as the Silvertips downed Moose Jaw. Everett (25-14-7) also got goals from Patrick Bajkov and Kohl Bauml. Tanner Eberle scored twice for the Warriors (13-26-7) and Torrin White had the other. Austin Lotz made 16 saves for the Silvertips while Moose Jaws Justin Paulic stopped 36 shots in a losing cause. --- AMERICANS 3 CHIEFS 1 KENNEWICK, Wash. -- Philip Tot scored twice as Tri-City handed Spokane its first regulation-time loss in eight games. Brian Williams also scored for the Americans (21-21-4) and Parker Wotherspoon tacked on two assists. Keanu Yamamoto scored for the Chiefs (27-14-4). Spokanes Eric Williams turned aside 20-23 shots in defeat. ' ' '
