foot birdie on the 18th to wrap up his front nine and earn back th

Sixteen years ago, Tim Clark got on a plane for a place hed never heard of before and couldnt find on a map even if he had a GPS. Hed just won the U.S. Public Links title, graduated from North Carolina State and was embarking on his professional career. He landed in Moncton to play the New Brunswick Open and without the benefit of a practice round, won the tournament. A week later, in London, Ont., again without the benefit of a practice round – this time because hed spent the previous three days celebrating his first win – he did it again, capturing the CPGA Championship. Those two wins jump-started his pro career and so it was appropriate that the South African golfer returned to Canada to notch another victory, the RBC Canadian Open. This time around, he knew how to get to Montreal although the celebration could be similar. "The irony of it, it could be the place of my first win and my last," he said, throwing out a little dark humour perhaps pointing to the looming long putter ban in 2016. "Thats pretty interesting. To come back here, yeah, full circle, thats 16 years ago when I was just cutting my teeth as a professional." It seems as if Clark has learned a lot in that period. He put together a sensational Sunday back nine at Royal Montreal to reel in and pass Jim Furyk to earn the victory. Clark started the day three behind Furyk and was still that many back when they headed for the back nine. But birdies on 11 and 12 got him to within one. Two more birds on the 14th and 15th put him into the lead and standing in the fairway on 18, he was a shot ahead and had the tournament in his hands.However his approach landed 44 feet from the hole and his first putt wasnt really cozy; he left himself a stomach-turning six feet. But when Furyk missed his 12-foot birdie putt, the 38-year-old Clark made no mistake. "That was a big swing there," he said, admitting that he was thinking more of the tournaments hed lost than the ones hed won while standing over his putt. "I didnt want to have to go into the playoff knowing that he can take it over the water (on 18) and I have to play out to the right." Thats right, chalk up one for the short hitters – Clark averaged just 269 yards off the tee (which made clearing the water on the 18th at Royal Montreal impossible). And give another tick mark to the long putter posse. Clark is a card-carrying member of both outfits and a win from either of those groups is becoming rare these days on the PGA Tour. "I didnt quite have it with my golf swing or the putter," Clark said of his opening nine holes, "but making the turn I was still only three back so I was still in the tournament and I knew it looked like Jim wasnt going to make any mistakes so I knew I had to make birdies and sometimes that can be easier when you know you have to be aggressive. At that point, [I had] nothing to lose and like I say, I suddenly just got hot and went with it." Furyks loss marked the 16th time in his career that hes frittered away a 54-hole lead, including the last seven consecutively. He hasnt won since 2010 and at 44, he will likely have fewer and fewer chances. "Im obviously disappointed," he said. "Ive got no one to blame but myself. It was a benign day and 69 is not a bad round by any means, and only making two birdies, I let a couple guys back into the tournament that if they go out there and fire a 66 or 67, its a done deal." Now Clark is a talented player, but hes been a little short on PGA Tour wins. Hes managed to earn $22 million yet this was just his second victory. It took him 206 starts to notch his first win, the Players Championship in 2010, where he also came from three back on the last day. After that he struggled, underwent elbow surgery and missed basically an entire year. And then he had kids and hes also had to worry about what to do with his long putter, which hes used since college. So its not a big surprise that he needed another 78 starts to grab the second victory. But this was a tournament he was exceedingly proud to win, even if he did manage to drop the trophy shortly after it was presented. "Its certainly one Ive wanted to win for a long time," he stated. "Any national open championship to me is special, particularly to those people for their country." That would include his wife, Candice, who happens to be from Toronto originally. Clark knows a thing or two about national opens too. While hes short on PGA Tour wins, he does have a handful of national titles, including his own, the South African Open. And he has a Scottish Open and an Australian Open. Those, of course, go along with that all-important first win, the New Brunswick Open. Full circle indeed. Rollie Fingers Brewers Jersey . The team of Lars Nelson, Daniel Richardsson, Johan Olsson, and anchor Marcus Hellner cruised to victory in the 4x10 km event, winning in a time of one hour, 28 minutes, and 42. Lorenzo Cain Brewers Jersey .4 seconds left and dribbled up court, weaving through Pitts defence. https://www.cheapbrewers.com/999y-ben-gamel-jersey-brewers.html . -- Washington Redskins linebacker Brian Orakpo is going to the Pro Bowl as a replacement for San Francisco 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks. Jake Faria Brewers Jersey . The above paragraph could be rewritten, verbatim, with Marcus Stromans name in place of Romeros. After both men had disastrous outings in Tuesdays 18-4 mauling at the hands of the Tigers, its clear that neither is the best option to begin the season in Toronto. Hernan Perez Brewers Jersey . The deals were announced on Friday. Beckham will receive $4.175 million in base salary, while De Aza will receive $4.25 million. Beckham hit .267 with five home runs and 24 RBIs over 103 games last season, his fifth with the White Sox.PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- Tiger Woods says its way too early to hit the panic button. Then again, its too early by his standards to be getting up on a Saturday morning to play a PGA Tour event. But at least hes still playing. Already off to the slowest start of his career, Woods had to scramble on the back nine just to make the cut in the Honda Classic. Woods hit only two greens over his final nine holes. His lone birdie on the back nine was on the 13th hole, when he missed the green with a wedge and then chipped in for birdie. His par on the final hole gave him a 1-under 69 -- the first time in six rounds he had broken par at PGA National -- and left him 11 shots behind Rory McIlroy. Woods tees off at 7:38 a.m. Saturday. He should be done before the leaders even show up at the course to eat lunch. "Its a grind. Theres no doubt about it," Woods said. Golf looks anything but that to McIlroy, the 24-year-old from Northern Ireland who has yet to play a 72-hole tournament this season when he didnt have a chance going into the weekend. McIlroy ran off six birdies in a 10-hole stretch for a 4-under 66. He was at 11-under 129, one shot ahead of Brendon de Jonge, who had a 64. Woods began his year at Torrey Pines, where he his eight pro victories included a U.S. Open, and he didnt make it to Sunday. He failed to make the 54-hole cut (which kicks in when more than 78 players make the cut) and tied for 80th. Then it was off to Dubai, where he had won twice. He was never a factor and tied for 41st, his worst showing in seven appearances. Anything wrong? "Its only three events," Woods said, hiding his annoyance at the question. "So not that many rounds into it." Woods has played nine rounds of competition in the last three months. He has broken 70 only twice -- a 68 in the first round of Dubai and a 69 on Friday at the Honda Classic. Until this year, he had never started without at least one finish in the top 20. Woods wasnt ready to rule out a turnaround even this week. "I would like to obviously hit it better than I have been, and especially today. I didnt hit it very good today," he said. "But again, I fought out a number, which is always a good thing. Somehow would like to put together a good weekend. Were all bunched in there..dddddddddddd Anything can happen this weekend." Being 11 shots behind in a 79-man field typically does not constitute one of those "anything can happen" weekends, though stranger things have occurred. Regardless, he looks to be miles away from the real action at the Honda Classic. And that starts with McIlroy. Boy Wonder won this tournament two years ago to reach No. 1 in the world for the first time. That was good. As the defending champion, he was so frustrated with his game and the mounting expectations that he walked off the golf course after 26 holes. That was bad. "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." He was referring to Dubai, where he started with a 63 and then pressed too hard. As for getting off to a good start, he ostensibly meant his season. This will be the third straight stroke-play event of the year where he is a major presence on the weekend. Friday was another step in the right direction, despite 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. "Watching Rory play is amazing when hes swinging like this," Masters champion Adam Scott said. McIlroy is swinging freely and with confidence. He is starting to walk with a bit of swagger. From tee to green, his game looks solid. And on the green, it looks even better. McIlroy 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." ' ' '