ekansekans's blog: "df"

RENO, Nev. -- Alexandre Rocha says one of the reasons he has never won on the PGA Tour is that he often gets off to slow starts. That wasnt a problem Friday when the 34-year-old Brazilian opened birdie-birdie-birdie-eagle on the way to the top of the second-round leaderboard in the Reno-Tahoe Open. "I was fortunate to get off to the hottest start I think Ive ever had in my professional career," said Rocha, who finished the day with seven birdies, three bogeys and the eagle. He had a two-day total of 24 points in the modified Stableford scoring system that rewards aggressive play with eight points for double eagle, five for eagle, two for birdie, zero for par, minus-one for bogey and minus-three for double bogey or worse. J.J. Henry had his second eagle of the tourney, and John Mallinger had six birdies Friday to move into a tie for second at 22. First-round leader Andres Romero of Argentina and Arjun Atwal of India had 21 points, and 2010 Reno-Tahoe winner Matt Bettencourt followed with 20. John Daly was seventh with 19. He birdied six of his last 10 holes. Rocha has won nine times around the world since 2000, when he was an All-America selection at Mississippi State and recalls once opening a round with 12 consecutive 3s. "But never as a professional either in Europe or on the PGA Tour have I started with 5 under through four holes," he said. "It always helps to create momentum, which is something Ive been missing all year long." Starting on the back nine on the 7,472-yard Montreux Golf & Country Club layout, Rocha made a pair of 10-foot birdie putts and added a third when he hit his approach to 4 feet on the 429-yard, par-4 12th. After holing an 11-foot eagle putt on the 518-yard 13th, he bogeyed two of the next three holes, but rallied and settled for his final birdie on the 636-yard, par-5 eighth when he missed another eagle attempt from 14 feet. Mallinger, who has four finishes in the top 25 this year but also is seeking his first PGA Tour win, is among those in the field who had never before played in the Stableford format last used on tour at the 2006 International in Colorado. "Im actually having a tough time keeping up with the points," Mallinger said. "Im just trying to get used to it ... getting the score out of my mind and just playing golf." "But I like it," he added quickly, noting that he jumped from 38th place to fifth when he eagled his penultimate hole in the opening round. "It should be an exciting finish." Daly, the winner of the 1991 PGA Championship and 1995 British Open, hasnt won on tour since the 2004 Buick Invitational. He had two bogeys and a double bogey but reeled off three straight birdies making the turn and closed with two more -- the last a 2-footer after nearly holing out his approach for an eagle on the par-4 ninth. "For me, this is a great format," said Daly, who has made the cut only once in five previous tries at Reno but now has made eight cuts in 10 events this year, his best a tie for 12th last month in the Greenbrier Classic. "You can get real aggressive. Theres a lot of birdie holes out there. The fairways are generous," the long-ball hitter said. Padraig Harrington, who was tied for 23rd in a group with David Duval with 14 points, said hes had trouble with "a lot of calculations" on the mountain course where the ball travels farther on the edge of the Sierra Nevada than it does at sea level. "Ive got quite a bit of ground to make up," said the Irishman who has three major titles. "Im a little frustrated to be honest." "Youve got to get the yardage, youve got to add on whatever pace you are off the sprinkler, then youve got to add on or take off for downhill. And then youve got to add on for the pin and then youve got carry in over a bunker, say, and then youve got to adjust it by 5 per cent in the morning and maybe a little more in the afternoon." Mike Weir and Camilo Villegas were among those who failed to make the cut in the field vying for a $3 million purse while the worlds best compete at the World Golf Championships Bridgestone Invitational at Akron, Ohio. Henry has three top-10 finishes this year, including a tie for third at the Byron Nelson Championship and is bidding for his second career win on the PGA Tour. "As much as youd like to be playing in Akron, this is a fun place to come," Henry said. He bogeyed his first two holes Friday said he was able to recover partly due to the scoring system when he rolled in a 25-foot eagle on the 636-yard eighth. "A birdie and a bogey is better than two pars. And if you can make a couple of eagles, youre going to jump over a lot of guys." J.B. Holmes, tied for eighth with Hunter Haas after tallying all but one of his 18 points on Friday, said he tries not to look at the leaderboard. "Youve just got to keep it going knowing that its not strokes," said Holmes, who had nine birdies and a bogey. "Somebody could be six spots back and make an eagle and all of a sudden theyre right there." Cheap Jerseys Supply . In total, TSN Canadiens delivers a package of 18 Canadiens match-ups from the 2013 NHL regular season to fans living in the teams broadcast region. Cheap Jerseys Direct . The sixth-seeded Czech Zahlavova Strycova got past Canadas own Marie-Eve Pelletier 7-6 (7-2), 6-1 on the indoor carpet at PEPS Laval University. Zahlavova Strycova defeated New Zealands Marina Erakovic in last years Quebec City finale. http://facialhairstyleshq.info/cheapjerseys.html . The 25-year-old Kruger made four birdies and overcame a bogey on the 17th to finish with a 14-under total of 274. Jorge Campillo of Spain and Marcel Siem of Germany were two shots back in a tie for second. LOS ANGELES -- The San Antonio Spurs mowed down another opponent, using their guile under pressure to close out another perfect playoff series. Tim Duncan scored 21 points, Tony Parker added 17 and the Spurs beat the Los Angeles Clippers 102-99 on Sunday night to win their second-round matchup 4-0 and advance to the Western Conference finals. "They played great, they made it tough on us," Parker said. "The last 2 minutes we got the stops we needed. Everybody did something." The Spurs extended their winning streak to 18 games and their playoff record to 8-0, tying the third-best post-season streak in franchise history. "Until we go all the way, I cant compare this team," said Parker, who has won three NBA titles with the Spurs. "Were just trying to stay focused." Danny Green and Gary Neal added 14 points each, and Manu Ginobili and Thiago Splitter had 11 each. "We needed a game like that. It arrived at the perfect time," Parker said. "We battled. We executed our plays, made big baskets." San Antonio could find out as soon as Monday night who it will play next. Oklahoma City leads the Lakers 3-1 in their series, with Game 5 on Monday. "We havent done anything yet. Weve won two rounds," Duncan said. "We havent done anything so you cant qualify or classify our team as anything other than that weve gotten this far." The Spurs trailed much of the fourth until tying the game twice in the final 3:32 before their 30-something trio of Duncan, Parker and Ginobili took over most of the scoring. "Their experience showed with their execution," Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro. "Tim looks great and the rest of the guys are feeding off that." Chris Paul had 23 points and 11 assists, Blake Griffin added 21 points, and Eric Bledsoe had 17 for the Clippers, who blew a six-point lead in the fourth quarter when Paul faltered in the final two minutes, usually a time when the All-Star guard is at his best. "We had our opportunities and we couldnt convert," Del Negro said. "We made our mistakes at some key moments and that was the difference." Both nursing injuries, Griffin and Paul combined to score 21 of the Clippers 28 points in the third quarter when they took their first lead of the game. In the fourth, Bledsoe came up big, scoring 11 in a row, to extend the lead to 90-85 with 5:38 remaining. After Reggie Evans missed two free throws, Green hit a 3-pointer to tie it at 92. Duncans hook put the Spurs in front 96-94 before Paul tossed up a one-handed shot that rose to the top of the backboard before dropping straight in as he crashed into a baseline photographer.dddddddddddd He made the free throw to put the Clippers ahead by one. Parker scored consecutive baskets and the Spurs regained the lead, 100-97, with 1:47 left. Pauls two free throws drew the Clippers within one. After a timeout, Paul drove the basket and lost the ball. He fouled Green, who made the first and missed the second to keep the Spurs ahead for good. "I messed up, bad decisions," Paul said, holding his 2-year-old son on his lap. "I should have shot it and I missed the shot, all on me." Paul then missed another shot, and Mo Williams fouled Parker, who missed the first and made the second with a second left. "To let my team down in that situation is probably the toughest part of the season," Paul said. "We scrapped, we played hard. At the end of the day, playing hard isnt always enough. You got to execute. On that last play, at least we could have gotten a shot off and I turned the ball over." DeAndre Jordan added 10 points. Paul had best performance of the series after sub-par efforts in the first two games. Hed been playing with a strained right hip, while Griffin has a sprained right knee, an injured left hip and got stitches for a cut lip in the first half. Neither team led by more than five points in the third period. Duncan had 10 points for the Spurs. Bledsoes putback slam dunk gave the Clippers 75-74 lead going into the fourth. The Spurs stretched their lead to 12 points with Duncan sitting out the opening 7 minutes of the second quarter. The Clippers closed on a 14-6 run to trail 51-47 at halftime. Paul got it started with a 19-foot jumper and ended it with a 3-pointer. Early in the spurt, Griffin ran into Ginobilis shoulder, fell and one of his top teeth went through his lip. He left the court with 2:20 remaining to get two stitches on the inside and outside of his lip. Los Angeles began the game on a 9-4 run before San Antonio scored 14 unanswered points, reminiscent of its 24-0 third-quarter spurt Saturday that led to the Spurs eventual 10-point victory in Game 3. Notes: Duncan, Parker and Ginobili played in their 130th post-season game together, the most played as an active trio in the league. ... Duncan finished with nine rebounds, just short of notching his 135th career playoff double-double. ... The Clippers have lost all seven of their playoff series after losing Game 1. ... The Spurs had a 40-36 edge on the boards, while the Clippers outscored them in the paint, 56-50. ' ' '