asy the front nine is at Royal Troon, the Scot once famously said if a player is not under par at the turn, he might as well keep walking to Prestwick and have l

The Green Bay Packers started the season, as they always do, with championship aspirations.The Philadelphia Eagles, after crushing Pittsburgh 34-3 to improve to 3-0, looked like they were emerging as a surprise challenger.Instead, Monday nights game at Lincoln Financial Field could serve as an elimination game. The Packers have lost four in a row to plunge to 4-6 and 14th place in the NFC playoff race. Even with an upset victory over the Eagles, they would remain two games behind the division-leading Lions after their Thanksgiving Day win over Minnesota.The Eagles have crashed back to Earth with losses in five of their last seven games. At 5-5, they are in ninth place in the NFC and trail Washington (6-3-1) for the final NFC wild-card spot.For the Packers, this is unexpected territory as they join New England as the only teams to qualify for the playoffs in each of the past seven seasons.Head coach Mike McCarthys confidence, however, hasnt waned.We have the right kind of men, he said. This group of men, were going to get to where we want to go. Im fully confident in that. The process, the approach, the preparation, were going to get this the way it needs to be. This locker room is awesome.Weve got to win. We get that. Its about results. But everything leading up to that, Im very pleased with. So were just going to keep stoking our fire and were going to do everything we need to do this week and prepare to go beat Philadelphia.For the Eagles, their up-and-down play isnt surprising considering rookie quarterback Carson Wentz, the No. 2 overall pick in this years draft, is learning on the job. That doesnt mean there isnt disappointment.They lost last week at Seattle by 11 points but their other four losses have come by a combined 19 points.Its something that we kind of in the back of our minds sort of planned for, first-year head coach Doug Pederson said. Still, to be 5-5 and to be in the thick of it is a credit to him and the rest of the team and how well theyve played. Weve had our chances. Weve had moments to pull out some of these close games that weve been in. Its just something that it is what it is right now. Hes learning. Every rep that he takes, hes learning. Its going to make him a much better quarterback down the road.If there are big advantages for the Eagles, its defense and venue. The Eagles rank fourth in the league with 18.6 points allowed per game. Theyve allowed a total of 38 points in going 4-0 at home.The Packers, meanwhile, gave up 47 points at Tennessee in Week 10 and 42 more at Washington in Week 11. Green Bay hasnt allowed back-to-back 40-point games since 1953 or four consecutive 30-point games since 1952. The Packers have lost four in a row on the road for the first time since 2008.Injuries are a factor for both teams.The Eagles top running backs, Ryan Mathews and Darren Sproles, were knocked out of the Seattle game. Sproles (broken rib) is expected to play while Mathews (knee) has been ruled out. That could leave the Eagles running game in the hands of rookie Wendell Smallwood.Top cornerback Leodis McKelvin is in the concussion protocol.The Packers had seven starters out by the end of the Washington game, including both starting cornerbacks and both starting inside linebackers. With the injuries to Jake Ryan (ankle) and Blake Martinez (knee) at inside linebacker, the Packers might be forced to move Clay Matthews back inside, where he played the previous season-and-a-half.Theres a chance the Packers could get back second-year cornerback Damarious Randall, whos missed the past five games following groin surgery, but veteran Sam Shields will spend the rest of the season on injured reserve with a concussion.Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins and Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota took advantage of that depleted secondary to post passer ratings of more than 145 the last two weeks.Can Wentz take advantage, too? In his first four games, Wentz had a 103.5 passer rating with seven touchdowns vs. one interception. In the last six games, hes had a passer rating of 72.3 with four touchdowns and six interceptions.Against Seattle, Wentz completed 51.1 percent of his passes, threw two interceptions and had a passer rating of just 61.2.Weve just got to be on point. We had a couple mistakes that really hurt us, Wentz said. Especially when youre facing good teams, you cant have those letdowns. You have to be sharp. You cant have those little mistakes that can really cost you big in the end. I think were learning that. Unfortunately, we have too many of those every week, even in wins. Vapormax Off White Acheter . Now that hes hitting streaking teammates with pin-point passes for easy layups, Love is asserting himself as one of the true superstars in the league. Vapormax Homme 2020 . The defence is doing its part, too. Drew Brees threw a pair of touchdown passes in the first half and the guys on the other side made sure that was enough, sending the Saints to a 17-13 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night. http://www.vapormaxsolde.fr/basket-vapormax-off-white-grossiste.html . -- Aldon Smith believes he is on the path to being sober for good. Vapormax Blanche Pas Cher .C. -- After a listless first half, the Washington Wizards used a big third quarter run to beat the Charlotte Bobcats Bradley Beal scored 21 points and the Wizards used a 17-0 run in the third quarter to take control of what had been a close game and beat the Bobcats 97-83 on Tuesday night. Vapormax Homme Pas Cher . Aaron Harrison scored a 22 points for Kentucky (6-1), which has won four in a row following a Nov. 12 loss to current No. 1 Michigan State. Julius Randle overcame a scoreless first half and added his sixth double-double in as many games with 14 points and 10 rebounds. TROON, Scotland -- The Latest on the British Open (all times local):---7 p.m.Phil Mickelson is heartbroken, even after one of the greatest rounds in major championship history.Lefty shot an 8-under 63 in the opening round of the British Open on Thursday, but hell long remember the lipped-out putt at the 18th hole that cost him a chance at history.Mickelson couldve become the first player to shoot 62 at a major championship. Instead, he joins 25 other players whove managed a 63.Mickelson puts it this way: All those highlights and I feel like crying. Indeed, his 16-foot putt looked like it was right in the cup with a foot to do, only to veer off to the right, catch the edge of the cup, and stay out.The 46-year-old American knows these sorts of chances dont come along very often. At his age, especially, the odds are against Mickelson ever coming that close again. Thats why he describes it as heartbreaking.---6:45 p.m.Chris Wood of England has withdrawn from the British Open because of a recurrence of a neck injury.Wood withdrew after the 12th hole of his first round. He was 3 over par.---6:20 p.m.Phil Mickelson has become the 26th player in major championship history to shoot a 63.And he had reason to be disappointed.His 16-foot birdie putt on the final hole at Royal Troon caught the right lip and rode the edge of the cup without dropping. Mickelson stooped over and grabbed his knees in disbelief.It was the 28th round of 63 in the majors -- Greg Norman and Vijay Singh have done it twice -- and the ninth at the British Open. As a small consolation, Mickelson has the course record at Royal Troon. And he likely will have the lead.---5 p.m.Americans occupy seven of the top eight spots on the leaderboard at Royal Troon, not surprising because they have won the British Open the last six times on this links.One name stands out, however.Phil Mickelson joined Patrick Reed at 5-under par with a long birdie putt on the 10th hole, and he remains bogey-free through 12 holes. Mickelson hasnt won since he captured the claret jug at Muirfield three years ago.Some of the other Americans: Billy Horschel and Tony Finau both finished at 67 and were one shot behind, along with Justin Thomas and Steve Stricker. And not to be overlooked is Zach Johnson, the defending champion, who was 4 under through 10 holes.---3:30 p.m.Steve Stricker was nervous when he teed off at Royal Troon, and it showed. He had to scramble for par on the first hole and took bogey on the next hole. But the 49-year-old American settled down and shot 67, one shot off the lead.So why the nerves? Stricker said maybe it was because its been a while since he played in a major. This is his first major since the PGA Championship last year, and his first British Open since 2012.And it might be his last major. He currently is not eligible for the PGA Championship. Stricker says his agent, brother-in-law Mario Tiziani, has been asking him if Stricker wants to request an exemption. Stricker says he wont do it. He wants to earn it.This is the final event to qualify, and a top 10 might be enough to get in.---2:30 p.m.Three-quarters of golfs Big Four are back in the clubhouse on the first day at Royal Troon -- and Rory McIlroy has fared better than Jordan Spieth and Jason Day.McIlroy, who won the British Open in 2014 and missed the defense of the claret jug last year because of injury, shot a 2-under 69 and was three strokes off early leader Patrick Reed.Spieth bogeyed the last hole after an errant tee shot and had an even-par 71, while top-ranked Day shot 73.The other member of the Big Four is U.S. Open champion Dustin Johnson, who had an afternoon start. He bogeyed the first hole after hitting his driver a long way right.---1 p.m.Americans are impressing once again at a British Open at Royal Troon.The last six Open champions at Troon have come from the United States, and Patrick Reed and Justin Thomas are extending the countrys dominance after shooting the best two early rounds Thursday.Reed eagled the par-4 third, had three birdies in the following four holes, and picked up another shot at the last for a 5-under 66 and the early clubhouse lead.Thomas birdied his first four holes and recovered from a double-bogey 6 at No. 15 by also making a birdie at No. 18 for a 67.Another American, Bubba Watson, was alongside Reed and Thomas atop the leaderboard until he triple-bogeyed No. 8 -- the testing par-3 nicknamed the Postage Stamp -- and then made bogey at Nos. 10 and 11. He is level par through 13 holes.Rory McIlroy is 4 under through 12 holes on his first round at the British Open since lifting the claret jug in 2014. He missed last years tournament because of injury.---12:30 p.m.Louis Oosthuizen has made the first hole-in-one at the British Open.The 2010 champion from South Africa aced thee par-3 No.dddddddddddd 14 from 167 yards, his ball pitching in front of the hole and curling into the cup. He threw his arms up in celebration for what was his second hole-in-one at a major this year, after acing the 16th in the final round of the Masters.---11:45 a.m.With his ball buried and up against the face of a pot bunker, Colin Montgomerie feared the worst after just two shots of his first round at the British Open.Montgomerie was given the honor of hitting the first tee shot at Royal Troon, his home club, in what likely will be his last Open. It was a proud moment for the 53-year-old Scotsman but things quickly turned sour.His second shot landed in him in such trouble that it took two shots to get out of the bunker. An up-and-down later, Monty was walking off with a double-bogey 6 from one of the easiest holes at Troon.No wonder Montgomerie was happy to finish with an even-par 71. He says Im very proud of myself for hanging on in there. It would have been easy to score 78 there, simple.Montgomerie was 3 under for the front nine and 3 over for the back nine.---10:45 a.m.Colin Montgomerie has started what could be his final British Open with an even-par 71 at Royal Troon.The 53-year-old Scotsman was given the honor of hitting the opening tee shot at his home club Thursday, and he was greeted with a packed grandstand on a sunny morning.Montgomerie took a double-bogey at the first hole, but birdied five of the next eight to make the turn with a 3-under 33. He couldnt keep it going, settling for three bogeys on the tougher inward nine to fall off the leaderboard.Bubba Watson, Justin Thomas and Patrick Reed are tied for the lead at 4 under.---10:15 a.m.Its a morning for going low at Royal Troon. Justin Thomas and Patrick Reed are leading the way.The Americans took advantage of the sunny weather Thursday to shoot 5-under 31 on the front nine at the British Open.That puts them a couple of strokes ahead of Kevin Chappell and Jimmy Walker.Given the conditions, its not surprising there are so many red numbers on the board. But the scores figure to rise during the day as the wind picks up. Also, the front nine at Troon is much easier that than the return leg, so its imperative to put up a low score early in the round.Colin Montgomerie found that out. Given the honor of hitting the first stroke of the tournament at his home club, he made the turn with a 3-under 33 even after opening with a double-bogey. Alas, Monty couldnt keep it going. Hes back to even par with two holes to play after three bogeys.---8:30 a.m.Colin Montgomerie has recovered brilliantly from his double bogey to start the British Open.The 53-year-old Scot, playing in perhaps his last Open, caught a buried lie in pot bunker and began with a double bogey. But the scowl soon turned into a smile when Montgomerie ran off five birdies in seven holes to make the turn at 3-under par.Justin Thomas made his British Open debut with birdies on his opening three holes and also was at 3 under.Luke Donald, playing alongside Montgomerie in the first group, was at 2 under.Most encouraging of all: The lead threesome took just under two hours to complete the front nine.---7:25 a.m.The Irish Sea was blue from abundant sunshine. The British Open leaderboard already was filled with red scores.With virtually no wind to start the 145th Open, the gentle outward nine at Royal Troon was living up to its reputation as the time to get birdies. There already were eight birdies in the first 21 holes completed, with Sanghee Lee of South Korea making birdie on the opening two holes.Colin Montgomerie started with a buried lie in a pot bunker on No. 1 and made double bogey. He might want to heed his own advice. Speaking of how easy the front nine is at Royal Troon, the Scot once famously said if a player is not under par at the turn, he might as well keep walking to Prestwick and have lunch in the clubhouse.Prestwick, site of the first 12 British Opens, is adjacent to Royal Troon.---6:45 a.m.The British Open began Thursday with Colin Montgomerie hitting the opening tee shot on the Royal Troon links where his father once was club secretary.Montgomerie, widely considered the best player to have never won a major, qualified at age 53 for what likely will be his last Open. The R&A chose him to be the first player to hit a shot on a gorgeous morning along the Irish Sea.There wasnt an empty seat in the grandstand next to the first tee, where the silver claret jug was on a podium. Five dogs were on the beach.There was no wind, allowing the early starters to take aim at one of the shorter courses on the Open rotation. Montgomerie teed off with Marc Leishman and Luke Donald. ' ' '