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but we didnt. We played our way.
BETHESDA, Md. Custom Los Angeles Dodgers Nike Jerseys . -- About two dozen photographers lined up in a row on the range Tuesday at Congressional, a reminder that golf is different when Tiger Woods is around. And that was before Woods even arrived to hit balls for 35 minutes. He was last seen wearing golf shoes on March 9, when he walked gingerly off the golf course at Doral with back pain that had been bothering him off and on since August 2012 and finally reached a point that he chose surgery over playing two majors. Woods returns at the Quicken Loans National with big hopes and realistic expectations -- and with no pain. Asked for an opening comment on where he is with his recovery, Woods smiled and said, "Im right here." "Its been an interesting road," Woods said. "This has been quite a tedious little process, but been one where I got to a point where I can play competitive golf again. And its pretty exciting." Dressed in black, with shoes the company colours of his new endorsement deal (MusclePharm), Woods turned the routine into news. After each booming tee shot, he casually walked forward a few paces, stooped to pick up his tee and to reload for the next shot. Woods, who had back surgery on March 31, said the British Open was his target all along. He was candid in saying he might not be playing the Quicken Loans National -- this is the first year for a new title sponsor -- if it did not benefit his foundation. Thats not to suggest he is coming back too early. Woods said he has been in constant contact with doctors and trainers as he slowly expanded his swing from chipping and putting to irons to wedges, all the way through the bag until he started swinging the driver a few weeks ago. He tried to add 10 yards of distance every couple of days, taking a break and getting treatment on days it didnt feel quite right. When he started putting, he would fill the holes on his practice green with sand to keep from bending over to pluck the ball out of the cup. When he felt strong enough to play, he said he would ride while standing on the back of the cart to avoid too much sitting. Woods always has said he doesnt play if he doesnt think he can win. Thats still the objective, sprinkled with some reality. It will have been 109 days without PGA Tour competition when he tees it up Thursday morning with Jordan Spieth and Jason Day. "Expectations dont change," Woods said. "Thats the ultimate goal. Its just that its going to be a little bit harder this time. I just havent had the amount of prep and reps that I would like. But Im good enough to play, and Im going to give it a go." The British Open is July 17-20 at Royal Liverpool, where Woods won in 2006 after missing the cut in a major for the first time at the U.S. Open. It also was his first major since his father died. Woods collected his 14th major two years later while playing on a shattered left leg at Torrey Pines. He hasnt won another since then, leaving him four short of the standard set by Jack Nicklaus. He cant win if he doesnt play, so this would be an important first step. "I think theres always a fascination in terms of watching Tiger play golf and the run that hes been on throughout his career and what he still has to achieve in terms of his goals," Justin Rose said. "I think golf will get really exciting if he starts winning a couple more majors and the race to 18 becomes incredibly on again. I think thats incredibly exciting for the game of golf and will draw a lot more interest in the game once again." Theres already more interest. Organizers said ticket sales were double what they normally are on a Friday before the tournament, the day Woods announced his return. This is the second time in four years that Woods has missed a three-month portion of the season because of injuries. He played only nine holes from April to August in 2011 while letting his leg injuries fully heal. The difference this time was his lifestyle. Woods said he couldnt function in the weeks leading to his microdiscectomy surgery at the end of March. "Anyone that has had any kind of nerve impingement, its not a joke," he said. "That part was relieved as soon as I got out of the surgery. That nerve impingement, that pain that I was feeling going down my leg was gone. "Ive heard numerous people talk about it, and Ive had people come up to me and say they had the same procedure and got their life back and thats basically how I felt. I was able to do things, and do things that I normally took for granted." Woods jokingly said he broke 50 when he played at home, just like he did when he was 3. "My prime is coming up," he said. He has looked like an old 38 in recent years because of injuries and surgeries, though he is learning how to gauge his training. He recalled his younger days when he would run 30 miles a week, even if he was hurt, unaware the damage he was doing to his body. "I have to now pick my spots when I can and cant push," he said. "Before, when youre young, I just pushed it all the time. But now Ive got to listen to my body, listen to my therapist and then get treatment. When I was younger, I didnt need it." Stitched Custom Nike Baseball Jerseys . No, the San Antonio star didnt announce retirement plans during an off day at the NBA Finals on Wednesday. Custom Authentic Baseball Jerseys .5 million. University officials released the term sheet signed by Harsin Wednesday, the day the former Broncos walk-on player and Boise native was named the successor to Chris Petersen, who left for Washington last week.NICOSIA, Cyprus -- It wasnt the result he wanted but John Herdman was pretty happy about how Canada finished the Cyprus Cup womens soccer tournament. Diana Matheson and Sophie Schmidt scored second-half goals as Canada rallied for a 2-1 win over Ireland to secure fifth place. It marked the first time in six years the Canadians hadnt reached the tournament final, but Herdman was encouraged by how his team dealt with that adversity. "The team showed a real resilience and that second-half performance was just phenomenal," he said. "This is a very unique group of women, when the chips are down they really can pull it out of the bag. "You think theyre out and then they come back and keep fighting but I thought the second half wasnt just about fight. They played just some wonderful football. The Irish were on the rocks for 45 minutes and we knew it was just a matter of time." Ireland opened the scoring early in the first half before Matheson tied it at the 56-minute mark. Schmidt highlighted a wild finish, scoring at the 90-minute mark. Canada, ranked seventh in the world, has traditionally fared well in this event. The national team won the tournament three times and was a finalist the last two years. But that streak ended with a 2-0 loss to England on Monday. And considering all the Canadians needed to advance was a draw, Herdman admitted the defeat was a bitter pill to swallow. "Absolutely," he said. "In previous tournaments we dodged the bullet of having England or France in our qualifying group and when we ended up (with England) in our group, we knew that was the game that was going to make the difference. "Getting the girls up for this one was tough because we were pretty devastated. But we tried to focus on this being a World Cup and just losing the final game in our group but still having qualified with another game to play and what strategies wed have to put in place to get things pulled around and in focus. It was a pretty good two days for our team." Despite the fifth-place finish, Herdman said the Canadian team learned many valuable lessons at the tournament. "We struggled, and Ill tell you why we did against the English and Irish defensive tactics," Herdman said. "The English held a really deep defensive block and hit us on the counter-attack, they just preyed on our sloppy play and within seconds were firing shots or crosses and I think that was the real learning this year. "Against a zone or 4-4-2 we did well, we did well against Italys 3-5-2 but against that deep 4-5-1 block, which is also what the Irish did, we struggled. Custom Nike Baseball Jerseys. . But what was exciting about that last game was we were able to get hold of a tactic and the players really made a big push." The 2014 and 15 seasons are big ones for Canadian womens soccer. In August, the world under-20 tournament will be held in four cities -- Edmonton, Moncton, Montreal and Toronto. Then in 2015, Canada will host the womens World Cup with games in Edmonton, Moncton, Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver and Winnipeg. And following Canadas stirring bronze medal victory at the 2012 London Summer Games, there will be plenty of expectations on the national teams shoulders in 2015. That fact certainly isnt lost on Herdman, who said the squad has a definite plan in place. "Its always been said Canadians are great in the power phase, theyre good at defending and theyre good at the counter-attack," he said. "But the ability to control and develop possession through the thirds of the pitch, thats the strand thats been missing. "Weve put a massive amount of focus in that and at times it has been to our detriment. We couldve went into the England game and said, Look, well drop a deep block, well launch it from the keeper every time we get it because the only focus is about winning the tournament, but we didnt. We played our way." Herdman said playing their way meant a definite eye to the future and not just another solid Cyprus Cup showing. "If we were going to win the tournament, we were going to win it a certain way that would also help us be more successful against teams in the womens World Cup playing a brand these girls wanted to be recognized for," Herdman said. "Even after we went up 2-1 against the Irish, the girls were still doing things trying to play a certain style of football where normally youd try to kill a game off. "At this stage of our development I think thats OK but when it comes down to the World Cup, well be in a stage where we know how to play those games like we did at the Olympics." So for Herdman, his measurement for success at the Cyprus Cup goes way beyond wins and losses. "I think we definitely got better, our statistics were way better than theyve ever been," he said. "There are things we wanted to work on post-Olympics to get the team ready for 2015 and those have improved. "Its just now chemistry and understanding when we play our way how that fits against the models of other teams. Weve got a year-and-a-half to figure all that out and get the plans ready." ' ' '
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Activity: Nov 21 '19
Activity: Nov 21 '19