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SHANGHAI, China -- The graceful combination of power and balance. The bounce in his step after every birdie. His name at the top of the leaderboard. For at least one round, Rory McIlroy finally looked like the former No. 1 player in the world instead of a guy who hasnt won a tournament all year. With eight birdies and hardly any stress, McIlroy opened the HSBC Champions on Thursday with a 7-under 65 for a two-shot lead over Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano and Jamie Donaldson. It was the first time since he won in Dubai last November that McIlroy has been in the outright lead after any round. "It felt good to be out there and in control of my golf ball," McIlroy said. Maybe it was just a coincidence that McIlroys only win of any variety was earlier this week at Mission Hills when he rallied to beat Tiger Woods in an 18-hole exhibition. That didnt hurt his confidence, though the 24-year-old from Northern Ireland pointed to other factors that have been leading him in this direction. He took a four-week break, spending most of that time in Northern Ireland with swing coach Michael Bannon and "getting back to what we used to do." He has a new driver and a golf ball that is softer, giving him more spin around the greens. And perhaps most importantly, he hasnt lost his mind or his patience during the most difficult season of his young career. "Its obviously frustrating when youve had a couple of seasons previous where youve had success, and not being able to emulate that," he said. "The way I look at it, if I have a 25-year career, nine months isnt actually that long. I wouldnt say restless, but obviously theres a point in time where youre thinking to yourself, Right, come on, lets get this back on track. But Ive tried to stay as patient as possible." More patience is required against a strong field at Sheshan International for this World Golf Championship. Fernandez-Castano is coming off his first win of the year last week at the BMW Masters. The group at 4-under 68 included U.S. Open champion Justin Rose, former Masters champion Bubba Watson and 20-year-old Jordan Spieth, playing as though last season never ended. Another shot behind were Dustin Johnson, Paul Casey and Graeme McDowell, who remains second on the European Tour money list with hopes of catching Henrik Stenson. The timing was crucial for McIlroy. Not only has he failed to win a tournament, he is at No. 62 in the Race to Dubai with only two tournaments remaining to get into the top 60 and qualify for the season-ending World Tour Championship in Dubai. McIlroy won the money title a year ago. "Its only 18 holes. Its only one round of golf," McIlroy said. "But its definitely the way I wanted and needed to start, keeping in mind that I obviously want to play myself into Dubai and try to pick up my first win of the season, as well." British Open champion Phil Mickelson had a chance to join McIlroy in the lead until it all went wrong. One shot behind with two holes to play, Mickelson hit two wedges into the water fronting the par-5 eighth green and took a quadruple-bogey 9. His second wedge landed some 30 feet beyond the pin and had so much spin that it raced off the green and down the bank into the water. He hit another shot into the water on No. 9, and followed that with a brave shot to 2 feet to escape with only a bogey. He fell back to a 71. Spieth, who went from no status at the start of the year to a spot in the Presidents Cup and No. 20 in the world, didnt arrive until Monday and has been battling jet lag this week after his first trip to China. He was 2-over through eight holes, and then played 6-under the rest of the way, as if last season never ended. "I didnt really know what to expect out of the game this week, travelling over here and limited practice," he said. "But maybe it was good for me. My caddie helped me stay calm and stay positive, and once the putts started going in, we were just in our normal routine." But this day ultimately was about McIlroy. McIlroy hit a 3-wood just over the back of the par-4 16th hole and chipped to 3 feet for birdie. His 3-iron from light rough was about 20 yards short of the green on the par-5 18th, and he chipped to 5 feet for birdie. And on the par-5 second hole, another 3-iron from the rough left him 30 yards short, and he pitched that to 6 feet for birdie. The other birdie during that stretch was on No. 1, his only tee shot off line. From the rough, his 9-iron from 160 yards covered the flag and settled about 7 feet away. "Its just learning from each week and just trying to put the pieces together," McIlroy said. "A little bit of confidence from Monday, of course, but I think it was these two previous weeks just getting back into competitive play and learning what I needed to do to improve and sort of work on those things coming into this week." Kawhi Leonard Jersey . - Alex Gordon went from a bust to busting the bank. Miami Heat Jerseys . During their talk, Lemieux was reported to have discussed with Crosby how a captains erratic behaviour can negatively impact the team.Lemieuex told Crosby... "You cant behave the way you did at the end of the game, it gives off a bad vibe to your teammates, it gives off a vibe that might be portraying you in a negative light, especially when youre struggling. http://www.officialnbashoponline.com/Utah-Jazz_Enes-Kanter-Jersey/ .com) - Top-seeded former winner Novak Djokovic, who survived an injury scare, and defending champion Andy Murray highlighted Fridays third-round winners at Wimbledon. Kevin Garnett Jersey .C. -- Bobcats centre Al Jefferson says hell play in Game 3 Saturday night against the Miami Heat. Tyreke Evans Jersey . The 25-year-old Spaniard, who joined United from Chelsea in January, scored twice, including directly from a free kick, to take his tally to three goals in his last two games. "I think he has made us better," United manager David Moyes said. TORONTO -- A half-time message woke up the Raptors on a night when Toronto found itself sleepwalking against the struggling Detroit Pistons. "We pretty much said, This is a must-win game," Amir Johnson said after Toronto trailed Detroit by four at the break but finished with a 112-91 win Wednesday. "We had to go out and take it. We did that." After Johnson and DeMar DeRozan started the game cold, their teammates kept things close and allowed a second-half turnaround to take place. Jonas Valanciunas had 16 points and 11 rebounds while Kyle Lowry scored 21 points and added nine assists in a game the Raptors needed to work themselves into. "The first half was a little sluggish but we picked it up and thats most important," said Lowry. "Thats a team. You need everybody, all 15 guys and all 13 that are dressed to step up and take advantage when the opportunity comes." Toronto (17-17) needed strong performances from Valanciunas and Lowry. DeRozan and Johnson combined to shoot 0 for 16 from the floor in the first half with the team making just 33 per cent of their field goals compared to 47 per cent shooting from the Pistons. Brandon Jennings led the way for Detroit (14-22), scoring 22 points to go with nine assists in the loss. Andre Drummond added 16 rebounds as the Pistons lost their sixth straight. After going up 11 midway through the second quarter, the Raptors went more than five minutes without a field goal and allowed Detroit to go on a 14-0 run to take a 54-50 lead at the half. "We started off terrible," DeRozan said. "We didnt have any legs and we told ourselves that we can have no excuses. We had to pick it up because that wasnt us in the first half." Things flipped in the third quarter when the Raptors outscored Detroit 34-20 while making 11 of their 22 field-goal attempts. DeRozan and Johnson were able to shake off their starts to help Toronto build a 10-point advantage going into the fourth. "There was a big difference," Toronto head coach Dwane Casey said of the two halves. "We knew it was going to be a grind out game and thats ssomething we are learning to do, to grind things out possession by possession, quarter by quarter.dddddddddddd "We knew DeMar and Amir werent going to go zero-for, in the second half. The defensive intensity (after halftime) is what changed the game." The final quarter resembled the third as Toronto outplayed the Pistons and broke the game open with five minutes remaining and the lead up to 18. All five of Torontos starters finished the game in double figures after the team dropped its last two contests against the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers. DeRozan finished the game shooting just 3 for 15 from the floor, but connected on 13 of his 16 free-throw attempts to finish the game with 19 points. The 16 free throws tied a career-high. "He went to plan B and thats what hes got to do," Casey said about DeRozans night. "About a year or two ago he wouldnt have done that. He did a good job of attacking the feet and taking what the defence gave him." Johnson finished the game with 10 points and 11 rebounds and Terrance Ross scored 17 points. "Hes improving as a basketball player," Lowry said of Rosss evolving game. "Catching and shooting, his confidence is unbelievable. Hes showing his versatility. He can play defence. Hes scoring, but if you look at the defensive assignments hes had in the past few weeks, hes done a great job at it ... I know I tip my hat to him." Lowrys explanation for the strides Ross has taken was simple -- hes playing more. "Thats how you get better," he said. "Once you get more minutes, more repetition, thats how you get better." Toronto finished the game shooting 41 per cent from the floor as compared to 40 per cent for the Pistons, but the Raptors shot 91 per cent from the free-throw line, making 31 of their 34 attempts. Detroit made just 19-for-35 shots from the line. Notes: Torontos Tyler Hansbrough missed his fourth straight game with a left ankle sprain. ... Rodney Stuckey returned to action for the Pistons after missing three games with a sore shoulder. ... The Raptors return to the court Saturday at home to the Brooklyn Nets. ' ' '
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