strategy. It keeps you in the moment and its a challenge. Its a fun

SOUTHPORT, England -- Ayako Uehara of Japan felt confident with the putter and played in the best weather Royal Birkdale has to offer. It was the right combination to take the lead Thursday in the Womens British Open. And the best she could manage was a 4-under 68. Pot bunkers can present problems on any links course. Throw in some thick grass and par becomes a problem. Michelle Wie could attest to that. The U.S. Womens Open champion spent too much time chipping out of sand and rough on her way to a 75. Cristie Kerr didnt make a birdie, shot 81 and withdrew with a sore back. Only nine players broke par, all but two of them in the relative calm of a sunny morning along the Irish Sea. "Its only going to get harder," defending champion Stacy Lewis said after a 71. "Anything under par on this golf course is a good score." Uehara got her lone mistake out of the way early and made another bogey after the opening hole. She made three birdies in a four-hole stretch, added two birdies on the back nine and built a one-shot lead over Mo Martin. "Ayako obviously put up a really good number," said Lewis, who played in her group. "She seems like she wasnt in trouble at all. She was just greens, greens, centre of the green. You can kind of learn a little bit from that and maybe not go at so many pins." Morgan Pressel scrambled her way to a 70, joined by Sarah Kemp and Mina Harigae. The only players who broke par in the afternoon were former U.S. Womens Open champion So Yeon Ryu and Amy Yang, who played in the final group at the U.S. Womens Open last month. Both shot 71. "I dont think they can make it any easier," Pressel said. That doesnt bode well for Wie, who was introduced on the first tee as the U.S Womens Open champion and then posted her highest score of the year. Wie had to birdie the par-5 18th hole -- the only time she hit driver -- to finish 3 over. "Thought I made a good game plan," Wie said. "Just didnt hit good shots today." Alena Sharp of Hamilton, Ont., had a 2-over 74. The scores Thursday might have been a preview of what the men can expect next week at Royal Liverpool for The Open Championship, through Royal Birkdale is a stronger test. The links courses are separated by about 25 miles, and a wet spring has allowed the grass to get thick and lush. That makes it difficult to make contact with the golf ball, assuming it can be found. Tiger Woods won at Liverpool in 2006 on a fast course with wispy grass. "The golf course is so hard, I couldnt imagine four days of this much rough and all the wind and everything it entails," Lewis said "Its nice to have it pretty calm today." Pressel had 23 putts, though only four of them were for birdie. She escaped with par when she found trouble off the tee and one time salvaged bogey. Playing her third shot from the right rough to a pin on the right side of the tough 16th green protected by a pot bunker, Pressel played short of the green and got up-and-down to limit the damage. Her putter made all the difference. "I was happy that I made it look easier than it actually was," Pressel said. It wasnt like that for everyone. Paula Creamer was 5-over par after five holes and rallied for a 75. The best comeback belonged to Jessica Korda, who went out in 39 and then made four birdies on the back nine to return to even par. Karrie Webb, Inbee Park, Suzann Pettersen and Kraft Nabisco champion Lexi Thompson also were at even par. The way it looked Thursday, anyone around par might be in good shape when it ends on Sunday. Wie now has to climb back on a course that makes it feel as though she has to scale a mountain. She tried to rely on her powerful stinger off the tee, using mostly hybrids, to stay short of the bunkers and out of the rough. But she hit only seven fairways, leading to three of her bogeys. "I definitely felt like my tempo was a little bit off," Wie said. "But its a long way until Sunday, and I battled out there. Its not the score I was looking forward to on Thursday, but it could have been a lot worse." Martin had a plan for Birkdale, too. She is one of the shorter hitters on the LPGA Tour and cant recall a round where she hit so many 3-woods off the tee, all in an effort to stay out of trouble. "Every hole, every shot is its own test," Martin said. "You just really have to have so much strategy. It keeps you in the moment and its a challenge. Its a fun challenge." Ozzie Albies Jersey . Canada wasnt in the game from the outset. Head coach Dan Church left Calgary in the morning without addressing the players. He told The Canadian Press he felt the organization lacked confidence in his ability to defend the Olympic gold medal in February. Julio Teheran Jersey . 15 in Hamburg. The fight was originally slated for Sept. 6 but had to be postponed after Klitschko tore a bicep in sparring and was forced to miss four weeks of training. http://www.thebravesteamshop.com/Braves-Bobby-Cox-Kids-Jersey/ . 9 Baylor Bears just needed some time to get on track in their first game after the Christmas break. Sean Newcomb Jersey . In the days leading up to the draft, TSN.ca and TSN Radio basketball analyst Duane Watson looks at some of the names that will be headlining the event. Tonight, Michigans Nik Stauskas of Mississauga, Ontario. Greg Maddux Jersey . The person, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the confidential nature of the search, confirmed reports by several media outlets. The interview took place in Southern California on Monday. NEW YORK -- Lance Stephenson gave the home fans something to cheer, and that hasnt happened often in Brooklyn this season. And the way the Nets are going, it may not happen many more times. "I think its getting very close to just accepting losing," coach Jason Kidd said. Stephenson scored a career-high 26 points in his hometown, Paul George also had 26, and the Indiana Pacers went on to their third straight easy victory, 103-86 over the Nets on Monday night. Stephenson, who recorded his NBA-leading third triple-double of the season Sunday in a rout of Boston, did most of his damage as a scorer, back where he did plenty of it in high school. He became the career scoring leader in New York state, with nearly 3,000 points at Abraham Lincoln High School. Dozens of fans saluted him as he exited the court through the tunnel, and Stephenson, unable to hide his grin afterward, figures he knew most of them. "I just was very motivated and hyped for this game. I couldnt sleep at night. Im just happy we got the W," said Stephenson, who coach Frank Vogel said should be the leading choice for the Most Improved Player award that George won last season. David West finished with 13 points for the Pacers, who pulled away in the third period, when Paul Pierce was ejected for a flagrant foul in only the second scoreless game of his career. Indiana followed its only losing streak of the season by beating Houston and Boston by a combined 60 points, then blew this one open after a competitive first half. "Lance Stephenson and Paul George just keep putting in special performances and theyre really giving us a big lift," Vogel said. Joe Johnson scored 17 points for the Nets, who lost their third straight. Kevin Garnett, moving to the centre spot after Brook Lopez was lost to a broken right foot, had 12. Lopez was the Nets leading scorer, and his loss -- and watching how easily the Pacers dominated the third quarter -- make it hard to believe the Nets can turn around their 9-18 record and reach their lofty expectations. "Were kind of getting comfortable witth losing and weve got to make a stand with that because when things get tough, do we just give in?" Kidd said.dddddddddddd "And most of the time right now we do." The Nets host Chicago on Christmas. Deron Williams, who shot 3 of 9 in an admittedly poor performance, disagreed with Kidds statement about accepting losing. "Im not comfortable with losing. Its not fun," he said. "Its not fun not only when were losing during the game, but when you go home sitting and thinking about it." Neither team managed a double-digit lead in the first half. The Pacers went ahead by eight late in the second quarter on Stephensons 3-pointer, and they took a 45-39 advantage into halftime. George hit a 3-pointer to open the third and it was all Indiana from there, highlighted by a 20-4 run that turned an eight-point lead into a 71-47 bulge. Pierce was ejected during the blitz. George Hill stole a bad pass and was going in for a layup and Pierce hustled back and appeared to be trying to wrap him up, but his arm ended up going around Hills neck for a clothesline tackle. Referees ruled it a flagrant 2 after review, an automatic ejection, though even Hill wasnt sure it warranted that. "It was a basketball play. I think back in the day, hard fouls was good," he said. "So, it was a hard foul, but at the end of the day, dont let it rattle you and thats what I thought about." Pierce finished 0 for 7. His only other scoreless night in a 15-year career came in a 10-minute outing against the Charlotte Hornets on March 9, 1999, during his rookie season, according to STATS. Nets reserve Jason Terry had 11 points in his first appearance since Nov. 20 after he missed the last 15 games with a bruised left knee. Andray Blatche also scored 11. Notes: The teams meet again Saturday at Indiana, the start of punishing three-game trip for the Nets that follows with visits to San Antonio and Oklahoma City. ... The Pacers, who had 29 and 28 assists in their last two games, finished with 16. ... Danny Granger was 0 for 7 in 14 scoreless minutes. 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