e in Rio this summer. There were waves coming over my back at the start but racing here has up-skilled us, Glover said.

AKRON, Ohio -- Golf in Ohio must bring out the best in William McGirt.One month after his first PGA Tour victory at the Memorial, McGirt looked just as good two hours up the road at the Bridgestone Invitational. In his World Golf Championship debut, he opened with six birdies and finished with a 45-foot par for a 6-under 64 and a 3-shot lead.An Ohio sweep? That has happened only four times, and McGirt made a strong guess at the answer.Tiger Woods, Tiger Woods, Tiger Woods and Tiger Woods? he said. That would be pretty special company.He left out Greg Norman in 1995 (Memorial and World Series of Golf). But that makes it no less a select group.McGirt had some decent company behind him after an opening round of warm sunshine and fast conditions at Firestone. Jason Day, the worlds No. 1 player, was among three players at 67, while Jordan Spieth?managed to post a 68, despite having only one birdie attempt (he missed) in his first 10 holes.I wasnt supposed to shoot 2 under today, Spieth said.U.S. Open champion Dustin Johnson had a U.S. Open kind of round -- 15 pars, two birdies and a bogey -- for a 69. His big celebration was walking off the 11th green to learn his alma mater, Coastal Carolina, had just won the College World Series for its first national title. His golf wasnt bad, considering he didnt practice much last week while celebrating his first major (and 32nd birthday) in The Bahamas.I didnt expect a whole lot today, Johnson said. I always expect to play well, but this golf course is playing tough.Only 17 players of the 61-man field broke par. The first round ended with only 58 players.Daniel Berger withdrew after his opening tee shot with a shoulder injury. Brooks Koepka withdrew after 13 holes because of an ankle injury. Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III, playing at Firestone for the first time since 2009, withdrew after a 78 because of what was described as a torn labrum.The field was missing Rory McIlroy and Masters champion Danny Willett, among several European Tour players who opted to play the French Open this week.McGirt had never played in a WGC until he became eligible with his playoff victory at Muirfield Village a month ago. He showed up at Firestone on Sunday, played nine holes and rode in a cart on the back nine.I fell in love with the place because length is not everything out here, McGirt said. You have to drive it in the fairway. You have to drive it in the correct spots in the fairways to be able to attack pins. I love it because you cant stand up there and just hit it as hard as you want, go find it and hack it on the green. Its an old, traditional-style golf course, which I absolutely love. I dont know, maybe its something with Ohio I like.The most peculiar round belonged to Spieth, who said he has been in a lull the past month as he searches for something in his swing, particularly his wedges. It had the look of a score closer to 74 or 75, except the former Masters and U.S. Open champion kept hanging in there with pars. One shot hit a tree and bounced forward over the water into a bunker. He whiffed on a 7-iron that left him a tough pitch, but he managed to save par from 8 feet.He ended the front nine with par-saving putts from 20 feet and 25 feet. It wasnt until the 15th hole that he had back-to-back birdie putts, and he started converting them. He holed the last four.Im really just searching for something that isnt far off, thats real simple, Spieth said. It really is only taking place on my scoring clubs, but thats where you need them. Its close. Its almost there. And when it clicks, were definitely in business, the way the short game is.Emiliano Grillo and Jimmy Walker?were at 67 with Day, while Spieth was joined by Rickie Fowler, Anirban Lahiri and Charley Hoffman.Day said he felt a burden lifted when he made his announcement to not play in the Olympics because of Zika concerns, but he didnt think that equated to his golf. It was a tidy round with only one bogey and four birdies and a pair of tough par saves from a bunker on No. 9 and behind the green on the par-5 16th.It was just kind of a weird feeling of a day where I kind of made some good pars, kept the momentum going and all of a sudden I shot 67, Day said. Ive just got to keep grinding until Sunday is over.Morten Andersen Jersey . Woodson said during a radio interview Thursday that the Knicks Carmelo Anthony doesnt get the same calls as other superstars. Rickey Jackson Jersey .Y. - New Orleans forward Anthony Davis was chosen Friday to replace the injured Kobe Bryant in the NBA All-Star game that will be played in his home city. http://www.saintsrookiestore.com/Saints-Marshon-Lattimore-Jersey/ . LOUIS -- Mike Smith is used to facing plenty of shots, so this was nothing new. Marcus Davenport Youth Jersey . -- In one brief spurt, Brazil turned a close game into a rout and proved again it will be a strong World Cup favourite. Marshon Lattimore Saints Jersey . Reigning world champion Eve Muirhead of Scotland opened with a 12-2 rout of Winnipegs Jennifer Jones in a battle of teams bound for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.Helen Glover and Heather Stanning notched their 44th women’s pairs win as they retained their European title at Brandenburg an der Havel in Germany on Sunday.The world record holders won European gold for Britian, finished eight seconds ahead of German duo Kerstin Hartmann and Kathrin Marchand, with the Romanian pair coming home third.The weather was far from ideal in Germany but Truro-born Glover insists the conditions at Brandenburg an der Havel put them in good stead to retain their Olympic title in Rio this summer. There were waves coming over my back at the start but racing here has up-skilled us, Glover said. We may have cross-wind conditions in Rio so it was good to race in them.We may be an experienced crew but were not experienced in these conditions. So we had to concentrate. Glover (l) and Stanning at The 2015 Sunday Times and Sky Sports Sportswomen of the Year Awards Elsewhere, the womens eight produced a late rally to overtake Holland and also win gold.ddddddddddddThe speed with which we were able to come through at the end was the special bit. We have a lot of speed in this boat, Katie Greves said.Fellow crew member, Zoe Lee, added: Everyone did their job and stayed calm even though we were a length down. Its a privilege to row with these women. There were also gold medals for lightweight mens pair Sam Scrimgeour and Joel Cassells followed by Britains mens four later in the day.Also See:SportsWomenLatest Show NewsLatest NewsSportsWomen Video ' ' '