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DUBLIN, Ohio -- Tiger Woods sat in a cart with a tiny squirrel resting on his shoulder. Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel walked onto the first tee wearing wigs to make up for their bad haircuts. Fred Couples had cupcakes delivered to him by the opposing captain in honour of his 54th birthday. Opening day at the Presidents Cup was unlike any other Thursday at Muirfield Village. Except for the score. After six hours of fourballs that produced 102 birdies, two eagles and a new celebrity named "Sammy the Squirrel," the Americans won the opening session for the fourth straight time, a solid start in their quest to maintain dominance in this event. But it took a great save from a plugged lie in the bunker by Steve Stricker in the final match on the course to give the Americans a 3 1/2-2 1/2 lead. And despite being in another hole, this only felt like a divot to an International team inspired by the clutch play of Hideki Matsuyama, the South African duo of Oosthuizen and Schwartzel, and the refusal to be spooked from trailing early in every match. "Theres plenty of heart on the team," Adam Scott said. "And think we should take a lot of that." Ernie Els didnt make a birdie until the 17th hole, but his 12-footer extended the match to the 18th hole. The Internationals looked like they might win the last hole with a par when 20-year-old Jordan Spieth drove into the water and Strickers approach plugged into the face of the bunker. He blasted out to 3 feet, and de Jonge missed his 18-foot birdie putt to end a wild day. "You dont want anybody else to have to get that up-and-down other than Steve Stricker, so, God, what a match," Spieth said. "It was incredible." That wasnt the only highlight. Scott chipped in for eagle on the 15th hole and Matsuyama holed a 10-foot birdie putt on the next hole to square their match against Bill Haas and Webb Simpson. Haas answered with an 18-foot birdie putt to go 1 up, only for the 21-year-old Japanese star to hit his 8-iron approach from 168 yards to 2 feet for birdie on the 18th to halve the match. "There were so many birdies made, you really couldnt keep up," Couples said. As for that squirrel? Love found it on the second hole and kept it with him for good luck the rest of the way. It was on his wrist, in his pocket, and quickly became the team mascot. At one point, Olympic ski champion Lindsey Vonn put it on Woods back. It spooked her boyfriend, who at first looked bothered, but later became friends with Sammy. "I carry a rabbits foot around a lot. I dont know much about a squirrel, or a live squirrel," Couples said. The International team had its own mascot -- Mother Nature. The Americans bolted out to a big start and were ahead in all six matches early. The round was stopped for 1 1/2 hours because of thunderstorms, and while none of the matches had gone beyond the 10th hole, it felt like a chance for the Internationals to start over. "The break did us really good," Oosthuizen said. "We came back out, felt refreshed and just played well." Jason Day and Graham DeLaet rallied from 3 down to Hunter Mahan and Brandt Snedeker, winning on the 18th hole when Day made a 20-foot birdie putt. Oosthuizen and Schwartzel gave Keegan Bradley and Phil Mickelson their first loss. The South Africans, best of friends since junior golf, took their first lead on the 11th hole and didnt lose another hole until they had a 2-and-1 win. Mickelson and Bradley were 3-0 as partners in the Ryder Cup last year and had a 2-up lead through seven holes on Bradleys eagle. They didnt win another hole the rest of the way, however. "I had good rhythm early on and when we went back out (after the delay), I was just a little bit tight and didnt make very good swings," Mickelson said. The Presidents Cup began with fourballs for the first time since 1996, which should have favoured the Internationals. Instead, the Americans won their first fourballs session in 10 years, dating to the second day in South Africa. Still, this was a moral victory for the International team. "At the break, I just spoke to most of the guys and said, Hey, the U.S. has had everything go their way the front nine, and just be patient," captain Nick Price said. "And what a comeback they made." Muirfield Village was set up for birdies, and there were plenty of them. Ten of the 12 teams were at least 8-under par in their rounds. The exceptions were Angel Cabrera and Marc Leishman, who were only 3 under in the shortest match of the day. They lost, 5 and 4, to Woods and Matt Kuchar. The Americans used a handshake from "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," and they used it a lot. "That was definitely all me," Kuchar said. "That stems from Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. I figured this guy was the perfect Carlton." Woods turned out to be a decent partner, too. Kuchar was his 19th partner in the Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup, and it was a solid debut. Kuchar won at Muirfield Village in June, while Woods is a five-time Memorial champion. "We both have the low stroke averages in this tournaments history," Woods said. "Put us together and we feel very comfortable how to play this golf course." Jason Dufner and Zach Johnson in the anchor match were 3 up through three holes and never looked back. Branden Grace and Richard Sterne, the only all-rookie team for the International side, were 2 down after 10 and never got any closer. The match ended on the 15th hole. The critical part could be Friday with six foursomes matches. The Americans have won the last four times outright, and they have a 31-13 advantage in the more difficult alternate-shot format. Price kept his teams together, while Couples kept four of his six teams intact. "Im not going to lose faith in those teams, to be honest," Price said. "I really think that theyre all ready to take their games to the next level." Nike Kaishi Run Dames Zwart .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Nike Air Max 1 Aanbieding . Miller finished in two minutes, 6.09 seconds, one day before the first medal race on the Alpine schedule. The 36-year-old American also turned in the top time in Thursdays opening training session. http://www.airhuarachesale.nl/nike-juvenate.html . But by the time the game started, the Toronto Raptors forward felt even worse. And, for three quarters, it showed as Gay shot a woeful three-for-13 from the field. Asics Sneakers Dames Sale .C. -- When North Carolina freshman Ryan Switzer reported to training camp in August he was a little miffed to learn he was third on the depth chart at punt returner. Nike Air Huarache Triple Black Nederland . Traditional contenders Brazil, Greece and Turkey drew the other three spots to complete the 24-team field for this summers tournament in Spain, basketball governing body FIBA announced Saturday at its meeting in Barcelona.PORTLAND, Ore. -- Monta Ellis hit a 21-foot jumper at the buzzer and the Dallas Mavericks snapped the Portland Trail Blazers four-game winning streak with a 108-106 victory on Saturday night. Ellis finished with 22 points and Dirk Nowitzki had 28 for the Mavericks third straight win. Damian Lillard had 32 points for the Blazers, including a 3-pointer with 1.9 seconds left that tied it at 106. It wwas just the second loss at home this season for the red-hot Blazers (17-4), who lead the Western Conference and are off to their best start since the 1990-91 season.dddddddddddd Nicolas Batum finished with 22 points for the Blazers, who were coming off a 130-98 rout of the Utah Jazz on Friday night. LaMarcus Aldridge added 19 points and 13 rebounds for his 11th double-double this season. Cheap China Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys From China China NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
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