Basisphilosophie » Then the problems really piled up. Starting goalie Josh

DORAL, Fla. -- The new Doral in raging wind looked a lot like an old U.S. Open on Friday. Matt Kuchar played out of the rough to tap-in range for birdie on the 18th hole for a 2-over 74 that allowed him to join an exclusive group at the Cadillac Championship -- one of only four survivors to par. The Blue Monster gobbled up just about everyone else. Dustin Johnson bogeyed three of his last six holes for a 74. Patrick Reed made only two birdies in his round of 75. Hunter Mahan atoned for a triple bogey with a 4-iron into 5 feet for eagle on the eighth hole, giving him a 74. They joined Kuchar atop the leaderboard at 1-under 143. "I felt stressed all day, because I knew every shot had big penalty written all over it," Mahan said. "It was a really tough day. There wasnt an easy shot out there. One of those rounds where it could go south pretty fast, so youve got to grind it out and find a way to get a number up there and get to the weekend." Only three players broke par in the second round. No one shot in the 60s. The average score was a fraction under 76. "I dont think Ive played in conditions this difficult in the U.S.," Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland said after a 71 that left him one shot behind. "Its an Open Championship day. Its a real Friday afternoon at St. Andrews in 2010 before they called it. It was hard out there -- really, really hard." Rory McIlroy (74), Francesco Molinari (75) and Jamie Donaldson of Wales (70) also were one behind at even-par 144. Tiger Woods hit three balls in the water and scraped out a 73, thanks in part to a 90-foot birdie putt on the par-3 fourth hole. Phil Mickelson made back-to-back double bogeys, and then laid on his back along the bank of the fourth tee during a long wait. He got up, hit into the water and made another double bogey. Lefty shot 75. Both were still in the mix, only six shots behind. "Its a tough golf course as it is," Reed said. "And with how hard the wind is blowing, it made it even tougher. Almost felt like we were playing at a major today." At times, it looked even worse. Fist pumps were replaced by players stretching out their arm to take a penalty drop from the water -- 113 balls in the water, which is everywhere on the course that Gil Hanse redesigned under the direction of new owner Donald Trump. Trump described it as bold. It turned out to be brutal. And just like a U.S. Open, there were plenty of complaints. The greens were always going to be firm because the course was built in under a year. There was always going to be concern about the sharp edges of fairways and greens that sent balls down the bank and into the water. Throw in gusts that topped 30 mph, and any score was possible on any hole. "The setup is horrendous," Webb Simpson said after a 78 that included a bunker shot that went onto and over the seventh green and into the water. "Even if we had a 10 mph wind, it still would have been bad. I played terrible. I want to get that out there. But when you have conditions like this, and a setup like this, so much luck comes into play." Henrik Stenson prefaced his comments by saying, "How do you say something you might regret the rest of your life?" So he didnt. Stenson, part of the Nos. 1-2-3 grouping from the world ranking, had a 76 and joined Woods at 5-over 149. Masters champion Adam Scott, the other member of that illustrious trio, had a 73 and was at 4-over 148. The group was a combined 14-over par for the tournament. Stenson was walking off the 15th green Friday morning while finishing up the rain-delayed first round. Spotting a small group of reporters, he said, "Are you having fun watching?" And then as he walked away, he smiled and said, "Because its sure as hell not any fun to be playing." Johnson managed for the longest time. Even as everyone was succumbing to par, he was at 3 under with a birdie on No. 12. But he dropped a shot on the par-3 13th. His short iron into the 15th hit the green and rolled over the back and into the water. And on the 18th, his fairway bunker shot came out too strong and over the green, and he missed a 6-foot par putt that would have given him the outright lead. The forecast is for less wind on the weekend, and surely a sigh of relief from the players. And this World Golf Championship is wide open. "Weve all got a shot at it now," Woods said. "No one is going anywhere." Woods, like so many other players, could have gone south. He was 7 over for the round after a wedge tumbled into the water on No. 3. But he made the long birdie on No. 4 and hit wedge to 3 feet for birdie on the next hole, and then managed to avoid bogeys the rest of the way. Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., finished the day in a tie for 34th place. McIlroy went out in 40, but he made three birdies on the back nine. A 74 was enough to move up the leaderboard on this day. "It was a day where you obviously couldnt win the golf tournament, but you could let it get away from you, and you could rack up a few big numbers and play yourself out of contention," McIlroy said. Luke Donald did just that with an 82. So did Victor Dubuisson, who had an 81. Cheap Netherland Jerseys . In the last race before the Sochi Olympics, Bjoergen followed up her win in the 10-kilometre classical race on Saturday by beating World Cup sprint leader Denise Herrmann of Germany by 0.43 seconds for her fifth victory of the season. Cheap Croatia Jerseys . A player confirmed to TSN on the condition of anonymity that he received his ballot yesterday. Another confirms hes been told to expect his shortly. "The unions executive committee insists a strike vote does not mean were pushing away from the table," the player said. "But we want the league to know were serious about our position. http://www.cheapsoccerjerseysoutlet.com/?tag=cheap-brazil-jerseys . Doug Fister allowed two runs over seven innings and Washington hit three solo homers in a 6-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday night. Cheap AS Roma FC Jerseys . Jose Bautista homered for the fifth straight game in the sixth inning, following a two-out solo homer by Melky Cabrera. Edwin Encarnacion led off the seventh with a homer to tie the game 3-3 and, with two out in the seventh, Munenori Kawasaki came through with the two-out single to score pinch-runner Steve Tolleson with what proved to be the winning run. Cheap Switzerland Jerseys . First-half goals by Will Bruin and Oscar Boniek Garcia sucked the life out of the Impact as the Houston Dynamo bounced them from Major League Soccers post-season with a 3-0 victory on Thursday.ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The Minnesota Wild were reeling as last year ended. Star Zach Parise was on injured reserve. Coach Mike Yeos job was in jeopardy. Then the problems really piled up. Starting goalie Josh Harding was out of action again with an illness. Captain Mikko Koivu broke his ankle. Defenceman Jared Spurgeon got hurt, too. Somehow, the Wild survived -- and thrived. "Ah, it was a piece of cake," Yeo said last week, smiling wryly. "I slept like a baby." With an 11-4-2 record in 17 games since the calendar turned to 2014, the Wild have taken control of the first of two wild-card spots in the Western Conference playoff race. With 69 points, theyre ahead of Phoenix and Dallas, who have 64 apiece and have played one fewer game. Eight of those 11 wins were in regulation. "All I wanted to do is I wanted our players to look at me and say, OK, hes got confidence. OK, well, we should have confidence," Yeo said. "That was the one thing that I wanted. And I did believe in the group that we had still. And I did believe in the game that we played." The Wild still have had trouble scoring, ranking 25th in the NHL with 2.36 goals per game. With Hardings return unknown and Niklas Backstrom injured and ineffective at different times this season, Darcy Kuemper has taken over in the net. Relying on a rookie goalie can be a risk. But Parise is back in form from his broken foot. Spurgeon has returned. Koivu is skipping the Olympics and expected at full strength when the schedule resumes on Feb. 27. Nino Niederreiter, acquired in a draft-day trade, has given the offence a boost. Mikael Granlund has bounced back from a rough rookie year. "I think weve got good character," leading scorer Jason Pominville said. "A lot of guys stepped up in ddifferent situations.ddddddddddddIt wasnt easy at times. You could tell that we were missing some of our key guys, but I think other guys kind of found a way to adjust their game and get adjusted to the level of our play that you have to be successful night in and night out." During Yeos tenure as coach, the Wild have seemed to play better in less-than-ideal circumstances than when in tip-top shape. "Knowing our group, knowing competitors in general, they love a challenge," Yeo said. "So I think we all do." League realignment was welcomed by the Wild, for enhanced regional rivalries to better entice fans and more games in their own time zone. But this season, the new look has made their post-season bid more difficult. Only the top three teams in each division are guaranteed a playoff spot, and St. Louis (84 points), Chicago (84) and Colorado (79) are comfortably ahead of the Wild, who have only 23 games left. "Weve just got to focus on winning games and when we play Colorado, try to beat them and try to lessen that cushion that they have on us and try to slowly creep up on them," Pominville said. Added Parise: "Thats hard to gain that many points. But you never know. ... Youve got to push the teams down that are below you, and we have to take care of ourselves." The non-Olympians on the roster will reconvene for practice next week. The Wild will have to be careful not to lose the momentum they built, with 21 days between games. "Much the same as out of the lockout, its how can you get yourself game ready?" Yeo said. "Making sure that youre ready to execute and play at the pace that you need to play at, making sure that youre ready to battle at the level you need to, and making sure that the conditioning is at the level that you need it at." ' ' '