Freischaltung » ooted Millers bases-loaded grounder for an

SYDNEY -- Royal Sydney was there for the taking on Thursday morning, yet star international attraction Jordan Spieth was more than content with his three-under round and place in the Australian Open field.Sunny skies and next to no wind made for a perfect scoring environment early on at Royal Sydney -- located just five minutes drive from the famed Bondi Beach -- with Australian amateur Curtis Luck taking advantage of the benign conditions to grab a share of the lead at five-under after the morning wave.Playing his first competitive round at Royal Sydney after winning at The Australian in 2014 and finishing runner-up to Matt Jones at The Lakes last year, Spieth struggled off the tee at times but also showed touches of the class that has taken him to two major triumphs and a stretch as world No. 1.After putting in the deep greenside bunker on the par-three 17th, Spieth dug himself out of trouble in sensational style by stiffing it to a foot to save par, a feat he repeated on 18, before he began the front nine with back-to-back birdies.A birdie on the par-five seventh following a superb second shot saw him momentarily grab a share of the lead, but the good work was undone a hole later when he duffed a flop shot having driven through the green, which resulted in a bogey.Still, the American was more than content with his efforts on day one and predicted conditions to toughen into Friday and across the weekend.I think if I can shoot three-under each day, given the course is going to play harder the next three, shoot three-under each day, then Ill be in good shape, Spieth said.I would certainly like to have gotten off and made a few more putts, but at the same time I was in trouble off the tee a few times and salvaged par. So I feel like Im in good shape to contend at this event, just would like to post the same score three more times.Spieths next assignment will be to negotiate a sticky afternoon tee time on Friday with the temperature in Sydney set to climb to 30 degrees Celsius.The hot conditions are unlikely to serve as a deterrent to the crowds, with Spieths gallery growing throughout the opening round -- culminating on the ninth green where there was next to no viewing spots when the American finished up.Kids were out on course early to watch Spieth in action, some making their way to lessons after just a few holes while others took the opportunity to watch the world No.5 cut his way through all 18.Those a little older would have enjoyed the performance of young Aussie amateur Luck who took the marquee pairing in his stride -- Geoff Ogilvy rounding out the trio -- the 20-year-old west Australian earning high praise from former Masters champion Spieth.Really, really impressive player, Curtis, real simple golf swing, Spieth said of Luck.Just kind of understands where hes at and how to play different shots, and then around the greens he was spectacular, which is something you certainly need to take with you up to the next level. So hes certainly got all the tools.He could have shot even par for the day, instead he turned that into five-under in the middle of the roundSo thats the kind of stuff that is unteachable, and he has that.Spieth, too, has proven he has those unteachable qualities and armed with a few local lessons from Thursday, its little wonder he was happy with his opening-round return. Wholesale NFL Store . Note: The Calgary Flames announced Tuesday that Sean Monahan would not be made available to Canadas World Junior team. Cheap NFL Jerseys China Online . Nathan MacKinnon, Jamie McGinn and Jan Hejda also scored for the Avalanche, who won despite being outshot 38-23. MacKinnons goal, also on the power play, came with just over a minute remaining. http://www.jerseyschinanfl.com/ . -- Yogi Ferrell orchestrates pretty much everything in Indianas offence. Cheap NFL Shop . -- Al Jefferson found a groove just in time for the Charlotte Bobcats. NFL Gear From China . Breaking three of his own world records on his way to winning in Paris, Chan silenced the critics and left the audiences standing in appreciation and awe.SAN DIEGO - Jason Marquis combined with four relievers on a four-hitter to win his fifth straight start and Will Venable homered to lead the San Padres. Marquis (6-2) has won five consecutive starts for the first time since 2007 with the Chicago Cubs. He allowed two runs, one earned, on three hits in six innings while striking out three and walking four. With the St. Louis Cardinals leading the San Diego Padres 2-1 in the sixth inning, manager Mike Matheny had seen enough of Shelby Miller. The rookie right-hander had just walked his second batter of the inning, with two outs, on his 107th pitch. The Padres scored twice to take the lead, sticking Miller with the loss in a 4-2 defeat. "He hit some real good spots," Matheny said. "But it was one of those games where they fouled off a lot of pitches to get his pitch count up. It was too high to really get himself out of trouble late in the game." Chris Denorfia went 3 for 3 with an RBI for the Padres, who have won three straight and five of seven. Huston Street pitched the ninth for his 11th save in 12 chances. Venable homered into the Jack Daniels Old No. 7 Deck atop the right-field fence leading off the seventh, his seventh. It came on the second pitch from Mitchell Boggs, who just returned from a demotion to Triple-A Memphis. Miller (5-3) allowed three runs and five hits in 5 2-3 innings, struck out five and walked three. "It was more just missing my spots and them not swinging," Miller said. "When you face a good-hitting offence, its not going to be easy to throw it and have them swing at it every single time. Its something I have to realize just to get the ball around the zone." The Padres scored two runs in the sixth on three walks, one hit and a hit batter. After Miller was pulled, Denorfia greeted Fernando Salas with an RBI single. John Baker walked to load the bases aand Salas hit pinch-hitter Jesus Guzman with a pitch to bring in another run.dddddddddddd "It seems like 20 pitches every single inning, every single outing, back-to-back starts," Miller said. "Throwing so many pitches in back-to-back games is not good. It accumulates with a little bit of everything. My curveball wasnt really good tonight. Neither was my changeup. My fastball wasnt really there. Multiple things were off." Miller entered with a 1.40 ERA, tied with Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers for the lowest in the majors. It went up to 1.74. Two starts earlier, Miller allowed a single to start the game and then retired the next 27 batters in a 3-0 home win against Colorado. Millers scoreless streak of 14 2-3 innings ended in the first when Everth Cabrera hit a leadoff single and scored on Chase Headleys one-out single. The Cardinals tied it in the second when Headley, San Diegos Gold Glove third baseman, booted Millers bases-loaded grounder for an error, allowing Yadier Molina to score. The Cardinals added a run in the third when Carlos Beltran hit a leadoff double, advanced on Matt Hollidays single and scored on Allen Craigs double-play grounder. San Diego had a prime opportunity to score in its half when Cabrera hit a leadoff triple to right-centre. But he was stranded when Miller struck out Will Venable and Headley before Carlos Quentin popped up. NOTES: Cardinals 3B David Freese was a late scratch due to getting three stitches in the base of his right thumb after getting spiked by Milwaukees Norichika Aoki while tagging him out during a rundown Sunday. Freese was replaced by Ty Wigginton, who grew up in suburban Chula Vista. ... Marquis has a 2.27 ERA during his five-game winning streak. ... The series continues Tuesday night when St. Louis RHP Adam Wainwright (5-3, 2.51 ERA) faces RHP Edinson Volquez (3-4, 5.55). ' ' '