PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) Phil Mickelson was all dressed up for his first PGA Tour pairing with Tiger Woods in five years, wearing a long-sleeved, button-down shirt in 85-degree heat.

He might be hesitant to put it on again.

Mickelson shot a 7-over 79 in the opening round at the Players Championship on Thursday, his worst score at TPC Sawgrass since 2000. Woods (72) wasn’t a whole lot better on a day when 68 guys were under par.

Article continues below …

The mega pairing turned out to be a mega dud.

Mickelson and Woods, along with Rickie Fowler (74), drew huge crowds as the featured group at the Stadium Course. Their golf didn’t match the hype.

The threesome delivered so few highlights that Mickelson’s shirt was the talk of the town for much of the afternoon.

”I actually really like it,” said Mickelson, who is brand ambassador and equity holder in the menswear brand Mizzen and Main. ”I think nobody does kind of slightly overweight, middle-aged guy better than me, and this s..

Richard HeathcoteAfter following Phil Mickelson on Thursday at the Players Championship, I left more impressed than ever with his patience with the fans, because the man was heckled into oblivion over his much-maligned long-sleeve shirt. Each jab was met with a typical Mickelson nod, smile and thumbs up. Luckily for Phil, he isn't on social media, because his thumb would have frozen stiff from thumbs-upping all the haters doubling as “Project Runway” judges on Twitter.
Much like when he wore it at the Masters, Mickelson's Mizzen+Main button-down dress shirt generated a ton of buzz, so much so that it was basically all he was asked about after a brutal first-round 79 at TPC Sawgrass. Like he did all day with the fans, Mickelson was able to make light of it:
“This stuff is stretchy. You don't even know it's on,” said Mickelson. “It's very comfortable. So I actually really like it. I think nobody does kind of slightly overweight middle aged guy better than me, and..

AGRIGENTO, Italy (AP) England’s Ryan Evans and Lucas Bjerregaard of Denmark shared the lead with 6-under 65s after the opening round of the European Tour’s Sicilian Open on Thursday.

England’s Marcus Armitage, Andy Sullivan and Daniel Brooks, Adilson Da Silva of Brazil and Spain’s Scott Fernandez were two strokes behind.

Evans, who had an eagle and four birdies at Verdura Golf Club, wasn’t able to complete a full practice round after his flight was delayed from London.

Article continues below …

Bjerregaard missed five of his first seven cuts this season but finished sixth at the China Open last month.

”I haven’t played well this year but I found something in China, and the things I’ve been working on for quite a while now seem to be coming around a little bit,” he said.

Mikhail MetzelAccording to reports out of the great and honorable Kremlin on Thursday, Vladimir Putin—president of Russia and sublime hockey maestro—scored five goals in an exhibition hockey game, the most by any sitting president in a single celebrity hockey game this year, according to government officials who have no reason to stretch the truth to its logical breaking point whatsoever.
Playing in Russia's annual “Legends of Hockey” exhibition game (think the NBA All-Star game, minus democracy), the 65-year-old Putin torched his opposition for half of 10 goals as state television beamed every glorious triumph of the Russian spirit straight to the Russian people, who cheered on their beloved talisman completely of their own free will. The 33.33%-of-15-goals tally represents a steady downturn in productivity from the supreme leader, who scored seven goals last year and eight the year before, but thankfully Putin remained in good spirits after the game, even taking time out of his ..

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) Dustin Johnson is using a new technique for his putting and he likes the results.

Frustrated over not seeing enough putts go in over the last three months, Johnson tried the ”AimPoint” method that some players use to help them read the greens. He opened with six birdies on the back nine, only once had a putt over 3 feet for par and wound up with a 6-under 66 to share the early lead at The Players Championship.

Alex Noren and Webb Simpson also were at 66 among the early starters Thursday.

Article continues below …

Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, playing together for the first time in nearly four years, were out in the afternoon when the light wind was a little stronger. Johnson and the early birds couldn’t ask for better scoring conditions at the TPC Sawgrass.

Johnson, whose No. 1 ranking is in jeopardy this week, made the putts he had been missing in Mexico and Riviera, at Augusta National and Hilton Head.

So he had one of his coaches, Allen Terrell..

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) The PGA Tour gave its premier tournament even more sizzle by putting Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler in the same group Thursday afternoon. For the undercard, Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas played together in the morning.

None was anywhere near the lead at The Players Championship.

McIlroy was the only player from those two groups who managed to break par. He shot 1-under 71.

Article continues below …

The best golf – and there was plenty of it on an ideal opening round for scoring – was all around them.

Dustin Johnson, Webb Simpson and Alex Noren set the pace early. Matt Kuchar, Chesson Hadley and Patrick Cantlay joined them late. All were at 66, part of the largest share of the lead in the opening round at the TPC Sawgrass, and the most players tied at the top at The Players in 40 years.

”If you’re on your game, this course suits you,” Kuchar said.

That’s been the story of the TPC Sawgrass over the years – a design that..

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) Two tournaments into his return following a wrist injury, U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka nearly suffered another setback.

All because of a golf cart.

Koepka waited until the last minute Thursday morning before deciding to tee off at The Players Championship, and he got around just fine with a 2-under 70 while playing alongside fellow power hitters Dustin Johnson and Bubba Watson.

Article continues below …

”When I was going to the tee, I felt like I could still win the tournament,” Koepka said. ”If I don’t feel I can win, I’m not going to tee it up.”

Koepka was on the back of the range Wednesday, hitting what he described as ”punch, stinger 3-irons” that he would need from the tee on No. 18, when a cart appeared from behind a building and was driving some 15 yards in front of where players were hitting.

Koepka said the cart was right in his line, and the ball could have hit the driver, so he instinctively stopped.

”I mean, I unloaded everything,” ..

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) The PGA Tour gave its premier tournament even more sizzle by putting Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler in the same group Thursday afternoon. For the undercard, Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas played together in the morning.

None was anywhere near the lead at The Players Championship.

McIlroy was the only player from those two groups who managed to break par. He shot 1-under 71.

Article continues below …

The best golf – and there was plenty of it on an ideal opening round for scoring – was all around them.

Dustin Johnson, Webb Simpson and Alex Noren set the pace early. Matt Kuchar, Chesson Hadley and Patrick Cantlay joined them late. All were at 66, part of the largest share of the lead in the opening round at the TPC Sawgrass, and the most players tied at the top at The Players in 40 years.

”If you’re on your game, this course suits you,” Kuchar said.

That’s been the story of the TPC Sawgrass over the years – a design that..

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) Dustin Johnson is using a new technique for his putting and he likes the results.

Frustrated over not seeing enough putts go in over the last three months, Johnson tried the ”AimPoint” method that some players use to help them read the greens. He opened with six birdies on the back nine, only once had a putt over 3 feet for par and wound up with a 6-under 66 to share the early lead at The Players Championship.

Alex Noren and Webb Simpson also were at 66 among the early starters Thursday.

Article continues below …

Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, playing together for the first time in nearly four years, were out in the afternoon when the light wind was a little stronger. Johnson and the early birds couldn’t ask for better scoring conditions at the TPC Sawgrass.

Johnson, whose No. 1 ranking is in jeopardy this week, made the putts he had been missing in Mexico and Riviera, at Augusta National and Hilton Head.

So he had one of his coaches, Allen Terrell..

Mike PowellBrazilians specialize in two things: Soccer—mythical, masterful, cosmically transcendent fútbol that makes exploding comets look like Stoke vs. Millwall—and sex—mythical, masterful, cosmically transcendent sex that makes exploding comets look like Trump and Stormy Daniels. Just ask World Cup-winning striker, present-day politician, and Brazilian national treasure Romario, who, when asked if he had any advice for 21-year-old Seleção striker Gabriel Jesus ahead of this summer's tournament, offered up this little nugget of wisdom:
“Have enough sex is one piece of advice – as is making the most you can of your days off.”
So, uhh, yeah, there you have it. Not exactly subtle, but if anyone knows, it's Romario, the last man to win the World Cup and the Golden Ball (the World Cup's MVP award) at the same tournament. Despite Romario's emphasis on, er, recharging, however, he also went on to explain that players must also concentrate on the match at hand (OK, makes..