record vs. the Yankees in the regular season. ... The Y

RIO DE JANEIRO -- There were first-tee jitters, for sure. This was something new, something distinctive, and even at 7:30 a.m. local time, Graham DeLaet felt a unique vibe as he plunged his tee into the ground on the first tee of the Olympic Golf Course.Golf returned to the Olympic Games for the first time since 1904, and DeLaet was in the opening group on purpose. Canadian George Lyon won the individual Olympic gold in St. Louis 112 years ago, the last time golf made an appearance in the games, and it wasnt lost on the organizers that DaLaet is from that part of the world.I was a little bit nervous actually, said DeLaet, 34, who opened the Olympic tournament with a 5-under-par 66 and is tied for second with Henrik Stenson but trails Australian leader Marcus Fraser by 3 strokes. We do this for a living week in and week out, but there was something different about that first tee shot today. It was a different announcement for us, and it was just a really cool feeling.I was playing with a Brazilian (Adilson da Silva), and that was neat. We had a lot of people out, especially for 7:30 in the morning, more than I anticipated. It was a lot of fun. We said as we were walking off the first tee, this is pretty cool, first time in over a hundred years, and were kind of the lead group. It was nice.If DeLaet was experiencing any trepidation, he didnt show it -- although later he did hint at it. And it has far more to do with what hes been battling around the greens than any nervousness associated with playing in the Olympics.On the eve of the Memorial Tournament in June, DeLaet took the unusual step of going to Twitter to announce he was withdrawing.Im dealing with incredible anxiety while chipping/pitching right now, he wrote. Its not fun. I needed to WD to get it sorted and get back ASAP.Yikes. Any golfer knows the fear associated with the dreaded yips, whether it be putting, chipping or with the full swing. We saw it painfully play out with Ernie Els on the first green at the Masters. None other than the great Ben Hogan dealt with putting problems. Same with Bernhard Langer. Earlier last year, it was believed that Tiger Woods was battling those demons as he inexplicably couldnt hit a chip shot.Whether that was actually the diagnosis for DeLaet is unclear, but he undoubtedly had issues chipping the ball from around the green. After withdrawing from the Memorial, he has played just three tournaments, two of them opposite-field events and the last the Canadian Open three weeks ago, where he had more chipping problems and missed the cut.A little bit of a break for my brain and just try to regroup, DeLaet said of his self-imposed break. Everything is feeling better and better all the time. I know that when I finally get through the whole thing, its just going to be a little blip on my radar when I look back on my career and thats how I look going forward.Understandably DeLaet doesnt go into a lot of specifics. It is a difficult subject, and one that he has yet to conquer. For those who have endured such troubles, the thought always looms that a poor chip shot -- an embarrassing one even -- could occur the next time a ball does not find a green.For this day at least, DeLaet performed quite well. His name is near the top of the leaderboard after one round of the Olympic tournament. And a little perspective never hurts.When you see how much (the Olympics) means to the other athletes, they have been working at this for four straight years and they are trying to peak for this time, and coming out in the opening ceremonies, you can see how much it means to them, and the pride and the excitement that they have, DeLaet said; Thats been probably the neatest thing for me to see is just how much this means to those other people. Air Jordan Wholesale China . Arsenal failed to take full advantage of its main rivals stumbles on Saturday as substitute Gerard Deulofeu levelled with a hard shot from a tight angle in the 84th minute to give Everton a deserved point. Ahead of a crucial fortnight that will see them play against Napoli in the Champions League, Manchester City and Chelsea, Arsenal leads by five points ahead of Liverpool and Chelsea. Adidas Ultra Boost Clearance Sale . PETERSBURG, Fla. http://www.brandshoescheaponline.com/wholesale-air-force-1-china.html . The Brazilian goalkeeper signed a loan deal with the Major League Soccer club on Friday as he looks to get playing time ahead of this summers World Cup in his home country. Cheap Air Max 95 China . After slipping from the summit during the week, the Gunners overcame struggling Crystal Palace 2-0 on Sunday thanks to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlains second-half brace. Jordan Factory Outlet China . Jon Montgomerys gold medal in skeleton at the Whistler Sliding Centre and his subsequent auctioning off of a pitcher of beer in the village square elevated him to folk-hero status. NEW YORK -- For Clayton Kershaw and the Los Angeles Dodgers, pitching five innings was nearly perfect.They almost were, too.Kershaw gave up just one hit in a start twice interrupted by rain, and Justin Turner grounded an RBI double off Dellin Betances in a two-run ninth that sent the Dodgers over the New York Yankees 2-0 Wednesday.For us to see Clayton go out and do what he does, its a huge lift for us, manager Dave Roberts said.The lefty ace threw 64 pitches in his second start since missing 10 weeks because of a herniated disk in his lower back. Last week in his return, he gave up two runs and five hits in three innings at Miami.Overall, a little bit better, for sure, Kershaw said.Of course, the three-time Cy Young Award winner still saw room for improvement.I gave up a hit, he said, so theres a bad pitch there.The Dodgers took advantage of errors by second baseman Starlin Castro and Betances to increase their NL West lead to five games over San Francisco.The Yankees completed a successful homestand and remained two games behind Toronto for the second AL wild card. Next up, they begin an 11-game trip -- their longest of the season -- to Boston, Tampa Bay and Toronto.I dont think you can forget the positive homestand that we had. We were 7-3 against some pretty good teams, manager Joe Girardi said. Obviously, this is a big road trip and we understand that.Kershaw walked none in his first career start at Yankee Stadium and exited with a 1.81 ERA. He struck out three and has fanned 153 while walking just nine this season.Its a good springboard, he said.There was a brief, 12-minute wait in the middle of the fourth. Kershaw kept loose by throwing underneath the stands during a 48-minute stoppage before the bottom of the fifth.Castro became the first Yankees batter to reach when Turner misplayed a hard grounder to third base for an error.Chase Headley followed with a single, and a sacrifice put two runners in scoring position. Kershaw toughened, striking out Rob Refsnyder and Austin Romine to keep it scoreless.Kershaw gave a quick fist pump after the escape.It was good to see that emotion, Roberts said.Castro previously played for the Cubs, and faced Kershaw in the National League. Castro ssaid Kershaw looked as good as ever.ddddddddddddYeah, I can tell that. His velocity is up there. All his breaking balls are up there. I think hes the same guy, Castro said.Luis Avilan (2-0) got four outs and Kenley Jansen completed the three-hitter, matching his career high with 44 saves in 50 chances.Los Angeles threw its major league-leading 15th shutout and won two of three in an interleague series between old October rivals.It was scoreless when Betances (3-5) took over to begin the ninth. Corey Seager led off with a liner that got under Castros glove for an error, stole second and scored when Turner grounded a double down the third base line.Turner moved to third on a flyball and scored as Betances fielded a comebacker by Yasmani Grandal but threw it over the head of catcher Gary Sanchez.Yankees starter Michael Pineda pitched four innings, giving up two hits and two walks.INTERLEAGUE INTELThe Dodgers went 10-10 in interleague play this season, including a 5-3 mark at AL East parks. Los Angeles is 7-6 against the Yankees in regular-season play -- Philadelphia, at 14-13, is the only other team in the majors with a winning record vs. the Yankees in the regular season. ... The Yankees went 8-12 against NL teams this season.TRAINERS ROOMYankees: Rookie RF Aaron Judge is likely done for the regular season because of a strained right oblique, general manager Brian Cashman said. Judge hurt himself taking a swing Tuesday night, and has been put on the 15-day disabled list.UP NEXTDodgers: LHP Rich Hill (12-3, 1.80 ERA) starts at Arizona vs. RHP Archie Bradley (6-9, 5.10) as LA continues a 10-game trip. Hill has won nine straight decisions, and was pulled with a perfect game in progress after seven innings at Miami in his last start because of concerns about a recurring blister.Yankees: New York begins a bruising trip when RHP Masahiro Tanaka (13-4, 3.04) starts at Fenway Park against Red Sox LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (2-7, 4.70) on Thursday night. The Yankees play four games in Boston, three at Tampa Bay and four in Toronto. It matches their longest trip in 10 seasons. ' ' '