LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- For Rory McIlroy, the shockingly bad shot

[carrie201918]

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- For Rory McIlroy, the shockingly bad shot came out of nowhere. No worries. By the time he walked off the 18th green, there was little doubt he was still the man to beat at the PGA Championship. McIlroy ripped off four straight birdies on the back side and closed with another at the 18th hole, shooting a 5-under 66 at Valhalla that left him one shot off the lead Thursday. Fridays second round coverage begins with live streaming on TSN.ca at 8:30am et/5:30am pt while TSNs coverage begins at 1pm et/10am pt. Coming off wins at the British Open and Firestone, McIlroy came into the final major of the year as an overwhelming favourite. Even with a major blunder at the 10th, where he knocked his second shot over a fence and took double bogey, he was right on the heels of Lee Westwood, Ryan Palmer and Kevin Chappell. "Im really happy with everything," McIlroy said. "Ive got a good thing going right now. Im trying to ride that momentum as much as I can." Then theres Tiger Woods, who cant seem to get anything going. Playing just four days after his back flared up at Firestone, forcing him to withdraw, Woods proclaimed himself fit but sprayed shots all over the course on the way to a 74 that left him tied for 111th late in the day. "That wasnt very good," said Woods, who made only one birdie -- and had to hole out from the fairway to do that. "A lot of bad shots." One landed in a creek. Another sent the gallery scrambling. Yet another rolled into a fenced-off area where fans can use cellphones, a good 30 yards right of the fairway. Too bad Woods couldnt call for help. "I didnt play as well as I wanted to. I didnt get a putt to the hole," he said. "Thats not a good combo." McIlroy was cruising along when he got to the 10th, having made three birdies on the front side. After putting his tee shot right in the middle of the fairway at the par-5 hole, he yanked the next one out of bounds. A man talking on his cellphone along the fence, not concerned at all with getting in the way, was stunned with he looked up to see a ball sailing over his head. Especially when he learned whose ball it was. "I was really annoyed," McIlroy said. "That second shot at 10 is the worst shot Ive hit in weeks. It came out of the blue." He took a penalty and a drop and missed the fairway with his next attempt as well, resulting in a 7. Still shaken by that miscue, McIlroy made bogey at No. 11 to slip to even on the day. Just like that, he pulled himself together. Four straight birdies pushed McIlroy right back up the leaderboard, and it could have easily been five in a row. A 12-footer slid over the edge of the cup at the 16th. At the final hole, McIlroy reached the green in two for an eagle try to share the lead. If curled off at the end, leaving him with a tap-in -- his eighth birdie of the round. "It could have been better," he said. "But a 66 the first day, thats a solid start." Westwood matched his best round ever at a major, making nine birdies as he carried over the momentum from a closing 63 at Firestone. The 41-year-old Englishman also had a double bogey on his 10th hole of day -- at No. 1, after starting on the back -- but closed with four straight birdies. "The golf course was all there in front of me. I just play it as I see it," said Westwood, who has had numerous close calls but never won a major championship. "Last week, I felt like I turned a corner." Chappell, a 28-year-old Californian in his fourth year on the PGA Tour, turned in a bogey-free round. The final major of the year has produced some unlikely champions -- remember Shaun Micheel? -- and Chappell hopes to be the latest. "I cant complain about being in the lead of any golf tournament," said Chappell, whose only professional win came on the Web.com Tour in 2010. "I just look forward to keeping it rolling." Palmer birdied five of the nine holes on the back side, which is where he started his round. He said the greens were more inviting than he expected. "I was surprised how soft they were," he said. "It was a pretty easy, relaxing nine for me." McIlroy was joined at 65 by Jim Furyk, Henrik Stenson, Edoardo Molinari and Chris Wood. For Furyk, it was another strong start in a tournament he nearly won a year ago. He took a lead to the final day at Oak Hill, only to lose to Jason Dufner by two strokes. Dufners title defence lasted only 10 holes. Plagued by a sore neck, he withdrew after a triple-bogey left his score at 8 over, probably ending his Ryder Cup hopes as well. He came in ranked No. 8 in the standings and hoping to somehow play well enough to stay in one of the nine qualifying spots. "I tried to do what I could to be able to compete some and give it a go," Dufner said, "but it is just pointless." Hydro Flask Suomi . The stakes were higher, the competition more fierce and the atmosphere was that of a playoff game - something the young, upstart Raptors have five weeks to better prepare themselves for or the result will be eerily similar. Hydro Flask 40 OZ . -- Ricky Romeros comeback bid hit another road bump Tuesday in an ugly 18-4 Jays loss to a Detroit Tigers split squad. http://www.hydroflaskpullosuomi.com/. Lost to Los Angeles in first round of playoffs. Hydro Flask 24 OZ . -- David Ortiz saved his only hit for a key moment for the Boston Red Sox. Hydro Flask 32 OZ .Y. -- Defenceman Ryan Murphy had a goal and an assist and Drew MacIntyre made 24 saves to help the Carolina Hurricanes beat the New York Islanders 4-2 in an exhibition game Wednesday night.ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Jerome Williams got back into the win column for the first time in more than 2 1-2 months. The fact that he beat reigning AL Cy Young Award winner David Price and the contending Tampa Bay Rays made it that much sweeter. Collin Cowgill hit a three-run double, one of 11 hits the Los Angeles Angels had against Price through his first 2 1-3 innings, and Williams ended a streak of eight straight losing decisions in a 6-2 victory over the Rays on Thursday night. "I thought our guys did a great job in some situation hitting with guys on base against a tough pitcher," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "David Price is as tough of a left-handed pitcher as youre going to face, but our left-handed hitters hung in there. We had great at-bats tonight, and David Price had to work for every out." Williams (6-10) allowed two runs and six hits over 6 1-3 innings, struck out seven and walked two as the Angels earned a split of the four-game series. The right-hander was winless in his previous 13 starts with a 6.58 ERA since winning at Baltimore on June 12. His eight straight defeats were the most by an Angel since 1993, when Scott Sanderson was 0-9 in his final 11 starts with the club before San Francisco claimed him off waivers. "I just wanted to put up zeroes and keep the guys in the hunt for a win," Williams said. "Im just going out here and doing my job, trying to do my best. Whatever happens, happens, as long as at the end of the day and the end of the season I can look myself in the mirror and say: I did OK. Thats fine." Price (8-7) was charged with six runs while striking out six. The three-time All-Star left-hander, who won a career-high 20 games last season, has lost consecutive starts for the first time since dropping three straight from July 20-Aug. 2, 2011. "He made some bad pitches at the wrong times," manager Joe Maddon said. "He was off with some of his off-speed stuff. He was just missing early. Then he really settled in and pitched extremely well after that." The Angels built a 6-2 lead through the third, and everyone in the starting lineup had at least one hit by then. Price didnt give up another hit after Kole Calhouns RBI single in the third, retiring 14 of his final 15 batters. "I got better as the game went along, but 11 hits and a walk through three innings is pretty rough," Price saidd.dddddddddddd "Its frustrating when you go out there and dont perform well for your team." The Angels opened the third with five consecutive hits, including a leadoff single by Mike Trout, who was picked off and then thrown out at second. Mark Trumbo and Luis Jimenez both doubled during the rally, and Josh Hamilton had an RBI single. Jimenez scored on a fielders choice grounder by Grant Green. Los Angeles put runners at the corners in the first with none out, but Price escaped that jam unscathed. "I made pitches to get out of the first inning, but I didnt in the second and third and they made me pay," Price said. "Ive got to make better pitches earlier in the count." But the Angels loaded the bases with one out in the second, after third baseman Evan Longoria played Greens high chopper near the bag on the second hop and was too late to get the force on the sliding Hamilton. Cowgill then cleared the bases with double to the gap in left-centre on a 2-2 pitch, doubling his RBI total in his 29th game and 52nd at-bat with the Angels following the June 25 trade from the New York Mets. The Rays got on the board in the third when James Loney hit a two-run double high off the 18-foot high wall in right-centre with two outs, after David DeJesus and Ben Zobrist opened the inning with singles. Loney, who had consecutive 90-RBI seasons with the Dodgers in 2008-09, raised his season total to 62 with his 200th career double. The Rays ninth loss in 12 games, coupled with Bostons 9-8 win at New York, dropped Tampa Bay 6 1-2 games behind the AL East-leading Red Sox. Those teams will meet next week in a three-game series at Tropicana Field after the Rays complete their 10-game West Coast trip with three at Seattle. NOTES: Three-time Gold Glove 2B Bobby Knoop was inducted into the Angels Hall of Fame in a pregame ceremony, joining a select fraternity that includes 1960s keystone partner and ex-roommate Jim Fregosi -- who caught Knoops ceremonial first pitch. The other members are Nolan Ryan, Rod Carew, Brian Downing, Chuck Finley, Don Baylor, Bobby Grich, original owner Gene Autry, longtime conditioning coach Jimmie Reese, and the entire 2002 World Series championship club. ... The Angels, who eclipsed last seasons loss total of 73 on Wednesday, need to go no worse than 8-15 to avoid the teams first 90-loss finish in Scioscias 14 seasons as manager. ' ' '