Fachbeiträge » top-seeded Dominika Cibulkova had

PINEHURST, N.C. -- Pinehursts No. 2 course will be set up the same way for both U.S. Open and U.S. Womens Open this year. U.S. Golf Association Executive Director Mike Davis said Saturday that the par-70 course will play at about 7,500 yards for the mens and about 6,700 yards for the women. "On a given hole, if the men are hitting drivers, we want to see the women hit drivers," he said during the USGAs annual meeting. "If the men are hitting 6- to 8-irons for approach shots, thats what we want to see the women do." The USGA is roughly four months away from its first-of-its-kind doubleheader: The mens event is June 12-15 with the womens tournament the following week. "While we want to test the same things for both championships, there are differences in how men and women play the game," Davis said. Davis says the USGAs reason for going back-to-back was to bring more attention to the womens game. "This was never about trying to make it operationally easier or save money," Davis said. "This was all about comparing the worlds best men with the worlds best women." He says the women are playing the second week -- and not the first -- because of agronomics. "We had a much better chance of getting the golf course right for both championships" with the women playing second, he said. "It really gets down to the putting greens. The first week, if Mother Nature is co-operative, theyre going to be slightly firmer. ... Very firm greens to slightly -- underscore, slightly -- less firm greens that second week. And agronomically, it was much easier to do the second week than the first." The 107-year-old, Donald Ross-designed course underwent a $2.5 million renovation in 2010-11. The face-lift, led by Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore, was designed to restore some of its original elements in plenty of time for the two opens -- including removing all traces of rough. With so much foot traffic expected on the course during the doubleheader, divots are inevitable -- especially during the second week. But Davis says the Bermuda grass isnt as divot-prone as bent grass, and says they will be filled with sand. "I think our view is (divots are) just part of the game," he said. Davis says the USGA wants to blend the two opens together, in a way -- perhaps by having some womens players show up in the TV booth on the 18th green to break down the mens play. "While theyre clearly two different championships, were looking at it as one big event," Davis said. "This is really a chance, on the same golf course, to test the worlds best." Also, Thomas J. OToole Jr. was elected as USGAs 63rd president. The 56-year-old OToole, from St. Louis, will serve a one-year term. "It is an honour and a privilege to lead such a noble organization," OToole said. "I am excited and energized to continue my service to the association and keenly aware of the magnitude of the profound responsibilities that accompany this role." Nick Gordon Jersey .Jeff Green, playing in his second preseason game after missing the first four because of a calf strain, had 18 points. The Celtics (3-3) shot 47.2 per cent from the floor and made 15 of 37 3-point attempts. Byron Buxton Twins Jersey . Louis, MO (SportsNetwork. https://www.cheaptwins.com/1282t-jack-mo...rsey-twins.html. With the Rangers already leading 2-0, Carey Price was taken down early in the second period of New Yorks 7-2 pounding of the Canadiens in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final on Saturday afternoon. Trevor Hildenberger Jersey . Right-hander Todd Redmond took the loss. Jose Bautista hit his second home run of the spring. Here are a handful of tidbits from around camp: Hutchison impressive The Blue Jays are being cautious when talking about their young arms but internally, excitement is building over the way Drew Hutchison is looking and performing this spring. Zack Littell Jersey . Hes recovered from a scary injury and cleared to play. Mingo, who was hospitalized with a bruised lung he sustained in an Aug.ACAPULCO, Mexico -- David Ferrer and Andy Murray, the top two seeded players in the Mexican Open, advanced to the second round on Tuesday while American and third-seeded John Isner became the first major casualty of the tournament, losing 7-6 (4) 7-6 (5) to Croatias Ivo Karlovic. Ferrer, the favourite in Acapulco, had a convincing 6-2, 6-3 victory over Kazakh Mikhail Kukushkin while Murray overcame a sluggish start and claimed a 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 win over Pablo Andujar, from Spain. "I had a difficult start, it was 10 minutes in the match and I was down 5-0, but I started to play more aggressively to get the win and hopefully I can have a good week here", Murray said. "The first set was extremely challenging, he was dictating the points, but later on he was getting tired and put the pressure on him". Murray, who played for the first time ever in Latin America, lost his first three service games and fell into a 5-0 hole, but came back strongly to set up a match against Joao Sousa of Portugal. "I played Joao once in Australia, he was new on the tour then and he has improved. Hes playing good tennis, hes good on clay and on hard courts", added Murray. "He plays similar to Pablo, hopefully I can play aggressively from the start." In the round-of-16, Ferrer, who is trying to win on Mexican soil for the fourth time in his career, will play Spanish compatriot Feliciano Lopez. "I..m not thinking about the final, Im only in the second round", Ferrer said. "Now Im only thinking about playing my best tennis against Feliciano Lopez, he..s a good player I need to give my best to beat him". Ferrer, who now has a 4-0 record aagainst Kukushkin, is coming off an impressive run in the past two weeks of the ATP tour, winning the Buenos Aires tournament and reaching the semifinals in Rio de Janeiro last week.dddddddddddd "Playing in Buenos Aires was not in my plans", said Ferrer who replaced his countryman Rafael Nadal in Argentina. "Im tired, but I will not be making any excuses, I need to take a rest now and get well for the rest of the tournament". Earlier, Karlovic served 15 aces to Isner fired eight in a match between two of the games biggest servers. "Im very disappointed," a visibly upset Isner said after the match. "I wanted to do well in here, is a good surface for me, but I played against a guy who played well against me". The 2.11-meter (6-foot-11) Karlovic now has a 3-2 career record against the 2.08-meter (6-foot-10) Isner, whos ranked 13th in the world. Sousa of Portugal came back to defeat Frenchman Adrian Mannarino 1-6, 6-2, 6-2. South Africas Kevin Anderson downed Stephane Robert of France 6-2, 7-6 (7) and will next play Americas Sam Querrey. Also, Alexandr Dolgopolov, from the Ukraine, beat Canadas Vasek Pospisil 6-2, 6-2 and seventh-seeded Ernests Gulbis had a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Taiwans Yen-Hsun Lu. Latvias Gulbis won his fifth career title last week in Marsella. On the womens side of the combined ATP-WTA tournament, top-seeded Dominika Cibulkova had a 6-3, 6-4 win over Urszula Radwanska, from Poland, Eugenie Bouchard eliminated Shahar Peer from Israel 6-2, 6-2, American Victoria Duval had a 6-2, 6-4 win over Czech Iveta Melzer and Estonian Kai Kanepi prevailed 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 against Jana Cepelova, from Slovakia. ' ' '