off at the Houston Open a week later right before the Masters. And Kuchar understands being focused at the Masters can mea

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. -- There were no major letdowns for Masters contenders Matt Kuchar and Jordan Spieth at the RBC Heritage on Thursday. Kuchar, who tied for fifth at Augusta National, shot a bogey-free 5-under 66 to share the first-round lead with Scott Langley and William McGirt. The 20-year-old Spieth tied for second behind Bubba Watson last Sunday and continued his strong play with a 69, part of a large group tied for fifth at Harbour Town Golf Links. Kuchar and Spieth both spent much of Sunday in the pressure cooker that is the Masters final round. But neither player allowed any lingering disappointment or fatigue from a grueling week to slow them down here. "I was anxious to get back out and play another competitive round," Spieth said. "So today was going to be kind of therapy, in a sense, from last week." Langley and McGirt each had five birdies on the front nine to match Kuchar. Harris English was two shots behind after a 68 before Spieth topped a group of 15 another stroke back. In all, 54 competitors shot par or better despite the gusts of 20 mph that swept through the course much of the round. The week after the seasons first major is generally one of rest for many of golfs big names and this years no different. Masters champ Watson took off as did Phil Mickelson and Rory McIlroy. World No. 1 Tiger Woods continues recuperating from back surgery that kept him from playing Augusta National for the first time in 20 years. Just six of the worlds top-20 ranked golfers teed it up this week, led by Kuchar at No. 6. Spieth, who tied with fellow Masters rookie Jonas Blixt for second last week, didnt consider withdrawing at Harbour Town, convinced of the benefits of quickly getting back to work. It was also a get-to-know-you session for Spieth, who was paired with U.S. Ryder Cup captain Tom Watson and 2012 Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III. "It was unbelievable just to be playing with them," Spieth said. For Kuchar, playing was a no-brainer considering the strong run hes been on the past month or so. He tied for fourth at the Texas Open three weeks ago and lost in a playoff at the Houston Open a week later right before the Masters. And Kuchar understands being focused at the Masters can mean being zoned in at Harbour Town. "Youre going to see a lot of guys, if theyre not too run down from a major championship, come out and play some pretty good golf the week following." Kuchar played with confidence and precision, avoiding the winds when possible and playing to the meatiest parts of the smallish greens. After starting on the back nine, Kuchar birdied both the par 5 holes on the front side before finishing with a birdie on his final hole, the ninth, to shoot in the 60s for the sixth time in his past 11 rounds here. "It was some awfully steady golf," he said. Langley, with his early birdie run, looked as if he might finish on top alone after a 17-foot birdie putt on the par-3 14th moved him to 6 under. But Langley wound up in the scrub along the 18th green and took bogey to fall into the three-way tie for first. Langley has missed seven cuts this season, including his past two tournaments. But he felt confident in his game and took motivation from his friend Spieths run at a green jacket last week. "Seeing Jordan do so well, almost win the Masters, inspired me a little bit," Langley said. McGirt played in the same group with Langley and matched his partner with five front-nine birdies. He chipped in on the par-3 17th to move up into the tie for first. "Scott and I were both making birdies left and right," McGirt said. "It was easy to feed off each other." DIVOTS: Nick Faldo may make his weekend TV job after all. The CBS Sports analyst opened his first RBC Heritage in eight years with a 6-over 77 to tie for next-to-last place. The 56-year-old Faldo won his first U.S. event at Harbour Town in 1984. ... Davis Love III has been the Harbour master at the RBC Heritage with five victories and a tour-best $2.63 million won here. But he missed the past two years with injuries and was back for the first time since 2011. The layoff didnt slow Love down as he opened with a 1-under 70 -- his 59th career round under par at Harbour Town. ... Tom Watson was a two-time RBC Heritage champion who hadnt played here since 2001. He shot a 4-over 75. Adidas Superstar Sale Uk . After a tight first half, the Croatians took command in Reykjavik after Skulason was dismissed for a professional foul in the 51st minute, but couldnt find a way past Iceland goalkeeper Hannes Halldorsson and his packed defence. Eduardo had a weak shot cleared away from near the goalline after barely a minute for Croatia, whose substitute Ivica Olic forced a fine reaction save from Halldorsson in the 55th. Office Stan Smith Uk .ca. 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It was the Uzbeks third win in three matches against fifth-seeded Kohlschreiber, the 2007 and 2012 tournament winner.NEW YORK -- Martin Panza celebrated California Chromes charge to Preakness Stakes victory three weeks ago like most fans at the packed Pimlico Race Course -- bumping fists, slapping hands and thinking ahead to Saturday and the possibility of the first Triple Crown winner in 36 years. And then Belmont Parks director of racing operations thought about everything else: the tens of thousands of additional people who show up for the Belmont Stakes whenever a horse has a chance at history; the millions more in expected wagers; and the need for more of everything, from seating, concessions to bathrooms, security and about 1,000 additional workers. You can watch the Belmont Stakes on TSN this Saturday, with coverage beginning at 2:30pm et/11:30am pt. Local officials and business leaders celebrated too, seeing the race and the added interest of a Triple Crown contender as a boon of sold-out hotel rooms, dinners out and free publicity, so long as the writers and broadcasters were aware the track is actually on Long Island, as NBCs Bob Costas noted Wednesday, and not in New York City. If California Chrome triumphs, it will happen on Panzas turf -- or rather, his dirt -- at an marquee New York-area event that the tracks new management team reimagined earlier this year as a fusion of sports and entertainment worth attending even when the Triple Crown is not on the line. They have filled the undercard with high-stakes races, increased the days total purse to $8 million -- the second-richest day in American horse racing behind the final slate of the Breeders Cup -- and surrounded the action with music from rapper and actor LL Cool J, former New York Yankees centre fielder Bernie Williams and Frank Sinatra Jr. singing "New York, New York." "For the first year of us doing this, under this new format, its not going to get any better than this," Panza said in an interview near his track office, which was filled with boxes of Belmont Stakes caps and bags of other race souvenirs. "From our end, what we need to do now is observe how the day goes and see what we can do for next year, always thinking that there could be another Triple Crown on the line." California Chrome is the 12th horse to reach Long Island with wins in the first two legs of the Triple Crown, the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes, since Affirmed won all three in 1978. Attendance for those 11 races averaged nearly 30,000 more than in years without a contender -- going from a low of 37,171 in 1995 when Thunder Gulch and Timber Country split the Derby and the Preakness, to a record 120,139 in 2004 when Birdstone upsett Smarty Jones in the last of a three-year stretch of Triple Crown contenders in the Belmont Stakes.dddddddddddd On-site wagering on the race-day program also surged in those years, according to track records, jumping from $6.8 million in contender-less 1996 to $9.2 million the following year when Silver Charm took the first two races, and from $8.8 million in contender-less 2007 to $13.3 million when Big Brown raced for history in 2008. Ill Have Anothers wins in Louisville and Baltimore sent attendance for the 2012 Belmont Stakes to nearly 86,000 and on-site wagering to $13.8 million even though the horse was withdrawn the day before the race due to a leg injury. The head of the tracks management team said ticket sales for this years Belmont Stakes, with its emphasis on high-level racing and daylong entertainment, were already brisk before California Chrome broke from the gate at Churchill Downs in May. More than 70 per cent of tickets and premium tables for the race were sold before the Derby and all were gone before the Preakness, according to New York Racing Association president and chief executive officer Christopher Kay. After the Preakness, Kay said, they added a trackside tent and additional seating to accommodate the surge of interest in a potential California Chrome coronation. General admission and grandstand tickets costing $10 remained available through the track late in the week and more than 3,000 tickets, ranging from $12 for grandstand to $2,300 for a table for two at the Garden Terrace Restaurant, were available on the secondary ticket sales website StubHub.com. Good weather -- 82 degrees and sunny, according to the National Weather Service -- could push the crowd into record territory. "Our intent is to make Belmont Stakes day an important day year in and year out," Kay said. This year it has been an important day -- and week -- for business. The largest hotel on Long Island, a Marriott with more than 600 rooms in Uniondale, and the ornate Garden City Hotel -- where management said all of the owners, trainers and jockeys in the Belmont Stakes were staying and where the menu includes a cocktail named for each horse -- have sold out under race-related demand. Other hotels were also booked solid, officials said, forcing some out-of-town fans to find lodging in Suffolk County, about 20 miles east, or stay in Manhattan, about 15 miles west. "This Triple Crown opportunity doesnt come too often," state hotel association chairman John Tsunis said. "But, whoever wins in the race, the real winners will be Long Island and New York State." ' ' '