Bewerbungen » lot different," McIlroy said. "Got off to a goo

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- Tiger Woods says its way too early to hit the panic button. Then again, its too early by his standards to be getting up on a Saturday morning to play a PGA Tour event. But at least hes still playing. Already off to the slowest start of his career, Woods had to scramble on the back nine just to make the cut in the Honda Classic. Woods hit only two greens over his final nine holes. His lone birdie on the back nine was on the 13th hole, when he missed the green with a wedge and then chipped in for birdie. His par on the final hole gave him a 1-under 69 -- the first time in six rounds he had broken par at PGA National -- and left him 11 shots behind Rory McIlroy. Woods tees off at 7:38 a.m. Saturday. He should be done before the leaders even show up at the course to eat lunch. "Its a grind. Theres no doubt about it," Woods said. Golf looks anything but that to McIlroy, the 24-year-old from Northern Ireland who has yet to play a 72-hole tournament this season when he didnt have a chance going into the weekend. McIlroy ran off six birdies in a 10-hole stretch for a 4-under 66. He was at 11-under 129, one shot ahead of Brendon de Jonge, who had a 64. Woods began his year at Torrey Pines, where he his eight pro victories included a U.S. Open, and he didnt make it to Sunday. He failed to make the 54-hole cut (which kicks in when more than 78 players make the cut) and tied for 80th. Then it was off to Dubai, where he had won twice. He was never a factor and tied for 41st, his worst showing in seven appearances. Anything wrong? "Its only three events," Woods said, hiding his annoyance at the question. "So not that many rounds into it." Woods has played nine rounds of competition in the last three months. He has broken 70 only twice -- a 68 in the first round of Dubai and a 69 on Friday at the Honda Classic. Until this year, he had never started without at least one finish in the top 20. Woods wasnt ready to rule out a turnaround even this week. "I would like to obviously hit it better than I have been, and especially today. I didnt hit it very good today," he said. "But again, I fought out a number, which is always a good thing. Somehow would like to put together a good weekend. Were all bunched in there. Anything can happen this weekend." Being 11 shots behind in a 79-man field typically does not constitute one of those "anything can happen" weekends, though stranger things have occurred. Regardless, he looks to be miles away from the real action at the Honda Classic. And that starts with McIlroy. Boy Wonder won this tournament two years ago to reach No. 1 in the world for the first time. That was good. As the defending champion, he was so frustrated with his game and the mounting expectations that he walked off the golf course after 26 holes. That was bad. "This year is obviously a lot different," McIlroy said. "Got off to a good start. Im confident. Im playing well. This is the second straight tournament Ive opened with a 63. So if I can keep building on these good starts, then hopefully I can start converting." He was referring to Dubai, where he started with a 63 and then pressed too hard. As for getting off to a good start, he ostensibly meant his season. This will be the third straight stroke-play event of the year where he is a major presence on the weekend. Friday was another step in the right direction, despite errant tee shots on the 11th and 12th holes that led to bogeys. His round changed with a tee shot into 6 feet on the 16th hole for a birdie, and then a 12-foot birdie on the 18th to wrap up his front nine and earn back the two shots he had dropped. After a 45-foot birdie attempt on the second hole rimmed all the way around and out of the cup, Boy Wonder took off. He two-putted the par-5 third. He hit a wedge into 4 feet on the next hole. He rolled in a 30-foot birdie putt down the hill at the par-5 fifth. Then, after a tough par save on the sixth, he sank another 30-foot birdie putt that McIlroy made look routine. "Watching Rory play is amazing when hes swinging like this," Masters champion Adam Scott said. McIlroy is swinging freely and with confidence. He is starting to walk with a bit of swagger. From tee to green, his game looks solid. And on the green, it looks even better. McIlroy has taken only 49 putts through two rounds. "Thats probably the lowest putting total after 36 Ive probably had, maybe in my career," he said. "So its obviously going in the right direction." Jim Thome Indians Jersey ., will experience this week. A year in which the Canadian curling championship has been pushed forward a week to accommodate the Winter Olympics was deemed the perfect chance to stage the event in Montreal for the first time since 1979. Larry Doby Indians Jersey . -- So much for concern that running back Marshawn Lynch would be absent from the Seattle Seahawks minicamp. http://www.indianssale.com/indians-leonys-martin-jersey/. -- The Minnesota Twins have granted relief pitcher Matt Guerrier his unconditional release, making the 35-year-old right-hander a free agent. Jose Ramirez Indians Jersey .While Rosberg is coming off a strong victory at the Brazilian Grand Prix, Hamilton is dwelling on a mistake that ended his streak of five consecutive wins and kept him from increasing his advantage. Omar Vizquel Indians Jersey . Parmelee hit a game-ending shot in the ninth inning and the Minnesota Twins overcame David Ortizs big night to beat the Boston Red Sox 8-6 on Tuesday.PHILADELPHIA - Sergio Garcia defeated Henrik Stenson in Thailand over the weekend and that helped the Spaniard move back into the top 10 in this weeks world golf rankings. Garcia improved nine places to No. 10 thanks to his fourth Asian Tour title. The top nine in the rankings remained unchanged with No. 1 Tiger Woods followed by Adam Scott, Henrik Stenson, Justin Rose, Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy, Matt Kuchar, Steve Stricker and Zach Johnson. Garcia was followed by Jason Day, who remained No. 11, and Ian Poulter, who improved a pair to 12th. Brandt Snedeker tumbled three notches to 13th, while Graeme McDowell dipped a pair to 14th. Jason& Dufner, Dustin Johnson, Luke Donald, Charl Schwartzel and Jim Furyk all dropped one spot and are now ranked 15th through 19th respectively.dddddddddddd Keegan Bradley rounded out the top 20 again this week. With this being the final rankings of 2013, 14 players, who were not already eligible, gained a spot in the 2014 Masters for being ranked in the top 50 of the final world rankings of the year. Those 14 are -- Hideki Matsuyama, Thomas Bjorn, Jamie Donaldson, Victor Dubuisson, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, Miguel A. Jimenez, Francesco Molinari, Rickie Fowler, Matteo Manassero, David Lynn, Thongchai Jaidee, Peter Hanson, Joost Luiten and Branden Grace. ' ' '