crowd. Mike Halmo also threw his body around, and then ripped a

Patrick Reed believes the back nine will prove crucial during The 145th Open after going round in 66 in his opening round. The American took the clubhouse lead on five under after a round that included five birdies, an eagle and just two bogeys. Watch The Open Watch the first round of The Open for free, no contract Its one of these golf courses where you feel like you have to go out and make a ton of birdies early, Reed told Sky Sports. But at the same time, if you get too aggressive then you can make a lot of big numbers so what I tried to was, I played pretty conservative through the first six or seven holes. Then it just happened that I holed out a wedge shot, hit a couple of good iron shots and rolled in a couple of puts. The key this week isnt so much the front as it is the back nine. The back nine here, if it plays into the wind, is brutal.Reed also spoke of how he feels that competing in last weeks Scottish Open has benefited him at Royal Troon. Justin Thomas started his round with four birdies on the bounce Its very important, he added. It allows you to get a little bit more comfortable because back home everything is carry and spin and over here it is more about keeping the ball down, fighting it but at the same time, you need to get comfortably hitting pitching wedges from 100 yards. I think that is the hardest thing for me - hitting something really soft yet really being able to control the trajectory, distance and direction. Justin Thomas finished on four under at Royal Troon in his first ever round at The Open Justin Thomas, meanwhile, began his round with four consecutive birdies on his debut at The Open and another gain on the last saw him finish -4.It definitely helps, thats for sure, he said of his superb start. The front nine was definitely scoreable, the wind is in a good direction and it wasnt too heavy so you had to get on those on the front nine.I put myself in good spots off the tee and gave myself a lot of chances and it was nice to make the turn like that.It was great [to end with a birdie] after I felt like I was grinding throughout the back nine just to salvage pars and bogeys and doubles even.I love links golf, I have been fortunate enough to play some events on it and you just have to be creative. You never know what youre going to get with the conditions and so I think in terms of a gameplan and how youre going to attack the course, it changes day to day.On a day like today, you can be a little bit more aggressive but that back nine is still really, really difficult and you just have be patient, get the ball on the fairway and try to minimise the mistakes. Also See: Sign in to watch The 145th Open LIVE! Latest leaderboard WATCH: Oosthuizens hole in one! Patrick Roy Jersey . DArnaud hit one of three doubles for the Mets as they took a 4-0 lead in the first. Then the catchers seventh home run of the season broke the game open in the fifth. The 41-year-old Colon (10-8) retired the first 20 batters in his last outing Wednesday against Seattle, eventually allowing two runs on three hits in 7 1-3 innings in a 3-2 win. Colorado Avalanche Jerseys . CEO Steve Koonin on Tuesday told the Hawks flagship radio station that he made the decision to discipline Ferry but allowed him to keep his job managing the team. He did not say what the punishment was, but noted that he relied on a law firms three-month investigation of Ferry and him describing Deng as someone who has a little African in him. http://www.hockeyavalanche.com/authentic-rob-ramage-avalanche-jersey/ . Wilson hit Schenn from behind during Tuesday nights game in Philadelphia, earning a five-minute major for charging and a game misconduct. He has a phone hearing with the department of player safety, which limits any potential suspension to five or fewer games. Patrick Roy Avalanche Jersey . Toronto dropped a 7-2 decision to the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday afternoon, with only a pair of late runs preventing a second straight shutout loss. Josh Willingham belted a two-run homer in the first inning and Kendrys Morales hit a bases-clearing double in the seventh as the Twins took the rubber game of the three-game series. Matt Nieto Jersey . The senior threw for 319 yards and no interceptions in his final college game, leading No. UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- Once the game goes to a shootout, the New Jersey Devils are already a beaten team. They have been pushed past overtime 10 times this season, and have lost every one of the tiebreakers. The latest, a 2-1 defeat to the also-ran New York Islanders on Saturday night, pushed the Devils closer to missing the playoffs. "Even if we were just .500 on those, wed have an extra four or five points and we wouldnt be in this situation," said forward Patrik Elias, whose miss in the second round ended the game. Not only arent the Devils coming out on top, they are having trouble scoring. Only once in 30 shootout tries this season have they managed a goal. In seven of the 10 shootouts, they were behind 1-0 before their first attempt. That was the case again Saturday when Frans Nielsen started with a goal, and Brock Nelson added one in the second round. New Jersey has lost 14 consecutive shootouts, including two in the past two games. "Were at the point we can pretty much try everything because what were doing is not working," forward Damien Brunner said. "Maybe we have to start throwing some jokes around on the bench. It cant get any worse." Nielsen scored in the second period, when a puck struck Elias in the pants and caromed in to give the Islanders a brief 1-0 lead. Cory Schneider played well otherwise and made 19 saves, but the Devils are five points below the wild-card cutoff with eight games left and will have to jump over several teams. "We had a chance to actually get ourselves back in the race," he said of the Devils, 2-4-2 in their past eight. "We got a point, but if we had gotten two extra points the past two wed really be making noise. "I dont know if its in our heads or what. There is no real point in elaborating. Its just not good enough." The Islanders are 5-2-1 in the last eight games, relishing the role of late-season spoilers. "It was a fun game to play," Nielsen said. "Were a young team and were working hard." In this shootout, New Yorks Anders Nilsson turned aside Adam Henrique, who scored in regulation, and then Elias to win it. Nilsson made 23 traditional saves. New Jersey closed the gap in shots during the second and erased its deficit on Henriques career-high 25th goal with 9:40 leeft.dddddddddddd Henrique has a goal in back-to-back games following a seven-game drought. The Islanders had gone ahead 2:12 into the second. Nielsen drove to the net, and defenceman Peter Harrold tried to sweep away the puck but knocked it in off teammate Elias for Nielsens 23rd goal. "It hit me somewhere in the pants," Elias said. "A little unlucky there. I knew I was in trouble." The Devils nearly got even sooner when Mark Fayne fired a hard shot from the blue line that Nilsson smothered in his midsection at 4:23. It was New Jerseys third shot of the second, one more than in the first. Nielsen almost struck again when he came in on a short-handed breakaway with 6:47 left in the second. He drew a slashing penalty, but New York couldnt capitalize. The Islanders were outshot 11-7 in the frame, yet killed three Devils power plays. New Jersey had a 7-3 shots advantage in the uneventful and scoreless third period and 4-1 in overtime. The Islanders had only 11 shots after the first period. They came out aggressively early and finished checks in all three zones in the first, including big hits by Colin McDonald, Matt Martin and Cal Clutterbuck that riled up the crowd. Mike Halmo also threw his body around, and then ripped a shot that Schneider snagged with his glove to keep the game scoreless with 4:36 left. That gave New York a 7-2 edge in shots. "The first period was a disaster," Brunner said, "but then we got better." When Ryan Carter got a hit in, he was called for boarding for drilling Islanders forward Johan Sundstrom from behind in front of the penalty box with 4:15 to go. The Islanders outshot the Devils 9-2 in the first and outhit them 19-4 -- with Anders Lee having four. "Were battling and working extremely hard," Islanders coach Jack Capuano said. "I dont think we gave them much." NOTES: The Devils matched their season low with the two-shot first period. ... Steve Bernier was in the New Jersey lineup after being a healthy scratch the previous two games. ... Reid Boucher, now playing with AHL Albany, scored the Devils lone shootout goal this season. ... With Kyle Okposo missing his second straight game because of a lower-body injury, the Islanders had 10 rookies in the lineup. ' ' '