going over ideas. For someone who is never satisfied himself, the

SHANGHAI -- Rickie Fowler dropped by PGA of America headquarters in Florida with the Ryder Cup trophy last week as a way to let the employees share in the U.S. celebration. The trophy stayed behind, but Fowler brought memories of Hazeltine all the way to China.While the Ryder Cup was a team victory, Fowlers contributions gave him a shot of confidence going into the HSBC Champions.He was solid from tee to green, attacked the par-5s and holed one last birdie putt Thursday for a 7-under-par 65, leaving him one shot behind Rikard Karlberg of Sweden, who made an auspicious World Golf Championships debut with nine birdies in his round of 64.Fowler had never won a match in three previous Ryder Cups before teaming with Phil Mickelson in a four-ball victory in the opening session at Hazeltine. More special was Sunday, when he overcame Justin Rose in a tight match for a 1-up victory.For me, finding a way to get a win in a singles match was big, Fowler said. Its a team victory, but I felt like I did my part to help the team. Coming out of that with a 2-1 record instead of 1-2 was important to me.He accompanied the gold trophy to Arnold Palmers memorial service, and then after emerging from a two-week break in which he didnt set foot on a golf course, Fowler and Brooks Koepka stopped by the PGA of America with the cup.Fowler hasnt won since the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship in January, and his game hasnt felt right since he lost good chances to win the Phoenix Open the first week in February and the Wells Fargo Championship in early May.He needed time to tighten some loose habits, and this summer of majors and Olympics didnt allow for that. But coming off a big week at the Ryder Cup, I was excited to get back into the swing of things, he said.I got some good work in last week, Fowler added. Its tough to do with how busy the summer was. Its tough to break a little habit.He looked sharp again, and it helped to be in a group that was making plenty of birdies in the rain-softened conditions at Sheshan International. Fowler played alongside defending champion Russell Knox, who played bogey-free for a 66, and Paul Casey, who made an eagle on the par-5 14th hole on his way to a 67.Fowler missed only three fairways and one green. He was at his best on the par-5s, leaving himself a simple up-and-down for birdie on the 14th and having eagle putts on the second and 18th. He missed about a 10-foot eagle putt on No. 18.Its always nice to start with 7 under, doesnt matter where youre at, Fowler said. I knew with the soft conditions they were going to try to tuck some pins. It was going to be very scorable if you drove it in the fairways, and I was able to do that. Played very well tee-to-green and made things a lot easier from there. Stress-free round. Simple round.It felt even easier to Karlberg, who hardly missed a shot until the end of his round. Shortly after Fowler finished his round, Karlberg surged ahead with three birdies in a four-hole stretch on the back nine and had a chance at the course record until his final two holes.He came up short and was nearly in a hazard on the par-3 17th, but his lie was good enough to get up-and-down. On the par-5 closing hole, Karlberg drove into a bunker, caught too much sand coming out, couldnt reach the green from the rough and failed to save par. It was his only blemish of the day, and he had few complaints.Karlberg only twice before has played in a field this strong -- at The Open each of the past two years, where he missed the cut both times. He looked at the HSBC Champions as another tournament and felt as though everything was going his way.It felt amazing, every part of the game, he said. Everything was so easy. It was just one of those days, a walk in the park.The soggy conditions werent nearly as difficult as the greens, which were damaged by excessive heat in the summer and massive rain over the past week. They were particularly bumpy toward the end of the round, but Karlberg stayed aggressive on them.Knox, Daniel Berger and Hideki Matsuyama were at 66, while Casey joined Bill Haas and Francesco Molinari at 67. Nineteen players in the 78-man field broke 70.Rory McIlroy wasnt among them. He made only two birdies in a round of 71, while U.S. Open champion Dustin Johnson struggled to keep his driver in play and had only one birdie in his round of 74. Swell Water Bottle Wholesale . -- Mike Smith never saw his first NHL goal go in. sWell Traveler Bottle Sale .Y. - General manager Billy King says the Brooklyn Nets are looking to add a big man and confirmed the team worked out centre Jason Collins, who would become the first openly gay active NBA player if signed. http://www.swellwaterbottlesale.com/ . "I dont know that were close," said general manager Alex Anthopoulos. "I just think, right now, the acquisition cost just doesnt work for us right now. I dont know if I can quantify how far off or things like that that they might be but I would say we continue to have dialogue. Swell Bottles Wholesale . Brazilian national coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has confirmed that the veteran goalkeeper is set to join Toronto on loan, saying it will help him be ready for the World Cup. Swell Water Bottle Sale . The head of USA Boxing came out swinging Tuesday with an open letter to Tyson -- a former Olympic hopeful himself -- that accuses the former heavyweight champion of trying to poach fighters who might be candidates for the U. The list of players in NBA history?who have averaged 20 points by age 20 is loaded with No. 1 overall picks, Hall of Famers and future Hall of Famers. It includes Shaquille ONeal, Adrian Dantley, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving.Last year Andrew Wiggins became the 10th player to reach the mark, when he averaged 20.7 points per game in his second year with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Pure scoring is a volume stat, and theres a reason why so many high picks score a lot: They generally go to bad teams who need someone to make baskets.Elton Brand, who had a good but not great career, is on it. As is Tyreke Evans, whose promising start was derailed by injuries. So its not the holy grail number, but the track records of the stars on the list says plenty. It also leaves a range of outcomes for Wiggins, who is still a bit of a mystery.Is he going to trend toward the superstars on that list? Will this, the golden third season when so many of the leagues great players took a leap, be when he does? These are vital questions for the future of the Wolves and what theyre going to make of their promising young roster.Tom Thibodeau knows it. Of all the projects hes working on in taking over a team that hasnt made the playoffs for 12 years, Wiggins is a priority. He has spent a lot of time with Wiggins since getting the job, being with him in individual workouts, video sessions and on the road. The teams potential is tied largely to Karl-Anthony Towns and Wiggins, but it is Wiggins whose future appears less clear.?When you look at what Andrews done, for a guy his age, its very impressive, Thibodeau said. He has to continue to grow, and so does Karl. We dont want to be known as young players with potential forever. That has to translate into something for our team. So I think the big thing is the challenge to be complete.Wiggins has developed a strong midrange game, and he has gotten more comfortable with this back to the basket. He gets to the foul line at a high rate, driving his scoring numbers, and although his 3-point shooting numbers arent great -- 30 percent for his career -- he made them at a 41 percent clip after the All-Star break last season. He has added bulk, though he still sometimes gets bodied by bigger small forwards.More alarming is his rebounding, just 3.6 per game last season, and his squishy defensive numbers. He ranked 38th among small forwards in real plus-minus, not surprising as the Wolves finished in the bottom five in team defense last year. Beyond the numbers, though, the eye test shows hes not yet reaching his capabilities as a defender. This is clearly an area where Thibodeau is going to work.He molded Jimmy Butler, a player with perhaps fewer physical gifts than Wiggins but remarkable will, into one of the leagues best wing players. Comparing Wiggins to Butler isnt fair; they have different traits, and Butler is older. But Thibodeau needs Wiggins to trend more toward Butler, who flourished under Thibodeaus daily challenges.His first two seasons have been very good, but it hasnt translated into wins, Thibodeau said. Commitment to improve is huge for us.Wiggins is feeling it. His first few months with Thibodeauu have been heavy on defense and accountability, the gravelly voice on him with every defensive rotation.dddddddddddd Wednesday in front of a quiet preseason crowd in Lincoln, Nebraska,?Thibodeaus voice boomed throughout the arena as Wiggins worked against the bigger and more mature Wilson Chandler of the Denver Nuggets. Wiggins had 20 points in just 28 minutes; his shot wasnt on, but his knack for getting to the foul line was in midseason form. He was trying to be in the right place at the right time, even if it wasnt always the case.I looked at my stats, and I was like, Im too big and too athletic to average three rebounds a game, Wiggins said. A lot of people can score. What else can you do?The book on Wiggins thus far in his young career is that hes immensely talented but sometimes looks like he doesnt have intensity to match. Some of the best games of his career came in his first few games against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the team that traded him for Kevin Love after letting him twist in the wind for the entire summer of 2014.In those games, he played with a fire in trying to prove a point; he averaged 32 points in his first three games against Cleveland. As impressive as it was, it left a question as to what could motivate him to do it more often.I dont think you really know a player until you coach him yourself, Thibodeau said. So you hear things, you see things. I know when I coached against Andrew his rookie year, he gave us fits. I know what hes capable of doing. I think its the personality type. Winners come in all personality types. Some guys have that quiet confidence, and they really go after you. Some guys can fool you, too. Sometimes a loud guy who you think is something other than what hes presenting, you find out hes not what he pretends to be. So you look at the actions more than anything else.Thibodeau has told his players about what he learned working with Team USA last summer, when he saw the leagues best players during their offseason pouring work in after practices and talking to each other, going over ideas. For someone who is never satisfied himself, the work ethic of the elite appealed to Thibodeau.And after early practices in training camp, there was Wiggins working out after practice with Thibodeau watching over him and then walking with him to the locker room with instructions.Im trying to take a leadership role; Im really trying to break this playoff slump, Wiggins said. When we were working out on individual stuff, coach tries to get to know you -- he really tries to learn your game. We can be as good as we want to be. I know thats a general thing to say, I know. Were working on it.For October, thats all that can really be said. Wiggins is working on it. So is Thibodeau.You get into tough situations, how does a guy respond? How does a guy work? When youre going against the best, how does he respond? And I think that gets revealed over time, Thibodeau said. But the drive, the passion, the intelligence -- those things go a long way. Usually the guys who put the work into it, those are the guys who improve. ' ' '