Pirate Galaxy » ims in Rio -- the teenagers shined on the ev

Gary Player was able to claim bragging rights for the second year running after joining Jack Nicklaus in getting the 80th Masters under way.Player and Nicklaus continued their role as honorary starters by each hitting a tee shot on the par-four first hole, with 80-year-old fitness fanatic Player - who made a hole-in-one during Wednesdays par-three contest - producing the longest drive by 20 yards from 76-year-old Nicklaus. Player tees off to begin the 80th Masters Arnold Palmer, who had been an honorary starter since 2007, was present to watch the other two members of golfs Big Three, who have 13 Masters titles between them.But the 86-year-old had already said he would be unable to hit a shot due to a shoulder problem and looked frail as he was helped to a seat on the tee. Butch Harmon and Colin Montgomerie give their thoughts on whos going to win this years Masters. To have longevity has been a special gift, said Player. And to come here today and to be on the tee with Arnold being a part of us, it was gratifying and sad, because everything shall pass.But it was nice to have him on the tee. I dedicated my first tee shot to him in respect.Six-time Masters champion Nicklaus, 76, added: I think that everybody was happy to see Arnold out on the tee. I think Arnold was happy to be on the tee.I think he would have preferred to hit a golf ball. I talked to him at the Masters dinner. I said Arnold I dont care if you putt it off the tee, I think everybody would love to have you do anything. He said let me think about it. With the formalities out of the way, Jim Herman was set to get the tournament proper under way, the American claiming the last place in the 89-man field by winning the Shell Houston Open on Sunday.Conditions were good for the early starters after heavy overnight rain, but the wind was forecast to strengthen during the day with gusts between 30 and 35mph predicted for Thursday afternoon. At 80 years old Gary Player managed a hole in one at the Masters Par 3 Follow the events at Augusta with our live blog here or by tuning in to Sky Sports 1HD from 7pm on Thursday.Also See:The Masters 2016Masters LeaderboardNine aces at AugustaMcIlroy inspired by PlayerJerry Rice Womens Jersey . 8 Iowa State on Saturday, sending the Cyclones to their third consecutive loss. The Longhorns (14-4, 3-2) got their biggest win of the season with their third in the row in the Big 12. Dante Pettis Youth Jersey . Manuel was offered a position the day he was fired. He accepted earlier this week and the team made the announcement Friday. http://www.49ersrookiestore.com/49ers-Jalen-Hurd-Jersey/ . -- Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson asked his players a simple question during Fridays morning shootaround: How many of them had ever been on a team 14 games over . San Francisco 49ers Jerseys . Bjorn, who had a 36-hole total of 8-under 134, made a testing six-foot putt to save par on the 16th and a birdie on the 17th before bogeying the final hole after a misjudged approach shot. American Kevin Streelman was in second place after shooting a 69. Patrick Willis Womens Jersey . The winner Saturday will remain in the elite 10-team field next year. "We talked about wanting to be disciplined and stick with our game plan and good things will come," Draisaitl said, who had two goals for the victors.RIO DE JANEIRO -- China has its next diving superstar.Actually, two of them.Fifteen-year-old Ren Qian captured another diving gold medal for China on Thursday, producing five nearly flawless efforts off the womens 10-meter platform to beat her 17-year-old teammate, Si Yajie.Ren finished with 439.25 points, while Si settled for silver at 419.40 in a back-and-forth duel that wiped out any would-be contenders.I focused on each individual dive. I focused on my own routine, Ren said through a translator. I was thinking about my movements, my dives. I didnt overthink about the final score.Early on, a pair of Canadians, Meaghan Benfeito and Roseline Filion, along with American Jessica Parratto managed to stay close to the mighty Chinese teenagers.By the end, Benfeito was the only one anywhere close, grabbing the bronze at 389.20. Filion dropped to sixth and Parratto botched two straight dives, plummeting all the way to 10th.As for the Chinese, they never wavered.Theyre the best at the sport, Benfeito said. Theyre born to dive. I really admire them. I love diving against them and trying to push them even harder.Seamlessly filling the void left by two-time Olympic champion Chen Ruolin, Ren and Si took turns seeing who could out-do the other. Their spins were quicker than anyone elses. Their twists and turns were graceful and elegant, yet showed stunning athleticism. And when they sliced through the water, they barely left a ripple.Ren never received a mark lower than 8.5, and her final two dives produced three perfect 10s. Hardly looking her age, she was simply unflappable in her first appearance on the Olympic stage.Actually, I was feeling quite calm when I was doing the dives, Ren said. I wasnt feeling nervous.Si led the way in both the preliminaries and the semifinals, but she finally wobbled a bit in the fourth round. She was slightly off on her toughest dive -- a back 3+ somersaults with a tuck -- and wound up with scores ranging from 7.0 to 8.0.To be honest, my teammate is a better diver, Si said, according to a translator. I think that she really deserved the gold.Ren was nearly perfect when she did the same dive in the third round, receiving aa total of 94.dddddddddddd5 -- her highest single score by any diver in the competition. Sis marks computed to 79.20, which essentially accounted for the margin between the two.Actually for the fourth dive, I felt OK, Si said. I felt that I opened my body at the right moment. But perhaps the control was a little bit over the top.Ren claimed the sixth gold in seven diving events for the Chinese at these games. If they can win the final event, mens platform, it would match their best Olympic performance ever.China also won seven of eight events at Beijing in 2008.For Benfeito, it was the best individual showing of her career. The 27-year-old won bronze in synchronized platform at both London and Rio.It does feel a lot different, she said. To come out with an Olympic medal means even more.North Koreas Kim Kuk Hyang won gold in this event at last years world championships, with Ren taking silver and Si only managing a fourth-place showing. With that experience under their belt -- and Kim stunningly failing to advance out of the prelims in Rio -- the teenagers shined on the even bigger stage at the Maria Lenk Aquatics Center.Its a very different sensation, Ren said, looking down at the gold medal around her neck.Parratto finished second in the semifinals -- behind Si and just ahead of Ren -- but she couldnt duplicate that performance when it really counted.Theyre amazing divers, Parratto said. Theyre pretty much flawless.The morning semifinals were held in bright sunshine, only to have the skies turn gray and threatening when the divers returned for the afternoon finals.The forecast for rain didnt pan out, however, so there were no weather-related issues at the first Olympic diving competition held outdoors since 1992.Si And Ren were already looking ahead to Tokyo Games in 2020.I really had high hopes and expectations for the gold medal, she said. I will see you in four years time.---Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963 . His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/paul-newberry . ' ' '