Reiseberichte » hasnt happened. He missed the cut in the U.S. Open

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Vanderbilt Commodores and coach Derek Mason know only too well just how big an opportunity they have in their season opener.The can kick off the year with a win at home, and against a Southeastern Conference opponent to boot.Its something theyve failed to do in each of the past two seasons under Mason, and now they get to try again Thursday night when they host South Carolina on national television.We need momentum, and I think thats what were talking about, Mason said. Were talking about a chance to see something we havent had an opportunity to do since Ive been here.Vanderbilt hasnt opened the season with a victory since 2011 against Elon. The Commodores bounced back nicely the last time they opened a season losing to an SEC team, going 9-4 in 2013 after losing to Mississippi. But Mason, whos revamped his coaching staff almost entirely since arriving on campus in 2014, is just 7-17 and is expecting to build on last years 4-8 record.Were a team thats got to earn respect, Mason said. That drives this team.South Carolina has won seven straight in this series and even got its lone SEC win against Vandy last season after Steve Spurrier stepped down. Now Will Muschamp is in charge trying to turn around the Gamecocks after a 3-9 record that was the leagues worst. It doesnt help that the schedule has the Gamecocks on the road for their first three SEC games to kick off the season, making this opener even more crucial.As all first ball games, you go in expecting anything and making sure your players are able to adjust to all the different things that pop up throughout the game, Muschamp said. There are going to be some new things and youve got to be able to adjust as the games goes. Thats going to be really important, especially for us.---Here are some things to watch Thursday night:QB SHUFFLE: Muschamp has held off on naming a quarterback starter until game-time with nobody rising up to grab the job, and the coach says the Gamecocks could use at least two quarterbacks against the Commodores. Senior Perry Orth has the most experience, starting eight games a year ago with a 78-yard TD pass helping beat Vandy 19-10 in Columbia. Freshman Brandon McIlwain enrolled in January, while freshman Jake Bentley arrived in June.VANDYS QB: For a change, quarterback is not a question for the Commodores. The 6-foot-4 Kyle Shurmur won the job after starting both of Vandys two SEC wins last season as a freshman.GROWING UP: Mason keeps calling this an older team, and he has eight juniors or seniors on offense with the age difference most noticeable on defense where all 11 starters are at least juniors. Thats in addition to eight returning starters on offense and as many as 11 who started multiple games on defense last season.YOUNG RECEIVERS: Needing to replace play-making receiver Pharoh Cooper, South Carolina is looking at its youngest wide-outs. Sophomore Deebo Samuel and freshman Bryan Edwards will both start against the Commodores. Backups include Chavis Dawkins, Korey Banks and Radrecous Davis, all freshmen. I think they are all talented guys and in different ways, Muschamp said. Edwards enters with the most hype, a 6-3 leaper who earned a game-breaking reputation in high school.DEFENSIVE VANDY: Mason is running the defense for a second straight season, and the Commodores expect to improve after ranking 28th in yards allowed in 2015. That was just a taste of what we can do defensively, linebacker and safety Oren Burks said. Weve gotten a taste of that, and were hungry for more.---Online:AP College Football website: www.collegefootball.ap.org and AP-Top 25 Twitter feed: https://twitter.com/AP-Top25---Follow Teresa M. Walker at www.twitter.com/teresamwalker Pittsburgh Pirates Shirts . Scott won the Australian PGA last week in his first event in Australia since winning the U.S. Masters in April. American Matt Kuchar, ahead by two strokes with four to play and even with Scott with one to go, double-bogeyed the 18th after taking two shots to get out of a bunker. Wholesale Pirates Jerseys . Only three players drafted by NHL clubs were included on the Czech selection camp roster on Wednesday. Those players were Dallas Stars 2012 first-rounder Radek Faksa, Winnipeg Jets 2013 fourth-rounder Jan Kostalek and Phoenix Coyotes 2012 seventh-rounder Marek Langhamer. https://www.cheappiratesjerseys.us/ . Boucher previously coached the Tampa Bay Lightning and had a 97-78-20 record over two-plus seasons. He was dismissed by the team last March after the Lightning struggled in the lockout-shortened season with a 13-18-1 record. Custom Pittsburgh Pirates Jerseys . Klitschkos management company says the bout will be the Ukrainian fighters 25th world championship fight. The 1.83-meter (6-foot) Leapai defeated the previously unbeaten Denis Boytsov in November to become the WBOs mandatory challenger. Fake Pirates Jerseys . -- Ryan Blaney provided more evidence that Penske Racings No. SPRINGFIELD, N.J. -- Jordan Spieth hit the reset button after the U.S. Open, a prudent decision to keep from looking in the rearview mirror.Gone was the burden of trying to repeat 2015 by winning the Masters and U.S. Open in the same year. This was all about looking ahead at two more majors, not so much to salvage the year but the chance to make it another great one. And now, even that is about to end.Golf, known for its deliberate pace, is on warp speed this year.I had said after the U.S. Open it felt like now the second half is starting, Spieth said. And all of a sudden, you know, thats the end of the majors for the year.Blame it on Rio.Golf is back in the Olympics for the first time since 1904, a dozen years before the PGA Championship was held for the first time. To make room on the schedule, the PGA Championship agreed to move up to the final weekend of July ahead of the Rio Games.That left 11 days between the end of one major and the start of another. From a claret jug to the Wanamaker Trophy with barely enough time to breathe.Thats pretty mad, Graeme McDowell said with a slight grin as he shook his head. An unusual summer.Ready or not, the final major starts Thursday at Baltusrol Golf Club.This will be the ninth major at Baltusrol, which includes the U.S. Open seven times. Phil Mickelson won at Baltusrol in the 2005 PGA Championship, making birdie on the final hole to claim at the time was his second major.The PGA Championship has the strongest field of all the majors, and it really stands out in an Olympic year. No one is skipping Baltusrol except for injury, while the Olympics will have only eight of the top 25 in the world.As for the timing?The PGA Championship, before it settled into a traditional August date in 1969, used to be all over the calendar. Jack Nicklaus won the 1971 PGA Championship in February when it was held at PGA National in Florida. The PGA was held in December 1929 at Hillcrest Country Club in Los Angeles. Over the years, it has been played in every month except for January, March and April.What doesnt change about the 98th edition of the PGA Championship are the stakes. For years, the slogan of the final major was Glorys Last Shot, and that still applies. This is one last chance for players to reshape their outlook on the year, to turn a good season into a great one.That starts with Spieth, defending champion Jason Day and Rory McIlroy.They began 2016 as the modern version of the Big Three because they had traded turns at No. 1 in the worrld, they had combined to win five of the previous six majors and there were all in their 20s.ddddddddddddBut going into Baltusrol, all three are in danger of being shut out in the majors this year.Spieth is having a very good year, and he needs reminded of that every now and then. He has won twice, including in his home state of Texas. He was one bad swing away from winning the Masters again. It just feels like a failure compared with last year, when he won two majors and his worst finish was missing the playoff at St. Andrews by one shot. The high expectations created from 2015 are starting to wear on him.Had last year not happened Id be having a lot of positive questions, he said. Instead, most of the questions I get are comparing to last year and, therefore, negative. Because its not to the same standard. So thats almost tough to then convince myself that youre having a good year when nobody else ... even if you guys think it is, the questions I get make me feel like its not.One major could change the outlook.Ditto for McIlroy, whose only victory was the Irish Open before a home crowd. McIlroy ended 2014 with two straight majors, and he lost a chunk of last year recovering from an ankle injury. This was going to be the year when he asserted himself, except it hasnt happened. He missed the cut in the U.S. Open and didnt finish closer than five shots in the other two. Now imagine him holding the Wanamaker Trophy for the third time. Frustration becomes instant gratification.All I can do is keep plugging away, McIlroy said after he tied for fifth at the British Open, 16 shots behind. Its really close. Im staying positive about it. I feel like good things are happening. If I can drive the ball like I did this week at Baltusrol and sharpen up a few bits and pieces, I think Ill be right there.Day has been No. 1 in the world since March, and his three victories are the most on the PGA Tour. When he won The Players Championship in May, it was his seventh victory in the last 10 months. It has been a very good year. A major makes it a great one.Any of the major winners this year -- Masters champion Danny Willett, U.S. Open champion Dustin Johnson and British Open champion Henrik Stenson -- can claim the best year in golf by adding another major.That all have one thing in common at Baltusrol: Its their last shot until next spring at Augusta National. ' ' '