2012 ... Schwartzels last two wins on tour were

Malelane, South Africa (SportsNetwork.com) - Branden Grace went low on Thursday with a 10-under 62 and he holds a 3-shot lead after the first round of the Alfred Dunhill Championship. Grace, who missed the course record by one shot at Leopard Creek Country Club, is a four-time winner on the European Tour, all of which came in 2012. Graces most recent win came at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in October of 2012. Rookie Jake Roos also had a strong showing to start his season as he shot a 7- under 65 and he holds sole possession of second place. Coming off a 4-shot victory at the Nedbank Golf Challenge last week, Danny Willett has his name in the mix again after shooting a 6-under 66. Willett is tied for third with rookie and fellow Englishman Matt Ford. Nacho Elvira, Michael Hollick and Tjaart van der Walt are all tied for fifth at 5-under 67. Defending champion Charl Schwartzel, who has won here on his home soil the last two years and three times overall, carded a 3-under 69 and he is tied for 21st. Grace was on from the start as he drained two birdies on his first three holes at one and three. After making two consecutive pars on four and five, Grace made back-to-back gains on six and seven, putting him at minus-4 for the day. The 26-year-old South African did not let up on the back nine either. After making the turn with a pair of pars on eight and nine, Grace made two more birdies on 10 and 11. Another par on 12 preceded Graces seventh birdie on the par-5 13th. Grace finished strong as he rattled off three gains on his final four holes at 15, 16 and 18 to complete his bogey-free round that nearly broke the course record. I hit the ball superbly from the start to the finish, Grace said. I cant remember the last time I hit 18 greens in a row, which is pretty nice, especially around this place, where there are some daunting approaches. Its a good feeling going into the rest of the tournament. Graces compatriot Roos went off earlier in the morning and held the lead for a while before Grace caught up to him. Roos, playing the back nine first, exploded out of the gate when he holed out for eagle with a 5-iron on the par-4 10th and he followed that up with a birdie on No. 11. Roos dropped his first and only shot of the day with a bogey on No. 12, but he made up for it with a trio of birdies from No. 14, getting him to minus-5. Seven straight pars from 17 had Roos cruising before he ended on a high note with two birdies on his final four holes at six and nine. I felt comfortable and swung quite nicely, said Roos. I hit a lot of good shots and had a lot of short birdie putts on my front nine, and I was able to take advantage of a couple. Willett continues to play exceptional golf as he went bogey-free in his first round with three birdies on both the front and back nines. Ford started off slow with a bogey on one, but he later went on a huge run with seven birdies in a nine-hole stretch from No. 4. Another bogey on 13 slowed Ford down some, but he responded three holes later with a gain on 16 before finishing up with a pair of pars on 17 and 18. NOTES: Grace was one shot off of the course record 61, which was shot by Thomas Aiken in 2009 ... Along with the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, Grace also won the Joburg Open, Volvo Golf Champions and Volvo China Open in 2012 ... Schwartzels last two wins on tour were at this event. He also has four runner-up finishes here ... Willett has made just one bogey in his last 73 holes. Jonathan Bernier Red Wings Jersey . - Pittsburgh Steelers president Art Rooney II says the NFL has told the team it will not be docked a pick in this years draft for coach Mike Tomlins foray onto the field against Baltimore last November. Niklas Kronwall Red Wings Jersey . - PGA Tour rookie Tony Finau shot a 9-under 63 at Del Monte and had a two-stroke lead over Billy Andrade and Lee Janzen of the Champions Tour after Thursdays opening round of the Callaway Pebble Beach Invitational. http://www.redwingshockeyauthentic.com/nicklas-lidstrom-jersey/ .Y. -- That hangover from the Big East tournament is gone for Villanova. Sergei Fedorov Jersey . -- Detroit Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera has a broken bone below his right eye after being struck by a bad-hop grounder, sidelining the star slugger for at least a week with opening day on deck. Jimmy Howard Jersey . Samir Nasris 88th-minute equalizer at Etihad Stadium will be of little consolation to City, which is now six points behind league leader Liverpool and four points behind second-place Chelsea. Third-place City has a game in hand but the surprise result against Sunderland, coupled with Sundays 3-2 loss at Liverpool, may be a setback too far in its bid for a second championship in three seasons.PARIS - Paris Saint-Germain could offer new recruit David Luiz something Chelsea couldnt: the near certainty of being a league winner next season. Because, more than ever, PSG is reducing Frances Ligue 1 to a no-contest. While the English Premier League and Spains La Liga were consistently nail-biting, decided only in the last round of matches, PSG made Ligue 1 feel over before Christmas. Its total of 89 points was a record. It topped the league from the 10th round to the last in winning its second consecutive title. Already, next season is shaping up as the same again. As the biggest fish in the small pond of French domestic football, PSG is going to have to succeed in Europe to really prove itself. Even limited by UEFAs Financial Fair Play sanctions, PSGs cash-rich Qatari owners can still comfortably outspend every Ligue 1 team with the exception, perhaps, of Monaco, bankrolled by Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev. Luiz is set to become PSGs fifth signing of €40 million or more. The versatile, attack-minded defender will only strengthen what already this season was again the leagues stingiest defence, conceding just 23 goals. Playing alongside Brazil teammate Thiago Silva, and because theyll be coming off the World Cup together, Luiz should slot smoothly into PSGs backline. The question is not whether PSGs domestic dominance can last, but rather if it can break Lyons record of seven straight league titles from 2002-2008. For the third consecutive season, PSG again had the most prolific attack, scoring 84 goals— 26 of them from Zlatan Ibrahimovic, again the leagues top scorer. "Ligue 1 is continuing to grow with Monaco, Lyon, Marseille. Were raising the level," Ibrahimovic said. Really? That can be argued both ways. While PSGs acquisition of global stars like Ibrahimovic has burnished the Ligue 1 brand, the ease with which he scores, the gulf in class between him and players from other clubs, reflects an unbalanced, top-heavy league with PSG out of reach for French opponents.dddddddddddd Coach Laurent Blancs team won only two of its six matches against top-four teams. That highlighted both the fragility of PSG under pressure and its opponents erratic performances during the season. Often unwilling to take risks away from home, conservatively playing for draws, PSGs main rivals facilitated its route to the title. PSGs winning margin over runner-up Monaco was nine points, even more comfortable than its eight-point cushion over Marseille the previous season. In 2012-13, third-place Lyon finished 16 points behind PSG. This time, Lille was 18 points adrift in third. Monaco must now rebuild having sacked coach Claudio Ranieri. While his replacement will need time to adapt, Blanc will be in his second season at PSG. That stability also increases its prospects for a hat-trick of league titles. Rybolovlevs wealth and Monacos tax breaks attracted Colombia striker Radamel Falcao and countryman James Rodriguez, one of the best young wingers in Europe. But its squad remains light compared to PSGs strength in depth built over three years of Qatari ownership. Lyon, funding a new stadium, relies on talent from its youth academy and faces another difficult summer holding onto rising home-grown stars like forward Alexandre Lacazette and France midfielder Clement Grenier. Weak competition isnt necessarily good for PSG. The teams sense of security lulled Blancs players into bad habits at times, especially toward the end of the season when they went off the boil. That can be fatal against Europes top teams. Against Chelsea, PSG failed to protect a two-goal advantage in the return leg of their Champions League quarterfinal. Next season, PSGs stars must respond better when theyre pushed around in Europe or risk being written off as playground bullies in an uncompetitive domestic league. ' ' '