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- the last game before he missed two straight with

HOYLAKE, England -- Tiger Woods was an early arrival to the British Open with hopes of avoiding an early departure. Discount Air Jordan 1 Shoes . Woods has played only two competitive rounds in the last four months because of back pain that led to surgery. Thats why he chose to get to England a day earlier than usual -- Saturday -- to get acclimated to links golf at Royal Liverpool. Its nothing like he remembers from his two-shot victory in 2006. Hoylake was brown and dusty that year, and the ball was bouncing along at such speed that Woods hit only one driver the entire week. That was on the 16th hole, and the shot wound up on the 17th fairway. He still made birdie. "The golf course is a little bit softer than what it was in 06," Woods said on Tuesday. "Ive played three practice rounds now and have had three different winds. So thats been helpful to be able to see the golf course in different conditions." As an example of the change, Woods pulled out a driver on the par-5 fifth hole with the wind in his face. His tee shot landed in the fairway. That he already has played three practice rounds has been encouraging. Woods missed the cut at Congressional in his return to competition three weeks ago, though he was pleased that he felt no pain from March 31 back surgery. He even has been to the gym twice in the last couple of days. Woods played 12 holes on Saturday and a full 18 on Sunday and Tuesday, taking a break Monday to work out and then go to the practice range. "Its one of the reasons why I came over a little earlier," he said. " I went to Geneva for a day with Rolex, but I came here a day earlier than I normally would to have an extra day in there, as well as possibly taking a day off, if need be. And it worked out." As for his goals? They havent changed. When asked what would be a reasonable result in his first major of the year, Woods replied, "First. "Thats always the case." The back surgery forced him to miss the Masters for the first time, and then the U.S. Open. The last time Woods had this much time off with so little competition before a major was in 2010 when he returned from the chaos in his personal life. He tied for fourth at the Masters. It might help that he at least has won at Royal Liverpool, even if the course has changed dramatically. Woods has changed, too. His victory eight years ago produced more raw emotion than ever for Woods. It was his first major since the death of his father, Earl, two months earlier. He sobbed on the shoulders of his caddie and then his wife. Woods now has a different caddie and he is divorced. "My life has certainly changed a lot since then," Woods said. "That was a very emotional week. As you all know, I pressed pretty hard at Augusta that year, trying to win it, because it was the last time my dad was ever going to see me play a major championship. And then I didnt play well at the (U.S.) Open -- missed the cut there miserably. And then came here and just felt at peace. I really, really played well. On Sunday, I really felt calm out there. "It was surreal at the time. Ive had a few moments like that in majors where Ive felt that way on a Sunday. And that was certainly one of them." The others were at the 1997 Masters, which he won by 12 shots; the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, which he won by 15 shots; and 2000 British Open at St. Andrews, which he won by eight shots to complete the career Grand Slam. Woods has won the career slam twice more since then, running his total to 14 majors by winning the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines in 2008 despite not having played in two months because of torn ligaments in his left knee and a double stress fracture in his left leg. He said that victory, with the odds against him, should be a reminder not to count him out. And hes not ruling out his pursuit of Jack Nicklaus and his 18 majors. Woods, who is 38, was asked if he would play well into his 40s and even his early 50s if it meant a chance to break the Nicklaus benchmark. "Hopefully, I have it done by then. But Im really looking forward to that cart," he said, referring to Champions Tour players being allowed to ride in a cart. Cheap Air Jordan 1 Free Shipping . -- Jose Bautista never worries about hitting homers during the regular season. Wholesale Air Jordan 1 For Sale . While Minnesota takes aim at its eighth win of November, the Canadiens will try to post just their third victory in nine games this month. MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Bulls guard Jimmy Butler believes hes getting his rhythm back after missing 12 games this season with injuries. Butler scored 14 of his season-high 26 points in the third quarter and Carlos Boozer added 21 points and 10 rebounds to help Chicago defeat the Memphis Grizzlies 95-91 on Monday night. Butler, who missed 11 games earlier this season with a right toe injury and sat out one game on Dec. 21 with a right ankle problem, shot 6 for 10 overall and 2 of 3 on 3-pointers. He also was 12 of 14 at the foul line in a team-high 41 minutes. "Im getting real comfortable," Butler said. "I sat down with a few of the vets, and they just talked to me and told me to play my game and have fun. When you have fun, everything else takes care of itself." D.J. Augustin had 10 points off the bench for the Bulls, including eight in the fourth period as Memphis tried to make a late run. "We played poorly," Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger said. "We played poor in the first half and worse in the third quarter." Mike Conley finished with 26 points, nine assists, six rebounds and six steals to lead the Grizzlies, who had won three of four. James Johnson scored 13 points, all in the second half, and grabbed 10 rebounds before fouling out with 4:10 left. Tony Allen also had 13 points but Memphis committed a season-high 21 turnovers. "It was awful," Joerger said. "We threw the ball all over the place. We lacked focus. We lacked screening and cutting. We were loose with the ball." The Bulls also had 21 turnovers but they won despite playing again without leading scorer Luol Deng, who missed his fifth straight game with a sore left Achilles. Chicagos defence began causing real problems for the Grizzlies in the third as the Bulls opened the second half with a 20-4 run, fueled by a handful of Memphis turnoverrs and the Grizzlies missing 11 of their first 13 shots. Cheap Air Jordan 1. That contributed to the Bulls extending the lead to 18 and eventually carrying a 71-64 advantage into the fourth quarter. Memphis, led by Conley, chipped away at Chicagos 18-point advantage -- its largest of the night. The Grizzlies pulled to 72-71 in the fourth and 78-76 later, both after scores by Johnson. Augustin nailed a long 3-pointer as the shot clock expired with about 6 minutes left to answer Johnsons second score. "It was a tough shot at a tough moment," Augustin said. "Whenever somebody does that to a team, it takes away their momentum. They had it going at the time." Augustins basket started a 10-2 run, capped by Kirk Hinrichs 3-pointer with 3:33 left, that pushed the Bulls lead back to 10. That was enough for Chicago to earn its fourth victory in the last 12 games. "Its very tough against them," Conley said. "You cant give them a 15-point lead and expect to not be worn out by the time you get the ball back and youre down two. Theyre a fantastic defensive team. They work hard. They have a bunch of guys that love to play D. It was tough." NOTES: Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau missed the morning shootaround to attend his fathers funeral in Connecticut. The elder Thibodeau died on Christmas Day, according to published reports. "Our family, once I saw they were good, I felt good about (coaching)," Thibodeau said before the game. ... Bulls G Derrick Rose, who played one season at the University of Memphis, missed the game with his right knee injury. Rose has returned only twice to Memphis to play against the Grizzlies in his NBA career. ... Conleys 26 points were the most he has had since scoring 28 against Minnesota on Dec. 15 -- the last game before he missed two straight with a left thigh bruise. ... 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