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Mark Brooks came within one putt 10 years ago of

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Posted by: Saturday 14th July 2012, 3:54am

Mark Brooks came within one putt 10 years ago of

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa -- Mark Brooks came within one putt 10 years ago of retiring from competitive golf. Philip Rivers Womens Jersey . Yet here he is, still carving out a living on the fairways and greens, and he went about that business in a most efficient manner Friday, shooting a 6-under 65 in hot, breezy conditions to take a two-stroke lead in the Principal Charity Classic. \"Im stuck playing golf for the rest of my life,\" the Champions Tour rookie said, smiling. \"Which is all right.\" Brooks had said after the third round of the 2001 U.S. Open that if he won the tournament, hed retire. He came close, losing to Retief Goosen in a playoff. Brooks would have won if he hadnt missed his par putt on the 72nd hole. A little later, Goosen also bogeyed the hole to create the playoff. \"I was young enough then I could have done something else,\" Brooks said. \"Now Im not.\" Hes a youngster on the senior circuit, though, joining in April after turning 50 on March 25. Its been a bit of a struggle, but Brooks put together his best round of the year on the Glen Oaks course, highlighted by a 60-foot putt for birdie on the par-5 17th hole. Mark Calcavecchia and Peter Senior opened with 67s. Calcavecchia stayed close by conquering the three par 5s, making an eagle and two birdies. Senior had four birdies in a bogey-free round. Defending champion Nick Price and money leader Tom Lehman led a group at 68. Joey Sindelar, Rod Spittle of Niagara Falls, Ont., Jeff Hart and Bobby Wadkins also came in at 3 under, as did Bob Gilder, the 2002 winner Coming in, Brooks had failed to break 70 in his last eight Champions Tour rounds, including an 81 in the third round last weeks Senior PGA Championship. \"Its nice not to go out there and shoot a 72-3-4 or something the first day, which you could do today,\" Brooks said. \"If you get going a little funny out there, you can shoot over par. You pull the wrong club two or three times, next thing you know, youre not under par.\" Brooks, who hasnt won since beating Kenny Perry in a playoff at the 1996 PGA Championship, had little trouble in the 90-degree heat and gusts that blew up to 25 mph. Hes accustomed to wind at his home in Fort Worth, Texas, and said the key to playing in a stiff breeze is really pretty simple. \"Youve got to hit it really solid,\" Brooks said. \"If you hit it really solid in the wind, you can play golf. A solidly struck ball is going to be less affected.\" Brooks only poorly struck tee shot resulted in his lone bogey, at the par-4 10th. He hit his second to the front fringe, 35 feet from the hole, and he three-putted. \"I was kind of overplaying the wind and got confused,\" he said. Brooks picked it up after that, knocking in birdie putts on five of his next seven holes. He felt it should have been six of eight. On No. 18, Brooks missed a straight-in, downhill birdie putt from 10 feet. \"It evens out eventually,\" he said. Brooks best round previously in Champions play had been a 68 in the final round of the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic in early April, his first event. His only other round in the 60s before Friday was a 69 in the second round of the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am in mid-April. A back problem slowed Brooks early in the year, but he said thats under control now. Then, he switched to an all-titanium driver for this tournament and, so far, so good. \"I probably havent driven the ball very good for me,\" he said. \"Ive kind of been searching for something that would start going where Im looking instead of just going.\" Calcavecchia stepped to the last tee at 5 under, but his sand wedge from the fairway left him below the lip of the green and he made bogey. \"Its a good score,\" he said. \"It wasnt easy out there today. At least I got by the par 5s and played those well and got a good score out of it.\" Price, who coasted to a four-stroke win here last year, made bogey on two of his first eight holes. But he came back with a birdie on No. 9, then added four more birdies on the back. Lehman, who already has won three tournaments this year, stood 1 over after eight holes before he finished with four birdies the rest of the way. Sindelar, playing for the first time since withdrawing from the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf in April because of a back injury, marked his return with an eagle on No. 9 before bogeys on Nos. 12 and 16 knocked him back. On his 57th birthday, Hale Irwin, who owns a record 45 wins on the Champions Tour, shot a 2-over 73. Graham Marsh, a six-time winner on the Champions Tour, withdrew after three holes because of a back injury. Jordan Walden Jersey . Even when he was struggling earlier in the season, and sharing the net with Peter Budaj, he knew hed get back to his MVP form. Cameron Wake Jersey . -- Jerry Sanduskys trial in the Penn State scandal opened in graphic fashion Monday with the first witness testifying that the retired coach molested him in the locker-room showers and in hotels while trying to ensure his silence with gifts and trips to bowl games. Denver Broncos Nike Jersey . Motorists were asked to strictly follow the instructions of traffic police and drive slowly after the expressways in the regions were reopened for use after being temporarily closed due to the severe weather. Maurice Jones-Drew Elite Jersey . -- Sitting between his coach and general manager, Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Justin Blackmon stared at the ground for much of the 18-minute news conference Wednesday. Tom Brady Youth Jersey .Morrison will face American Trevor Marsicano while Makowsky will race New Zealands Shane Dobbin.Morrison comes into these Games among Canadas best male podium hopefuls. A specialist in the 1,000-meters and 1,500-meters, the Fort St. John, B.C. native was one of the stars of the speed skating world during the 2007-08 season. BEIJING-- Chinas drug watchdog has launched a campaign to expose and crack down on illegal spread and selling of drugs on the Internet. Related readings:China follows suit on slimming drugChina launches new wave of inspection on drug safety Eye drug that hurt 61 was fake: Probe Food and drug administration departments at all levels should explore effective methods to stop the sale of fake or inferior-quality drugs, especially those advertised and sold on the Internet, said Shao Mingli, head of the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA), Tuesday at a meeting. According to SFDAs monitoring on six major search engines including Google and Yahoo, after typing the key words of medicine plus a type of common disease, such as diabetes or high blood pressure, 10 to 30 percent of search resullts contained illegal drug-related information. San Diego Chargers Nike Jersey. Figures show that, among 196 web pages being monitored, 96 percent did not have or failed to show certificates for drug-related trades or other services. Some 39 percent have no Internet Content Provider (ICP) records in the database of telecommunication management departments. ICP is a permit to run web sites in China. According to the SFDA, these illegal sites usually advertise or sell drug products in the name of large hospitals or research institutes. Some even forged pages of the SFDA drug database to fool buyers that their drugs had been approved by the administration. The campaign is part of a nationwide crackdown on the violation of intellectual property rights and the production and distribution of fake and shoddy products, which began earlier this month. ' ' '

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