HOYLAKE, England -- The British Open packs 154 years of history on links courses that have been nurtured more by time than by tractors. C. J. Cron Twins Jersey . It returns this year to Royal Liverpool, the second-oldest golf club in England, established in 1867 before anyone in America knew much about the Royal & Ancient game. For all its heritage, however, the charm of this major is what lies ahead. No one ever knows what to expect. Consider the landscape. Royal Liverpool was so brown and baked when The Open was last here in 2006 that the R&A asked players to take extra care if they smoked, and it had two fire engines stationed on the golf course. The ball rolled so far when it hit the ground that Tiger Woods hit only one driver over 72 holes and won by two shots. Now the grass is greener than it was at Pinehurst No. 2 for the U.S. Open. It feels like a new course this year. "Its lush. The greens are soft and very green. Fairways are pretty similar," said Rory McIlroy, who took a scouting trip to Hoylake last week. "But I think they are going to get a spell of good weather leading up to The Open, and hopefully, it will get a bit firmer." He recalled watching in 2006 when "the ball was like bouncing down a road on the fairways." McIlroy says he could hit as many as five drivers each round. "Its going to be a little different," he said. "Theres some thick spots of rough on the course, so avoiding that and avoiding those fairway bunkers ... if I can just do that, and anyone else can do that, then theyll have a good chance." A greater change might be the landscape of golf. Woods was at the height of his powers eight years ago when he won the claret jug for the third time. He was the first player in more than 20 years to repeat as Open champion. He would go on to win the PGA Championship that year, making history as the only player to capture multiple majors in successive years. Now he makes news when he can even play in a major. Woods has had three surgeries since he was last at Royal Liverpool a(euro)? two on his left knee, the most recent on March 31 to alleviate a nerve impingement in his back, which caused him to miss the Masters for the first time, and then the U.S. Open. When the British Open begins on Thursday, it will be his first major in 11 months. Woods returned earlier than anyone thought a(euro)? himself included a(euro)? three weeks ago in the Quicken Loans National at Congressional. He missed the cut, which annoyed him, and played without pain, which thrilled him. "I hate to say it, but Im really encouraged by what happened this week," Wood said. "What I was able to do physically, and the speed I had and the distance that I was hitting the golf ball again, I had not done that in a very long time." He wasnt worried about the little mistakes, mainly with his short game, because he could fix them. But how soon? Woods is 38 and without a major in six years, leaving him at 14 for his career and still four short of catching Jack Nicklaus. It might help to return to a course where he has won before, except that this is a different golf course. And he is not the same player. "We havent seen Tiger really, really play well in a while now," two-time U.S. Open champion Curtis Strange said. There hasnt been a dominant player even during his time away from various injuries and surgeries over the last five years. Golf is ruled by committee. McIlroy, with two majors by age 23, is just now starting to get his game back in order. Martin Kaymer is in the best form, having won The Players Championship and U.S. Open by going wire-to-wire in both. Adam Scott is No. 1 in the world. Phil Mickelson is the defending champion. Justin Rose is fresh off a big win at Congressional. Bubba Watson is a Masters champion again. All have had moments of greatness, none of it sustained. Nineteen players have won the 24 majors that have been held since Woods won his last one. "We have all witnessed what Tiger has been able to do over his career, whether thats come back from injury and win, come back from any sort of off-course stuff and win. I mean, win the U.S. Open on one leg," McIlroy said. "Is it foolish for people to write him off? I would say so. If hes playing and hes competing, hes got as good a chance as any." Considering the circumstances, Woods winning would be a surprise. Then again, for as long as golfs oldest championship has been around, it is still capable of delivering a few shockers. Mickelson produced one of his own at Muirfield last summer when he had his named etched on that silver claret jug for winning the one major that for years befuddled him. Only five years ago, 59-year-old Tom Watson came within an 8-foot par putt of being the oldest major champion. Ben Curtis was playing his first major in 2003 when he won at Royal St. Georges. He was the only player to break par. The Open returned to St. Georges eight years later, and 11 players had a better score than Curtis. What happened eight years ago at Royal Liverpool feels like ancient history. Perhaps that should be the adage for The Open. The more things stay the same, the more they change. Mitch Garver Jersey . -- The Grand Rapids Griffins scored three goals in 33 seconds of the second period en route to defeating the Hamilton Bulldogs 6-1 in American Hockey League action on Friday. Glen Perkins Jersey . After a first half in which he thought "the lid was on the basket," the Toronto Raptors coach watched his squad mount a second half surge to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-91. https://www.cheaptwins.com/1012t-luis-arraez-jersey-twins.html . Omar Rahou made the discriminatory gesture several times while celebrating scoring a goal against Romania at Antwerp in January, UEFA said. The sanction was double the five-match ban Nicolas Anelka received from an English Football Association independent tribunal last week for the same act.MANCHESTER, England - Arsenal finally ended its streak of poor away performances against top teams as Santi Cazorla and Olivier Giroud scored in each half Sunday for a 2-0 victory at Manchester City that dented the hosts title hopes. Cazorla converted a penalty in the 24th minute and then sent in a pin-point free kick that Giroud headed in for the second in the 66th as Arsenal ended second-place Citys 12-game unbeaten run in all competitions. City dominated possession but Arsenal for once showed the kind of defensive fortitude that so often has been missing in big away games in recent seasons. Arsenal lost 6-3 at City last season, to go with a 6-0 drubbing at Chelsea and 5-1 defeat at Liverpool. It reinforces the belief of the team and gives us confidence, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said. To feel that we can do well is very important for a group of players. With the loss, City fell five points behind leader Chelsea. Arsenal climbed above Tottenham into fifth place, one point behind Manchester United. In Sundays other game, West Ham also gave its European ambitions a boost as a superb second-half display saw the Hammers beat struggling Hull 3-0. City, despite the return of striker Sergio Aguero and captain Vincent Kompany, created little against an Arsenal team that seemed content with sitting back to defend — and did it unusually well. Aguero played up front alone in the first half and had a quiet game, as Arsenal looked the more incisive at times and fit-again captain Kompany was made to look rusty. Kompany gave away the penalty when Nacho Monreal atttempted to play a one-two with Giroud and was impeded by the City captain as he continued his run into the box. Jake Cave Twins Jersey. Cazorla took full advantage from the spot as he sent a hard shot beyond the reach of Joe Hart. Wenger started David Ospina in goal, and the Colombian was hardly tested in the first half as City were unable to muster a dangerous response despite controlling plenty of the ball. City boss Manuel Pellegrini reverted to his default 4-4-2 set-up after the break as Stevan Jovetic replaced James Milner and moved alongside Aguero. The change of approach initially appeared to work and Aguero had his first serious shot with an effort that deflected wide. Jesus Navas was the first to test Ospina, the deputy keeper again preferred to Wojciech Szczesny, with a powerful effort that was parried away. Arsenal doubled its lead after Alexis Sanchez was fouled by Jovetic. Cazorla capped his standout performance by clipping a free kick into the area and Giroud reacted quickest, losing his marker Fernando to head home in simple fashion. City tried to hit back and Monreal cleared unconvincingly over his own bar but the hosts did not consistently trouble their visitors. At Upton Park, Sam Allardyces West Ham side was booed off at halftime after a dismal opening period but Hull paid the price for some lacklustre finishing as Andy Carroll, Morgan Amalfitano and Stewart Downing all found the net after the interval. West Ham climbed above Liverpool into seventh while Hull manager Steve Bruce has now overseen just two wins in 15 league games. ' ' '