SHANGHAI, China -- The graceful combination of power and balance. Cheap Air Max 97 Sale . The bounce in his step after every birdie. His name at the top of the leaderboard. For at least one round, Rory McIlroy finally looked like the former No. 1 player in the world instead of a guy who hasnt won a tournament all year. With eight birdies and hardly any stress, McIlroy opened the HSBC Champions on Thursday with a 7-under 65 for a two-shot lead over Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano and Jamie Donaldson. It was the first time since he won in Dubai last November that McIlroy has been in the outright lead after any round. "It felt good to be out there and in control of my golf ball," McIlroy said. Maybe it was just a coincidence that McIlroys only win of any variety was earlier this week at Mission Hills when he rallied to beat Tiger Woods in an 18-hole exhibition. That didnt hurt his confidence, though the 24-year-old from Northern Ireland pointed to other factors that have been leading him in this direction. He took a four-week break, spending most of that time in Northern Ireland with swing coach Michael Bannon and "getting back to what we used to do." He has a new driver and a golf ball that is softer, giving him more spin around the greens. And perhaps most importantly, he hasnt lost his mind or his patience during the most difficult season of his young career. "Its obviously frustrating when youve had a couple of seasons previous where youve had success, and not being able to emulate that," he said. "The way I look at it, if I have a 25-year career, nine months isnt actually that long. I wouldnt say restless, but obviously theres a point in time where youre thinking to yourself, Right, come on, lets get this back on track. But Ive tried to stay as patient as possible." More patience is required against a strong field at Sheshan International for this World Golf Championship. Fernandez-Castano is coming off his first win of the year last week at the BMW Masters. The group at 4-under 68 included U.S. Open champion Justin Rose, former Masters champion Bubba Watson and 20-year-old Jordan Spieth, playing as though last season never ended. Another shot behind were Dustin Johnson, Paul Casey and Graeme McDowell, who remains second on the European Tour money list with hopes of catching Henrik Stenson. The timing was crucial for McIlroy. Not only has he failed to win a tournament, he is at No. 62 in the Race to Dubai with only two tournaments remaining to get into the top 60 and qualify for the season-ending World Tour Championship in Dubai. McIlroy won the money title a year ago. "Its only 18 holes. Its only one round of golf," McIlroy said. "But its definitely the way I wanted and needed to start, keeping in mind that I obviously want to play myself into Dubai and try to pick up my first win of the season, as well." British Open champion Phil Mickelson had a chance to join McIlroy in the lead until it all went wrong. One shot behind with two holes to play, Mickelson hit two wedges into the water fronting the par-5 eighth green and took a quadruple-bogey 9. His second wedge landed some 30 feet beyond the pin and had so much spin that it raced off the green and down the bank into the water. He hit another shot into the water on No. 9, and followed that with a brave shot to 2 feet to escape with only a bogey. He fell back to a 71. Spieth, who went from no status at the start of the year to a spot in the Presidents Cup and No. 20 in the world, didnt arrive until Monday and has been battling jet lag this week after his first trip to China. He was 2-over through eight holes, and then played 6-under the rest of the way, as if last season never ended. "I didnt really know what to expect out of the game this week, travelling over here and limited practice," he said. "But maybe it was good for me. My caddie helped me stay calm and stay positive, and once the putts started going in, we were just in our normal routine." But this day ultimately was about McIlroy. McIlroy hit a 3-wood just over the back of the par-4 16th hole and chipped to 3 feet for birdie. His 3-iron from light rough was about 20 yards short of the green on the par-5 18th, and he chipped to 5 feet for birdie. And on the par-5 second hole, another 3-iron from the rough left him 30 yards short, and he pitched that to 6 feet for birdie. The other birdie during that stretch was on No. 1, his only tee shot off line. From the rough, his 9-iron from 160 yards covered the flag and settled about 7 feet away. "Its just learning from each week and just trying to put the pieces together," McIlroy said. "A little bit of confidence from Monday, of course, but I think it was these two previous weeks just getting back into competitive play and learning what I needed to do to improve and sort of work on those things coming into this week." Air Max 97 Clearance . - The infectious smile was missing from Nam Nguyen last week. Wholesale Air Max 97 Australia . This has become the Raptors mantra as they embark on a new era with a new regime and, in the not-so-distant future, a new image.ASHBURN, Va. - Many ifs and maybes and buts surround Robert Griffin IIIs status for the Washington Redskins game Monday night against the Dallas Cowboys. There is so much uncertainty, he has been declared a wild card by coach Jay Gruden even though Colt McCoy is the announced starter.Gruden said Wednesday that McCoy remains the starter as of right now. He also said Griffin has yet to be cleared for full contact, and that hed like to see Griffin go through a couple of days of rigorous practice once the OK comes from the doctors.Gruden went on to say that, for the benefit of the team and the coaches game-planning, hed like to make a definitive decision by the end of Thursdays practice as to whether McCoy or Griffin will start. He added that Griffin will likely start or be inactive — and not in uniform as a backup.Thats a lot to digest, and the timeline outlined by the coach doesnt seem to work in Griffins favour. Or, as Gruden put: Theres a lot of variances as to whether or not we think hell be ready for Monday night.Griffin, recovering from a dislocated left ankle injury from Week 2, worked in individual and one-on-one drills during the portion of practice open to reporters Wednesday, usually leading off ahead of McCoy and Kirk Cousins. Griffin appeared fired up by his performance, clapping hard one time after a long completion to Jordan Reed down the left sideline. Another long pass to Logan Paulsen was worth four claps.Once practice was closed, all three quarterbacks worked with the starters, according to Gruden, who could afford to experiment a little because of the extra day of practice ahead of a Monday night game.He did a little bit of everythinng. Air Max 97 Cheap Australia. First team, second team, third team, he did it all. So did Kirk. So did Colt, Gruden said. We were alternating. It was just a bonus day for us. ... Well find out from the trainers how he feels right now, and then tomorrow morning will be the big thing, and another days work tomorrow. Well see how he progresses.Griffins thoughts on his progress remain unknown. The Redskins have repeatedly declined to make him available to reporters since his injury, including again on Wednesday. A team spokesman said Griffin will make a statement on Friday unless he is named the starter before then.Some of Grudens statements are likewise as clear as mud. McCoy is the starter. Or maybe Griffin is.Ive already made the decision. Ive said its going to be Colt, Gruden said. Ive said Robert will be the wild card, possibly, if hes ready to go, and that still hasnt been decided yet.Furthermore, said Gruden, Griffins return date might not be until Nov. 16, following the teams week off.If we have to wait for another week, or another two weeks, or after the bye week, then so be it, the coach said.The incidental — but important — player in the Griffin yes-or-no saga is McCoy, who is eager to make his first since 2011. McCoy entered the game at halftime after Cousins was benched on Sunday and led the Redskins (2-5) to a 19-17 win over the Tennessee Titans, breaking the teams four-game losing streak.My focus is Im just going to prepare as the starter, McCoy said. Theres nothing else that I can do. The decision is not up to me.___AP NFL websites: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL___Follow Joseph White on Twitter: http://twitter.com/JGWhiteAP Wholesale China Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale Authentic Jerseys Nike NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Nike Basketball Jerseys Hockey Jerseys China Supply Baseball Jerseys Football Jerseys Sale Authentic College Jerseys MLB Jerseys China Stitched Soccer Jerseys Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap Nike Jerseys ' ' '