Josh Donaldson and Edwin Encarnacion to the top of his batting

TROON, Scotland -- One thing I love about The Open is how the tournament is always dictated by Mother Nature, and no matter how many players score well on benign days, theres never any panic or worry. Golf is never easy, but for the best in the world on Thursday those friendly conditions meant there will be no curve in grades.Jason DayGrade: F World ranking:?No. 1 Score: 73 (+2)Not quite sure what happened to his iron game, but for the best player in the world to have the worst score of everyone in the top 10 by two is not acceptable. He hit just 56 percent of greens in regulation and 31 putts in the best conditions we may see all week.Dustin JohnsonGrade: C World ranking: No. 2 Score: 71 (E)In most cases, even par should be an OK score, but not on days like today where scoring was possible. DJ only hit 8 fairways and had 32 putts; thats unacceptable for the new U.S. Open champion on a day as perfect as Thursday.Jordan SpiethGrade: C World ranking:?No. 3 Score: 71 (E)Just like DJ, but with one more putt (33). On a day with such little wind, its hard to accept missing six fairways. Jordan has now put a lot of undue pressure on performing great in the coming rounds in what could be very challenging conditions.Rory McIlroyGrade: C+ World ranking:?No. 4 Score: 69 (-2)I really wanted to give Rory a B, but the double bogey at the 13th hole prevents me from doing so. Five birdies on a day when he only hit 11 GIRs says his putter is in the right place. Now all he needs is the driver and irons to fall in line.Bubba WatsonGrade: C World ranking: No. 5 Score: 70 (-1)This was the toughest grade to give because Bubbas day and momentum was ruined by one hole. It happened to be the shortest, most famous one on the course: Postage Stamp. He was 5-under when he got there and 2-under when he left, and had to birdie the final hole to shoot a sub-par round.Henrik StensonGrade: B World ranking:?No. 6 Score: 68 (-3)Everyone says at Royal Troon you better take advantage of the front nine; Stenson didnt. He made an eagle on the 6th hole, but that was it. Three birdies on the back to offset two bogeys seem good, but he can improve. Thirty one putts on the day let you know there were plenty of chances he let slip by.Rickie FowlerGrade: B World ranking:?No. 7 Score: 69 (-2)This was just a good, solid round of golf. Start with the 29 putts and factor in that Rickie only hit 12 of 18 greens yet recorded just one bogey. Only making two birdies on the front nine means he can score much better if the weather allows it.Adam ScottGrade: B World ranking:?No. 8 Score: 69 (-2)If only that putter would get hot. Adam only missed two greens all day yet could only manage one birdie on the simpler front nine. While a 2-under score looks/is good in the big picture of a major, the truth is it could have been much better.Danny WillettGrade: C World ranking: No. 9 Score: 71 (E)The Masters champion would be forgiven for making a bogey at one of the toughest holes on the course during the stretch of 10-12. What I dont forgive is bogeying all of them! That hard work Danny did for the three birdies he made on the front nine was undone quickly. Righting the ship after those bogeys was definitely a major champion move. The question I ask is, which way will he go from here?Branden GraceGrade: C+ World ranking: No. 10 Score: 70 (-1)By leading the field in scrambles -- Grace got up and down eight times on Thursday -- he salvaged what could have been a very bad day like a top-10 player should. If I told you a player would only hit 50 percent of GIRs but would shoot under par for the day, youd probably ask exactly how low Phil went.Phil MickelsonGrade: A+ World ranking:19 Score: 63 (-8)Bogey-free 63. Rhymes like the beginning of a good song about a course without a tree. Phil only missed three fairways and two greens all day while totaling only 26 putts! When Phil said last Sunday that he was ready for this week, he certainly wasnt lying. Im still trying to figure out how the putt on 18 didnt drop for a major-record 62.Tony FinauGrade: A World ranking:83 Score: 67 (-4)Look at the leaderboard and there are not many players who, even with good scores, were bogey free. This bogey-free round came from a guy who ranked third in driving distance at a whopping 330 yards, but he hit only eight fairways! When it mattered on the four greens he missed, he scrambled perfectly.Scott PiercyGrade: F World ranking:25 Score: 77 (+6)So much for any momentum built from coming off back-to-back runner-up finishes. Piercy got to the 9th hole (ranked 11th easiest) at 2-under and proceeded to go bogey-double-double-double-bogey. Seems the sun was shining on everyone on the course except Piercy. He just got on the Ryder Cup radar; Friday will be a big test to see if he can stay there. Nike Free Sale Australia . Tuesdays surgery at Atlantas Piedmont Hospital was performed by Dr. Xavier Duralde and Hawks team physician Dr. Michael Bernot. Cheap Nike Free Shoes .ca! Hi Kerry, Its another day and here we are looking at another dubious hit to the head. In this case Blue Jackets forward Brandon Dubinsky elbowed Saku Koivu in the head about a second after he dished off the puck to a teammate, knocking him unconscious. http://www.nikefreecheapaustralia.com/ . Now, with Game 6 set for Fenway Park and an 8:07 p.m. ET first pitch, the Detroit Tigers face the unenviable task of having to beat the Boston Red Sox twice, on the road, to advance to the World Series. Nike Free Australia Online . With the short-handed Warriors needing help from someone -- anyone -- to stop a three-game skid, ONeal returned from right knee and groin injuries that had sidelined him for four games and put up season highs with 18 points and eight rebounds. It was just enough to help lift Golden State to a 102-101 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. Nike Free Cheap Online . -- Bryant McKinnie came out of his stance and lowered his shoulder into a practice squad player, causing a crisp thud to reverberate in the Miami Dolphins practice bubble. MIAMI -- The Miami Marlins are getting a key player back from the injured list on Monday, although its virtually too late for their playoff chances.The Washington Nationals (88-61) are also trying to get healthy.But the big difference is that the National League East-leading Nationals, who open a three-game series at Marlins Park on Monday, are a sure-fire playoff club and the health status of their players truly matters.Key among those players is right-hander Stephen Strasburg (15-4, 3.60 ERA), who has been out with an elbow injury he suffered on Sept. 7. Strasburg tossed a ball -- lightly -- this weekend for the first time since he got hurt.Strasburg, who has already tied a career high this season with his 15 wins, is needed at the top of the rotation if the Nationals can realistically be expected to make a postseason run.The 28-year-old Strasburg has a 1.10 WHIP, and batters are hitting just .218 against him.While waiting for Strasburg, the Nationals got good news on Sunday when right-hander Joe Ross came off the disabled list.The 23-year-old Ross, who hadnt pitched since July 2 because of a shoulder injury, allowed five hits and one run in three innings against the Atlanta Braves on Sunday. He struck out five.Hes sort of on a spring training schedule right now, Nationals manager Dusty Baker told media members in Atlanta. Lets see how his arm feels before we increase his workload.While Strasburg recuperates and Ross works on getting extended, Washington will start right-hander A.J. Cole (1-2, 4.71) at Miami. It will be his first career start against the Marlins.As for the Marlins (74-75), left-hander Wei-Yin Chen (5-4, 4.99) is set to return off the disabled list to start Mondays game. This will be Chens first appearance since July 20 when he sprained his left elbow.Chen, who replaces rookie Jake Esch in the rotation and moves ace Jose Fernandez back one extra day, will likely be restricted by a pitch count, somewhere around 80.Meanwhile, Marlins right fielder Giancarlo Stanton, who suffered a severe groin injury on Aug. 13, returned as a pinch hitter on Sept. 6. On Friday at the Philadelphia Phillies, he played the field for the first time since his injury.Stanton is expected to be back as a starter on Monday as the Marlins are being careful not to overwork him.In Friidays game, he batted second in the order for the first time since 2008, when he played for Class A Greensboro.dddddddddddd.The reason he hit second was that Marlins manager Don Mattingly, who restricted Stanton to six innings in what became a 4-3 loss in 13 innings, wanted his slugger to get as many at-bats as possible while he was out there.Stanton went 0-for-2 with two walks and a run scored before being replaced by Ichiro Suzuki.Were not out of it, Stanton told media members in Philadelphia this past weekend when asked about the playoff race. Its not going to be easy, but the opportunity is there. As long as I can help, thats what Im here for.Despite Stantons claims, the Marlins were officially eliminated from NL East title contention on Saturday, and their chances of securing a wild-card playoff berth are less than one percent, according to projections.In other storylines:-- Nationals rookie center fielder Trea Turner, a converted shortstop who was the San Diego Padres first-round pick in 2014, continues to be on a remarkable roll.On Saturday, he became the first player in franchise history to post four hits, two steals and score four runs in one game. He is hitting .355 for the season.-- Nationals star right fielder Bryce Harper, a four-time All-Star and an NL MVP last year, had been hitless in his past 17 at-bats before getting a single in his final at-bat on Sunday. He is batting .243 this season.-- The Marlins probably regret not trading for Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Jeremy Hellickson when they had the chance -- according to reports -- at the deadline in July. Hellickson beat the Marlins with a three-hit shutout on Saturday and is 3-1 with a 2.01 ERA in six starts against Miami this season.Instead of Hellickson, the Marlins traded away their top hitting prospect and a possible future closer to get right-hander Andrew Cashner, who has been a disaster with Miami. He has a 5.27 ERA this season and lasted just four innings on Sunday, allowing three runs.Hellickson, who is 12-9 this year with a 3.57 ERA, is a free agent after this season. Perhaps the Marlins can acquire him this winter to make up for their non-move on him in July. ' ' '