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A change of heart could pay massive dividends for Graeme McDowell after the former U.S. Open champion survived a windswept opening day of the Scottish Open.On a day when winds gusting up to 40mph sent scores soaring, McDowell carded a two-under 70 to lie a shot off the lead held by Australias Scott Hend and Chiles Felipe Aguilar at Castle Stuart.McDowell had previously accused the Scottish Open of losing its identity and prestige by moving to the one-dimensional course outside of Inverness, which only opened in 2009.But after apologising to the tournament sponsors the Ryder Cup star was welcomed back with open arms and enjoyed the tougher test after spending two days in similar conditions at Open venue Royal Troon.Myself and Martin Gilbert [chief executive of sponsors Aberdeen Asset Management] have gotten a little closer over the years, McDowell joked after a round containing four birdies and two bogeys.Im really quite surprised by how good the golf course is. It really does feel like its designed for this wind direction.Its a beautiful piece of land here and has a really nice architectural mix of short [par] fours and tough [par] fives and its a helluva lot more narrow than I remember it. People are going to say Im full of s--- having criticised it pretty heavily and now Im saying its good. But Im allowed to change my mind and I like the golf course.McDowell missed the cut with rounds of 80 and 73 in the French Open last week, but made the most of his early exit to practice at Royal Troon, where he made his Open debut in 2004.I think the two days at Troon were a big help coming into this week, added the 36-year-old, who needs to produce some good performances to extend his record as the only European player to qualify automatically for the last four Ryder Cups. The wind really blew hard Saturday and Sunday when I was there. If it continues to blow like this, this is going to be a grind this weekend.Three-time major winner Padraig Harrington produced the best round of the later starters to join McDowell on two under, along with former U.S. PGA champion YE Yang, Swedens Alex Noren and the English quartet of Richard Bland, Tyrrell Hatton, Andy Sullivan and Eddie Pepperell. Inverness native Russell Knox was just three off the lead after a 72 but criticised the terrible set up of the 18th hole, which only one player in the top 20 managed to birdie.Five-time major winner Phil Mickelson remained upbeat despite an opening 76, while compatriot J.B. Holmes could be forgiven for wishing his clubs had never arrived after struggling to an opening 80.It was tough but I think this course is so well designed that it can accommodate difficult conditions, Mickelson said. Its a very fair test. I thought it was very playable even in such challenging conditions.Unfortunately I really struggled on the greens and missed quite a few short putts that prevented me from shooting a score around par.Holmes only received his clubs at 7pm on Wednesday evening after they were lost in transit from last weeks WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Ohio.The former Ryder Cup player -- who was part of the last U.S. victory in 2008 -- immediately headed out to practice but it failed to do him much good as he slumped to nine over par after 12 holes. Penguins Jerseys 2020 . 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. Penguins Jerseys China . Klitschkos management company says the bout will be the Ukrainian fighters 25th world championship fight. The 1.83-meter (6-foot) Leapai defeated the previously unbeaten Denis Boytsov in November to become the WBOs mandatory challenger. https://www.cheappenguinsjersey.com/ . That gave fans outside Joe Louis Arena another chance to ask for autographs from the 19-year-old whose stardom in the NHL has arrived earlier than most expected. Pittsburgh Penguins Store . Brett Kulak and Jackson Houck of the Vancouver Giants were each charged with assault causing bodily harm on Aug. 18, according to the B.C. court services. Fake Penguins Jerseys . Burris threw two TD passes, including a key 15-yard fourth-quarter strike to Bakari Grant that effectively countered a Toronto comeback bid and led Hamilton to a 33-19 victory. The NFL has turned into the old NHL.Two ties in two weeks. First time in 19 years theres been two ties in one season, and theres nine weeks remaining.After the Cardinals and Seahawks played to a 6-6 draw in a prime-time game last Sunday night, the Redskins and Bengals finished in a 27-27 tie on the international stage in London.Hockey figured out a solution. If no team scores during a five-minute overtime period, a shootout settles it. Theres always a winner.Its time for the NFL to do the same.Heres a few ideas:COLLEGE RULES: Follow the NCAAs lead. If a game is tied after four quarters, play extra periods until theres a winner. Each period consists of one possession for each team, and each drive starts at the defenses 25-yard line. Teams have to go for a 2-point conversion after two periods.QUARTERBACK CHALLENGE: Each quarterback has to throw footballs from the 25-yard line through a tire that hangs from the goal post. Whoever completes the most passes earns the win for his team.KICKERS SHOOTOUT: The kickers go back-and-forth attempting uncontested field goals from a predetermined distance until someone misses.Here are other overreactions following Week 8:---OVERREACTION: If they cant beat the Jets , the Browns (0-8) wont beat anyone.REALISTIC REACTION: Maybe the Cowboys will overlook them and theyll shock Americas Team next week.---OVERREACTION: Forget Las Vegas. The Raiders should play all their games on the road.REALISTIC REACTION: Even though theyre 1-2 at home and 5-0 on the road, its tough to play in the Black Hole.---OVERREACTION: The Patrriots (7-1) will clinch the AFC East early enough to allow Tom Brady to rest in December.ddddddddddddREALISTIC REACTION: Brady got enough rest in September so New England will keep their star QB on the field until it clinches the No. 1 seed.---OVERREACTION: Arizonas window has closed. The Cardinals (3-4-1) lost to 1-win Carolina.REALISTIC REACTION: Theyre only 1 1/2 games behind Seattle and play the Seahawks again on Dec. 24.---OVERREACTION: The Saints will win the NFC South. An impressive win over Seattle proved New Orleans is not a mediocre team.REALISTIC REACTION: Theyre only 3-4 and have followed up big wins with disappointing losses often over the past two seasons.---OVERREACTION: The NFC East is the best division in the NFL. Every team has a winning record.REALISTIC REACTION: Check out that AFC West. Two teams are 6-2 and one is 5-2.---OVERREACTION: Time to panic in Green Bay. The Packers (4-3) are off to their worst start since 2012.REALISTIC REACTION: All those injuries and they still nearly beat the Falcons on the road.---OVERREACTION: Dak Prescott guaranteed hes the No. 1 quarterback by leading the Cowboys (6-1) to a comeback win over the Eagles.REALISTIC REACTION: Prescott made enough rookie mistakes against Philadelphia to justify giving Tony Romo his job back whenever hes healthy.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow Rob Maaddi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP-RobMaaddi ' ' '