Shanghai, China (SportsNetwork.com) - Graeme McDowell opened up with a first- round, 5-under 67 on Thursday and he holds a 2-shot lead at the WGC - HSBC Champions. McDowells last victory on the European Tour came at the Alstom Open de France earlier this year, while his latest PGA Tour win was at the 2013 RBC Heritage. U.S. Open champion Martin Kaymer, Rickie Fowler, Brandt Snedeker, Chris Kirk, Tim Clark and Tommy Fleetwood are tied for second at 3-under 69 at Sheshan International Golf Club. Lee Westwood, Louis Oosthuizen, Ian Poulter, Adam Scott, Hyung-sung Kim, Bill Haas, Jordan Spieth, JB Holmes, Henrik Stenson, Jaco Van Zyl and Dawie Van Der Walt are all deadlocked at 2-under 70. McDowell, beginning his first round on the back nine, stormed out of the gate to grab the early lead and he never let go despite a couple miscues down the stretch. The 35-year-old from Northern Ireland quickly got into red numbers with a birdie on the par-4 first. Following a pair of pars on 11 and 12, McDowell drained four birdies in a five-hole stretch from No. 13, with a par coming on 15. After making the turn at 5-under with a par on 18, McDowell kept going strong with another par on one followed by a pair of gains on two and three. At 7- under through 12 holes, McDowell finally began to slow down as he dropped his first shot on the par-4 fourth. After a trio of pars from No. 5, McDowell bogeyed his second hole at eight, dropping him back to minus-5. He finished with a par at No. 9 to end there. Kaymer, also playing the back nine first, made the turn at minus-1 after making birdies on 13 and 16 to go along with a bogey on 17. Kaymers second bogey on one dropped him back to even par, but birdies on two and five had him back in red numbers. Kaymer made his third bogey on six, but a pair of birdies on seven and eight got Kaymer to minus-3. He rounded out his day with a par on No. 9. Fowler started off with two straight pars on 10 and 11 followed by another gain on 14. Fowler traded a bogey on 17 for a birdie on 18 to make the turn at minus-3. Birdies on two and eight were canceled out by bogeys on four and seven as Fowler finished his day tied for second at 3-under. Snedeker had a solid front nine with birdies on two and seven. He dropped two shots on the back nine at 12 and 15, but gains on 14, 16 and 18 were good enough to put Snedeker at minus-3 through one round. Kirk made his move up the leaderboard on his first nine with birdies on 10, 14, 16 and 18 to go along with a bogey on 17. Kirk played his final nine at even par with a gain on six and a bogey on five. Fleetwood made the turn at minus-1 following birdies on two and five along with a bogey on six. Fleetwood fell back to even par after a bogey on 10, but he finished strong with three birdies in a four-hole stretch from 13. Clark started off hot with three straight birdies from two, but bogeys on five and seven gave two of those shots back. Another birdie on nine was canceled out by a bogey on 10. Clark then made three birdies in four holes from 13. He also bogeyed 15. NOTES: Of the 80 players to tee off on Thursday, only 27 of them finished the first round under par ... McDowell has 10 top-10 finishes on the European Tour this year, including his win at the Open de France ... McDowells only other victory in Asia came at The Championship at Laguna National in 2008 ... Kevin Stadler and Graham DeLaet both withdrew during their first rounds. Jason Varitek Jersey . Louis, MO (SportsNetwork. Bill Lee Jersey . Span, Danny Espinosa and Adam LaRoche had two hits apiece as Washington won the final two games of the series. The Nationals improved to 3-7 against Atlanta. They increased their division lead over the Braves to 1 1/2 games. https://www.cheapredsox.com/1871z-marcus...ey-red-sox.html. -- Desperate to stop Tom Bradys latest comeback bid, the Miami Dolphins sought help from a reserve safety making his NFL debut after being signed Tuesday off the San Francisco 49ers practice squad. Bobby Poyner Red Sox Jersey . Miralem Pjanic dribbled through the defence to score an extraordinary goal in the 43rd minute at the Stadio Olimpico and Gervinho added another from a rebound in the 65th for Romas ninth straight victory — ending Milans five-match winning streak. Bill Lee Red Sox Jersey . "No difference at all," chirped U.S. roommate and linemate James van Riemsdyk. "Its still the same cranky Phil.BROSSARD, Que. -- Dale Weise is finding out what its like to be a Montreal Canadien when theyre winning in the springtime. The city groaned when general manager Marc Bergevin sent defenceman Raphael Diaz to Vancouver Canucks for the little-known Weise on Feb. 3, but now the energetic fourth-line right-winger is becoming a folk hero. His breakaway goal in Game 3 of a NHL Eastern Conference semifinal on Tuesday night became his second game-winner of the playoffs as the Canadiens downed the rival Boston Bruins 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Weise had scored in overtime in the first game of an opening round sweep of the Tampa Bay Lightning. His first taste of his new-found fame came this week when he was out for a stroll with his fiancee, with seven-month-old son Hunter in a stroller. "This car pulled over right on the sidewalk," Weise said Wednesday. "The guy was in the drivers seat and I was on the right side. "In the middle of the green light hes reached across and hes banging on the window and yelling. My fiancees like what is this guy doing? Shes freaking out, and hes giving me the thumbs up. It was pretty outrageous." Weise will have a chance to grow his legend even more in Game 4 on Thursday night at the Bell Centre, as the Canadiens attempt to put a choke hold on the series. Taking a lead on the favoured Bruins has built a considerable buzz in Montreal, but a series in which Boston has looked overwhelming at times is far from over. The Canadiens blew 2-0 and 3-2 leads before winning in overtime in the series opener. Then they wasted a 3-1 lead by conceding four third-period goal in a 5-3 setback in Game 2 in Boston. At home on Tuesday night, Montreal scored twice in the first period and made it 3-0 on Weises goal before the Bruins struck back with a pair. Lars Eller ended the threat with a final-minute empty-net goal. "This is such a huge rivalry," said Weise. "When they meet in the regular season its looked at like a playoff match-up. Its such a cool thing to be a part of." The Bruins acknowledge they did not have their best game, staring with goalie Tuukka Rask who allowed three goals on 25 shots and who now has let in 10 in three games. Perhaps for the first time in the playoffs, they missed injured defence veterans Dennis Seidenberg and Adam McQuaid, as youngster Dougie Hamilton in particular struggled at times. McQuaid is gone for the season, and while Seidenberg is skating, there was no word on when he may return. But the Bruins can never be counted out, as theyve shown repeatedly in recent seasons. "Were a group thats confident, but we have guys now that are frustrated," said Boston coach Claude Julien. "They know they have to be better and they will be better. "Its a 2-1 series. Its not the end of the world here. Weve just got to battlee back.dddddddddddd. Theres no reason to panic. We havent in the past and were not about to panic now." The Canadiens had surprises for Boston, including a tweak of the top two lines that saw Thomas Vanek put on the second unit with Tomas Plekanec and Michael Bournival while the pesky Brendan Gallagher moved up with David Desharnais and Max Pacioretty. Montreal also got a strong 26-save outing from goalie Carey Price and a third straight two-point game from defenceman P.K. Subban, who has 11 points in the last six playoff games. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Subban is the first Canadiens defenceman to record a six-game playoff point streak since Larry Robinson in 1985. "He is a game changer," Gallagher said of Subban. "Hes just giving us a lot of energy right now." The Canadiens also used one of their strengths, shot-blocking, to turn away 29 attempts before they could reach Price. "Theyre taking away a lot of scoring chances," said Boston forward Shawn Thornton. "They came out with a lot of energy. "I thought our pace was pretty good, but if you give up a couple of goals, then youre chasing. We have to shore it up and hopefully get back to the way we were used to playing." It has all conspired to make it a pleasant time to be Canadien, especially for a newcomer like Weise. The 25-year-old had a goal and an assist for his first playoff game with more than one point and only the second of his 192-game NHL career. He was one of three pickups ahead of the March 5 NHL trade deadline, along with defenceman Mike Weaver and Vanek, who have been key contributors to the Canadiens playoff run. Weise may not even have had a chance to play had Travis Moen and Alex Galchenyuk not been injured when the playoff started. Now it is hard to see how coach Michel Therrien could take him out. Although he is from Winnipeg, Weise grew up a Montreal fan, mainly because his father worshipped the Canadiens. So he considered the trade a dream come true. In his third season in Vancouver, Weise was ignored by coach John Tortorella, but landed on his feet as a regular fourth liner in Montreal. He was scratched three games in a row late in the season, but has been ball of energy since then. He considered it a wake-up call. And now hes getting the rock star treatment from Canadiens fans, which he said never happened before, even in a hockey market like Vancouver. "I was in a grocery store and I was walking into an elevator and this guy wouldnt let me get on the elevator," a grinning Weise recalled of another recent incident. "He was grabbing my shoulder, he was so excited and pumped up. "Then his buddy beside him said relax, relax and the elevator was closing and he kept saying Im sorry, Im sorry. I love the passionate fans. I think its awesome." ' ' '