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HOYLAKE, England -- Even when hes not the favourite, Tiger Woods is still the show at the British Open. Woods earned that attention by piling up majors at a faster rate than anyone in history, and the attention is just as great now because his recent past includes back surgery and his immediate future is more uncertain than ever. ESPN plans to show his entire round online Thursday. Not to be overlooked at golfs oldest championship, however, is a new generation of stars. Rickie Fowler and Harris English will be playing ahead of him. Two groups behind will be Jordan Spieth and Hideki Matsuyama. They are among 25 players who share a bond that speaks to the state of golf. Woods has never won a major during their professional careers. Yes, they saw his dominance on TV. They just never experienced it. They were not around for the decade when Woods won majors with regularity, sometimes by a record score, sometimes by a record margin. They missed the days that were so Tiger-centric a player couldnt get through an interview without being asked something about Woods. "Tiger ruined a lot of guys lives," Charles Howell III, a longtime friend of Woods who lived through those times, said earlier in the year. "He caused a lot of people some sleepless Sunday nights. But he also motivated an entire generation behind him." Howells point was that while the next generation might have been in awe of Woods, being outside the arena allowed them to study him without getting scarred. They learned from the way he worked. They were more prepared than the generation before them. The talk at this British Open is that it is more open than ever. But then, thats been the case since Woods won his last major six years ago. Since that 2008 U.S. Open, 19 players have won majors, and no one has won more than two. In the 24 majors leading up to his last major, Woods won six, Phil Mickelson won three and no one else won more than one. "Looking at the different amount of winners in the last five years at the major championships, were seeing so many players win," Henrik Stenson said Wednesday. Its so competitive. At some point there might have been 20 guys battling out for it. And now it feels like anyone in the field can win if they have a great week. So its definitely tighter." Stenson, No. 2 in the world and among the favourites this week, will be playing alongside Woods for the opening two days. "Hes just one of the guys I need to beat if I want to do well this week," Stenson said. "But its a good start if you know you can beat him." Woods is playing his first major of the year because of March 31 back surgery. Returning to Royal Liverpool was always the target -- he won his third claret jug on these links in 2006 when it was brown and fast, not green and slower as it is this year. Woods came back sooner than he expected, missing the cut at Congressional three weeks ago in what had the feeling of a 36-hole rehab assignment. He feels healthy. He feels strong. And he still commands a presence. That much was clear when Woods played only two holes Wednesday as spectators scrambled for a view. He brings energy and excitement to a golf tournament. Does he bring intimidation? The Open is his next opportunity to see if he can regain the mystique that a younger generation has yet to experience. Matt Kuchar, who played a practice round with Woods on Sunday, doesnt think it will take much. Hes not sure Woods ever lost it. "The kids today grew up idolizing him," Kuchar said. "He gets back on form again, I dont think that intimidation factor is gone at all. These are the kids that grew up watching him and wanting to be him." Kuchar said it can be intimidating to play alongside, although Patrick Reed sure wasnt flustered having Woods in the group ahead of him at Doral, and Spieth didnt looked rattled when he shot 63 at Torrey Pines (the North Course) with Woods in his group. Is there a difference between watching dominance on TV and seeing it in person? "Youre saying a different intimidation for the guys who are now just coming up and just watched it on TV as opposed to my generation that were actually losing by 10 to it?" Kuchar said with a laugh. "Im not sure. If I was to go shoot baskets with Michael Jordan right now, I would be pretty intimidated. So its probably similar. The guys that played against him and got scored 40 on probably have a similar feeling to me in the awe that surrounds a guy like that." It all unfolds on Thursday, where the only mystery greater than Woods in the English weather. The final day of practice featured sunshine and rain. Hoylake when its green is there to be attacked -- its the only course on the Open rotation with four par 5s. The greens are not severe. The fairways are relatively flat, which makes them more fair. All eyes will be on Woods, and theres nothing unusual about that. The difference is that no one is sure what they will see. Discount Jerseys For Sale . The Tournament of Champions, which starts Friday, is his first event since a freak accident in Shanghai two months ago. Snedeker was on a Segway scooter during a corporate outing at Sheshan International when he took a tumble and injured his left knee. Discount Jerseys Authentic . Chris Johnson singled with two outs off left-hander Jerry Blevins (1-1), and Schafer pinch ran. With a 2-2 count, Schafer ran on the pitch and Upton dropped a single in front of Bryce Harper. Schafer already was rounding third when Schafer bobbled the ball. https://www.discountjerseysonline.com/.com) - Colorado may be ahead of the Vancouver Canucks in the Western Conference standings, but they are a club that the Avalanche may want to avoid in the playoffs. Discount Jerseys League . Winnipeg trailed by five points in the final minute when quarterback Drew Willy completed a 13-play, 75-yard drive with Feoli-Gudinos 18-yard touchdown catch on third down to lift the Bombers to a 34-33 victory over the Montreal Alouettes on Friday night. Discount Jerseys Wholesale .The Canadian teenage golf sensation announced Thursday shell join the LPGA Tour in 2015 instead of attending the University of Florida.Flames visit Preds in battle between low-scoring teams (SportsNetwork.com) - The Calgary Flames were again involved in a game in which a team was held scoreless, only this time they came out on the winning side. For one night, continued scoring issues didnt cost the Flames and theyll aim to make it back-to-back wins on Tuesday night when they visit the Nashville Predators. Calgary went into Mondays encounter with the Carolina Hurricanes having been outscored 13-1 over a three-game slide and 26-6 over their previous eight games, a span in which it had been shut out five times while going 1-7-0. The Flames finally found a way to get around those scoring woes by keeping the Hurricanes off the board in a 2-0 win. Karri Ramo stopped all 23 shots he faced for his first NHL shutout. Ramo played 48 games with the Tampa Bay Lightning from 2006-09 and then spent the next four seasons in Russia before the Flames took a chance on the 27- year-old Finn in the offseason. He posted 18 whitewashes for Avangard Omsk in the Kontinental Hockey League. Mikael Backlund and Sean Monahan scored the goals as the Flames won despite Mike Cammalleri sitting out with a concussion suffered in Saturdays loss to Pittsburgh. "It was probably our best team effort of the season," Calgary head coach Bob Hartley said. "Its a feel-good story, thats for sure. We had an answer for their pressure. We were on our toes, had great support. Guys were going short (shifts), so we had plenty of energy. We were on a mission." Monahan tied Cammalleri for the team lead in goals with 13 as he has three tallies in his past seven games for the struggling offense. The Predators themselves failed to find any offense on Sunday night versus the Minnesota Wild, falling in defeat 4-0. They were shut out for an NHL-leading seventh time this season, but for the first time since Nov. 28. Marek Mazanec made 19 saves, yielding two goals in the first period and another two in the third as the Preds fell to 1-2-1 on a five-game homestand and 3-7-4 in their past 14. "They came out with a lot of juice and got us on our heels in the first," said Nashville coach Barry Trotz. The Predators and Flames are meeting for the first time this season and Nashville has claimed five of the past seven encounters overall. Calgary has lost four straight in Nashville. Sens, Wild collide in Minnesota (SportsNetwork.com) - There is still plenty of hockey left to be played, but that doesnt mean the Ottawa Senators and Minnesota Wild arent keep an eye on the standings. The two clubs look to extend recent surges on Tuesday night with a meeting in Minnesota. The Senators are 5-0-1 in their last six games, climbing to within two points of the final two postseason spots in the Eastern Conference, while the Wild own a four-point lead for eighth place in the Western Conference thanks to a victory in five of their last six. Ottawa wraps a four-game road trip tonight and rebounded from an overtime loss in Colorado to beat the Nashville Predators 2-1 in a shootout on Saturday. Both Mika Zibanejad and Jason Spezza scored for the Sens in the tiebreaker, while Craig Anderson stopped both skaters he faced. Kyle Turris scored in regulation while Anderson stopped 32 shots through overtime. "You dont want to fall behind. We know were in a lump of a group of teams, but with the games-in-hand and the not-games-in-hand I think its too early to be looking at where you sit," said Spezza. Anderson has not lost in regulation since Dec. 19, going 6-0-2 since. However, he has allowed three goals or more in five of those eight games. Minnesota, meanwhile, has found success despite not having forwards Zach Parise (lower body) and Mikko Koivu (ankle surgery) as well as goaltender Josh Harding (illness) out of the lineup. The Wild also rebounded from a loss to Colorado, besting the hosting Nashville Predators 4-0 on Sunday. Darcy Kuemper made 23 saves for his first career NHL shutout, while Dany Heatley, Jason Zucker, Matt Cooke and Marco Scandella all had goals. Charlie Coyle, skating on a line with Heatley and Zucker, notched a pair of assists. "I think its also the first time weve had a couple of guys weve played steady together for more than a game or two," Heatley said. "Like I said, that chemistrys a big deal and its going good right now." Kuemper only had to make five saves in the opening period, but turned aside nine in each of the fiinal two frames to finish off the shutout.dddddddddddd He will get the call in net again tonight as he faces the Senators for the first time. Ottawa is 8-3-0 with a tie all-time versus Minnesota and had won six straight in the series before a 4-3 home loss on Nov. 20. Koivu had the winner, Heatley finished with a goal and an assist and Harding made 34 saves. Turris, Zibanejad and Milan Michalek scored for the Senators, while Anderson made 21 saves. Sens backup Robin Lehner is slated to get the start tonight and has never faced the Wild. He has given up five goals in each of his last two starts overall, the most recent on Dec. 27. Ottawa has won three straight on the road in this series and is 4-1-0 with a tie all-time in Minnesota. The Senators announced on Monday that general manager Bryan Murray signed a two-year contract extension and was also named the president of hockey operations. Upon the conclusion of the extension in 2016, Murray will stay on with the team in an advisory role. The 71-year-old Murray has been with the franchise since June 2004 when he was named the teams head coach, then took over the general managers duties on June 18, 2007. Oilers look to halt struggles against Stars (SportsNetwork.com) - A stunning collapse cost the Dallas Stars a chance at snapping their five-game losing streak last time out. The Edmonton Oilers couldnt capitalize on a shocking goal to beat one of the NHLs top teams. The Stars and Oilers both aim to halt their recent struggles on Tuesday night with a meeting in Dallas. The Oilers visited the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday and lost a 5-3 decision despite a gift goal in the second period. During a delayed penalty call, Blackhawks goaltender Antti Raanta skated off for an extra attacker as Patrick Kane passed the puck to the point in the Oilers zone. However, there was not Blackhawk there and the puck traveled all the way into the Chicago net, with Boyd Gordon getting credited with a goal despite not even being on the ice. That strange tally tied the game at 2-2 with 8:31 left in the second period, but Chicagos Marian Hossa scored during the 5-on-3 power play just 29 seconds later and Jonathan Toews added another Blackhawks goal before the end of the period. Ales Hemsky had one goal and an assist for the Oilers, while Devan Dubnyk was beaten five times on 41 shots. "We made it pretty easy on them. Against a team like that, theyre going to make you pay," said Edmonton forward Taylor Hall, who scored his 18th goal of the season to make it 4-3 in the third period before Chicago again answered. The Stars and Oilers have split two meetings this season, with each club winning on the road. Dallas has won seven of nine and 12 of the last 15 meetings overall. Edmonton has won back-to-back road games in this series, but has still lost 10 of its last 13 in Dallas. Just minutes away from a victory over the New York Islanders on Sunday, the Stars instead watched as the Isles scored three times over the games final 4:16 to hand Dallas a 4-2 setback. It was the Stars sixth defeat in a row, all in regulation. Ray Whitney and Sergei Gonchar scored in the first period to stake Dallas to a 2-0 lead and Dan Ellis made 27 saves. "When youre struggling as a group, instead of finding ways to win you find ways to lose, and thats kind of where were at right now," said Whitney. The Stars have lost six in a row in regulation for the first time since Dec. 5-15, 1995 and have fallen eight points back of the eighth spot in the Western Conference. Dallas will now try to avoid losing seven straight for the first time since an 0-5-2 rut from March 17-30, 2009 and will do so against an Edmonton club that is 2-4-2 in its last eight games. Ilya Bryzgalov will start tonight for the Oilers and is 13-8-2 with a 2.26 goals against average in 29 games (26 starts) versus the Stars. He made 28 saves in a 3-2 shootout win in Dallas on Dec. 1. Kari Lehtonen is likely to start for the Stars and owns a 10-3-1 lifetime mark versus the Oilers with a 2.06 GAA. He shut the club out for the first time in his career with a 3-0 road decision on Nov. 13, then stopped 30 saves in the loss to Bryzgalov. Former Oilers captain and current Stars forward Shawn Horcoff faces his old club for the third time. He totaled 162 goals, 285 assists and 447 points in 796 games with Edmonton to begin his career and has no points in the two meetings this season. ' ' '