SOUTHPORT, England -- Ayako Uehara of Japan felt confident with the putter and played in the best weather Royal Birkdale has to offer. DeAnthony Melton Jersey . It was the right combination to take the lead Thursday in the Womens British Open. And the best she could manage was a 4-under 68. Pot bunkers can present problems on any links course. Throw in some thick grass and par becomes a problem. Michelle Wie could attest to that. The U.S. Womens Open champion spent too much time chipping out of sand and rough on her way to a 75. Cristie Kerr didnt make a birdie, shot 81 and withdrew with a sore back. Only nine players broke par, all but two of them in the relative calm of a sunny morning along the Irish Sea. "Its only going to get harder," defending champion Stacy Lewis said after a 71. "Anything under par on this golf course is a good score." Uehara got her lone mistake out of the way early and made another bogey after the opening hole. She made three birdies in a four-hole stretch, added two birdies on the back nine and built a one-shot lead over Mo Martin. "Ayako obviously put up a really good number," said Lewis, who played in her group. "She seems like she wasnt in trouble at all. She was just greens, greens, centre of the green. You can kind of learn a little bit from that and maybe not go at so many pins." Morgan Pressel scrambled her way to a 70, joined by Sarah Kemp and Mina Harigae. The only players who broke par in the afternoon were former U.S. Womens Open champion So Yeon Ryu and Amy Yang, who played in the final group at the U.S. Womens Open last month. Both shot 71. "I dont think they can make it any easier," Pressel said. That doesnt bode well for Wie, who was introduced on the first tee as the U.S Womens Open champion and then posted her highest score of the year. Wie had to birdie the par-5 18th hole -- the only time she hit driver -- to finish 3 over. "Thought I made a good game plan," Wie said. "Just didnt hit good shots today." Alena Sharp of Hamilton, Ont., had a 2-over 74. The scores Thursday might have been a preview of what the men can expect next week at Royal Liverpool for The Open Championship, through Royal Birkdale is a stronger test. The links courses are separated by about 25 miles, and a wet spring has allowed the grass to get thick and lush. That makes it difficult to make contact with the golf ball, assuming it can be found. Tiger Woods won at Liverpool in 2006 on a fast course with wispy grass. "The golf course is so hard, I couldnt imagine four days of this much rough and all the wind and everything it entails," Lewis said "Its nice to have it pretty calm today." Pressel had 23 putts, though only four of them were for birdie. She escaped with par when she found trouble off the tee and one time salvaged bogey. Playing her third shot from the right rough to a pin on the right side of the tough 16th green protected by a pot bunker, Pressel played short of the green and got up-and-down to limit the damage. Her putter made all the difference. "I was happy that I made it look easier than it actually was," Pressel said. It wasnt like that for everyone. Paula Creamer was 5-over par after five holes and rallied for a 75. The best comeback belonged to Jessica Korda, who went out in 39 and then made four birdies on the back nine to return to even par. Karrie Webb, Inbee Park, Suzann Pettersen and Kraft Nabisco champion Lexi Thompson also were at even par. The way it looked Thursday, anyone around par might be in good shape when it ends on Sunday. Wie now has to climb back on a course that makes it feel as though she has to scale a mountain. She tried to rely on her powerful stinger off the tee, using mostly hybrids, to stay short of the bunkers and out of the rough. But she hit only seven fairways, leading to three of her bogeys. "I definitely felt like my tempo was a little bit off," Wie said. "But its a long way until Sunday, and I battled out there. Its not the score I was looking forward to on Thursday, but it could have been a lot worse." Martin had a plan for Birkdale, too. She is one of the shorter hitters on the LPGA Tour and cant recall a round where she hit so many 3-woods off the tee, all in an effort to stay out of trouble. "Every hole, every shot is its own test," Martin said. "You just really have to have so much strategy. It keeps you in the moment and its a challenge. Its a fun challenge." Cheap Rockets Jerseys Authentic . Louis Cardinals a hard-fought victory. The Colorado Rockies intentionally walked Yadier Molina with one out and runners on first and third to load the bases for Kozma. Cheap NBA Jerseys . Fabio Fognini pulled off a surprise 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 victory over two-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray to level the best-of-five quarterfinal at 2-2 before Andreas Seppi defeated James Ward 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 in the decisive match. http://www.cheaprocketsjerseys.com/ . Peko, a fourth-round pick in 2006, started all 16 games and a playoff loss to San Diego last season. He was second on the line with 72 tackles and had a career-high three sacks.TORONTO -- Patrick Patterson knows his role and, usually, its making an impact off the bench. But on Monday, the back-up forward got his first start since coming to Toronto two months ago and made the most of it, pouring in a season-high 22 points as the Raptors defeated New Orleans 108-101. "My role doesnt change whether its starting, or whether Im coming off the bench," said Patterson, who learned earlier in the day he would join the starting five in place of Amir Johnson, sidelined with a right ankle injury. "Setting screens, rebounding, shooting my shot, running the floor in transition and making my teammates better." Patterson, who came over to Toronto from the Sacramento Kings on Dec. 9 in a seven-player trade that sent Rudy Gay West, did all of that Monday in his first start in 30 games as a Raptor. He was a tidy 7-for-11 from the field -- including 3-for-5 from three-point range -- had six rebounds and added two assists. In his fourth season in the NBA, Patterson had 54 career starts, the majority with the Houston Rockets, coming into Monday night. He had started just six games this season, all with Sacramento. "Its all about making sure I have a positive role," Patterson said his rare start. Pattersons 22 points was one more than he had for the Kings against the Los Angeles Clippers Nov. 23. "Fifteen deep. Thats how we play. Thats how we role," starting point guard Kyle Lowry said of Pattersons ability to step into the line-up. "We won. Everybody stepped up." Lowry had another complete performance, scoring 19 points, doling out 12 assists and grabbing seven rebounds while DeMar DeRozan addded 22 points as the Raptors (27-24) snapped a two-game losing streak before a crowd of 17,596 at Air Canada Centre. Cheap Houston Rockets Jerseys. With the win, the Raptors, returning home from a five-game road trip out West, widened their lead over the Brooklyn Nets atop the NBAs Atlantic Division to three games. Toronto, 8-2 at home since Jan. 1, plays seven of its next nine at Air Canada Centre. The Raptors host the Atlanta Hawks Wednesday in their final game before the All-Star break. "We want to get both wins at home, protect home court and go into the break with a great conscience and try to hit the stretch run running," Lowry said of the teams approach to this weeks two games. The Raptors squandered a 15-point lead in the second quarter to go into halftime tied at 49. They then built up an 18-point edge in the third but again saw the Pelicans (22-29) battle back. Tyreke Evans had a game-high 23 points and 10 assists to lead New Orleans. Anthony Davis added 19. New Orleans went on a 16-5 run over the opening 5:10 of the fourth quarter to cut the Toronto lead to 87-86. But the Raptors responded with an 11-3 run over the next 2:30 to pull away for the victory. "For whatever reason, we are losing our leads with our second unit," said Raptors head coach Dwane Casey. "What its doing is putting a lot of pressure on our starters and them in big minute situations." DeRozan logged 40:21 and Lowry put in 38:48 to lead in court time among all players. "Taking Patrick Patterson off the second unit hurts them a bit," Casey said. "But still we have to get a rhythm with that second unit so we can rest our starters." 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