That was just the beginning of the struggles

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Stephen Gallacher of Scotland shot a final round 72 Sunday to become the first player to successfully defend the Dubai Desert Classic title, beating Emiliano Grillo of Argentina by one stroke. Gallacher fought back after four bogeys over his opening eight left him in a five-way tie for the lead after 11 ............ He won the 25-year-old tournament with an overall 16-under 272 for only his third victory in 18 years and 431 events on the European Tour. Grillo secured his best Tour finish with an overall 15-under 273 when he eagled the last ..................... for a round of 66. Frenchman Romain Wattel also shot a 66, including birdies on the last two ..........., to finish tied in third on 14-under 274 with Brooks Koepka (70) of the United States. Rory McIlroy struggled with a 74 to finish tied for ninth while top-ranked Tiger Woods (71) birdied his closing three ........... for a share of 41st with a 6-under 282. The 39-year old Gallacher eventually broke clear of the logjam atop the leaderboard to birdie Nos. 13, 16th and 17th before a regulation par at the last. "It took everything I had to win today especially after the start I had when I bogeyed the first two ...........," Gallacher said. "The good thing is that I was fortunate that no one was running away with the tournament ... The turning point came at 11 when I holed a nice putt for birdie." The win puts Gallacher into the top 40 in the world, putting him in strong position to play the Masters for the first time in his career. The top 50 in the world at the end of March get into the Masters. McIlroy began the last day two shots behind playing partner Gallacher but was 2-over after 10 ........... before the first birdie of his round at the 11th. The Northern Irishman then bogeyed the 12th and 13th before only his second birdie of the round at No. 17. "On the rare occasions I got the ball close, I didnt make any putts, so it was one of those days," McIlroy said. "I thought if I could get to 16 under it would be good enough and it turned out that it was as thats what Stephen got to. I just wasnt able to play well enough to get there. It was just one of those days. Anything that could go wrong, did." http://www.seahawksfansofficial.com/mike-morgan-jersey/ . It was well worth the wait. Manning and the Denver Broncos waited eight long months, then another 33 minutes to get the season started because of a lightning storm. http://www.seahawksfansofficial.com/russell-wilson-jersey/ . -- The Chicago Bears have agreed to terms with safety Brock Vereen and QB David Fales on four-year contracts. http://www.seahawksfansofficial.com/rees-odhiambo-jersey/ .Y. - Lou Williams scored 21 points and the Toronto Raptors beat New York 81-76 on Monday night in the Knicks preseason home opener. http://www.seahawksfansofficial.com/richard-sherman-jersey/ . At a news conference Tuesday where it was thought that the fiery Schallibaum may be shown the door after a dismal finish to the Major League Soccer season, team president Joey Saputo said no decision has been made on whether the Swiss Volcano will be back in 2014. http://www.seahawksfansofficial.com/paul-richardson-jersey/ . The 23-year-old Poland international is back as first choice at Arsenal after losing his regular spot in the team on occasions over the last three seasons.HUMBLE, Texas -- Matt Kuchar didnt have the result he had hoped for while playing in the final pairing at last weeks Texas Open. The six-time PGA Tour winner, who closed with a final-round 75 on his way to a fourth-place finish last week, will have the opportunity to show what he learned from that disappointing finish at this weeks Houston Open. Playing in the final pairing, Kuchar vaulted past a struggling Sergio Garcia with a 4-under par 68 on Saturday -- overcoming windy conditions at the Golf Club of Houston to match the low round of the day and take a four-shot lead after three rounds. Kuchar stands at 15 under overall heading into Sundays final round, four shots ahead of second-round leader Garcia and Cameron Tringale. The three will be paired together on Sunday. "Its a nice position to have played well last week, to have been in the last group with a chance to win and again to come back this week, completely different course, and have another shot to win," Kuchar said. Kuchars last win came at the Memorial last year, and he has eight top 10 finishes this season in 10 events. Hell have the opportunity add to that resume on Sunday, weather permitting, as well as fuel his surging confidence leading into next weeks Masters, where he finished in a tie for eighth last year. The prospect of a winners share of nearly $1.2-million, however, has Kuchar locked in on this weekend first -- even with the prospect of competing for his first major championship looming next week. "Ive been playing some steady golf for a couple of years now and feel like my chances of playing well tomorrow are pretty good," Kuchar said. "Having a four-shot lead is a great position to be in." The golfers went off both tees in threesomes early Saturday morning in anticipation of severe weather in the evening, a format theyll use again Sunday with hopes of avoiding a Monday finish leading into next weeks visit to Augusta National. Garcia, who surged ahead with a 7-under 65 on Friday, began the day with a one-shot lead over Kuchar. That disappeared quickly after the Spaniard bogeyed the first to fall back to 11 under and into a tie with his playing partner, Kuchar. That was just the beginning of the struggles for Garcia, who later put his tee shot into the water on No.dddddddddddd 10. He finished with a 1-over 73 after matching the courses low mark of 12 under after two rounds. "Obviously, I didnt play as well as yesterday with the difficulty," Garcia said. "... It wasnt that easy." Kuchar, meanwhile, birdied the first to move into the lead -- a spot he didnt relinquish. He added back-to-back birdies on No. 4 and 5 to move to 14 under, and he added three birdies in a row on the back nine. He reached 16 under with a birdie on the par-3 14th before three-putting the 18th and settling for 15 under. "Its unbelievable," said Ben Curtis, who is tied for 5th at 8 under with Rickie Fowler. "(Kuchars) on a great roll the last few years. Obviously, hes playing very confidently, and that makes a huge difference." Kuchar missed his first four cuts at the Houston Open, but the American finished tied for eighth in 2010 and 2011 before not playing in the tournament the last two years. His three rounds in the 60s this week have only been matched by Tringale, who shot a 3-under 69 on Saturday while playing in the next-to-last pairing. Phil Mickelson, after withdrawing from last weeks Texas Open with a muscle pull in his right side, was inconsistent from the opening ..................... Saturday. The five-time major winner left his opening two approach shots short of the green, the second of which found the bunker and caused him to slump over in the fairway. That led to the first of back-to-back bogeys, though he did recover with three straight birdies on the back nine before settling for an even-par 72 -- leaving him in a tie for eighth at 6 under. "I dont know if Ill have a good round tomorrow or not," Mickelson said. "But its close, a lot closer than its been." Fowler matched Kuchars low round in Saturdays chilly conditions, posting a 4-under 68 and moving to 8 under overall. With rain forecast for Saturday night and throughout Sunday, the golfers will once again tee off in threesomes early on Sunday morning. "To me, it feels like well come here and wait around for a lot longer, but (thats) part of the deal," Kuchar said. Wholesale NFL Jerseys cheap nfl jerseys ' ' '