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PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Joe Durant is trying desperately to hold onto his old job on the PGA Tour. If it doesnt work out, his new gig is looking more promising all the time. The Champions Tour rookie shot a 6-under 64 on Thursday in the first round of the Senior Players Championship, making seven birdies against one bogey to join David Frost and Doug Garwood atop the leaderboard at defenceless Fox Chapel. Bernhard Langer, Corey Pavin, Larry Mize, Steve Pate, Olin Browne, Bart Bryant, Peter Fowler and Wes Short Jr. shot 65. Colin Montgomerie, the Senior PGA winner last month, opened with a 5-under 30 on the front nine before fading to a 69. The 50-year-old Durant, a four-time winner on the main tour, is trying to split time between both circuits this summer. The pressure to earn enough money while making limited PGA Tour starts has been draining. In a way, the 50-and-over tour is allowing him to recharge. "Im trying so hard to make magic happen in one week (on the PGA Tour) and its just not working out very well," Durant said. Durant tied for 31st last week in Connecticut in the PGA Tours Travelers Championship, a finish he believes should have been higher had he not slogged through the second and third rounds. "It easily could have been a top-10 week if I had just managed my game a little better Friday and Saturday," Durant said. There were no such issues Thursday. Durant holed out from the greenside bunker on the par-3 third, kick-starting his round. He ended it with a sliding left-to-right birdie putt on the par-5 18th for his 64, matching his best round since joining the Champions Tour after turning 50 in April. "It all comes down to making putts," Durant said. "If you make putts, the game is real easy. If youre burning edges, its not that easy." Frost and Garwood quickly joined Durant atop the leaderboard. Frustrated after a middling 39th-place finish at the Encompass Championship last week in Illinois, Frost ditched the shafts on his irons for the first time in four years, trading them in for something that offered a little more forgiveness. The move paid off with a near flawless round in which he missed only one fairway and three greens. "I almost want to kick myself for not (switching shafts) earlier," Frost said. Garwood, a two-time All-American during his college career at Fresno State, has finally found a home on the Champions Tour after spending most of his adult life on pro golfs fringe. He never played in a PGA Tour event and sold insurance among other things before trying to give the 50-and-over circuit a shot last spring. After some initial struggles, it is paying off handsomely. Garwood lost a playoff four weeks ago in the Principal Charity Classic and backed it up with a runner-up finish last weekend. Garwoods round included three straight birdies on Nos. 12-14, including a 35-footer on the par-4 14th. His birdie attempt on the 18th stopped one roll short of giving him the lead. Being near the lead is becoming familiar territory for Garwood, though he has done his best to downplay his steady rise. "Ive always believed the lower the expectation, the easier it is to meet," he said, laughing. "Theres enough pressure just being out there with all the hoopla. So I just go out and try to shoot my best ... trying to shoot 64, it just kind of happens." Defending champion Kenny Perry, looking for his fourth major title in the last year, failed to take advantage of the prime scoring conditions. Playing his eighth tournament in nine weeks, Perry shot an even-par 70. Perrys score was actually one better than the 71 he posted in the opening round last year. Perry responded last June by shooting a combined 20 under over the final 54 holes to edge Fred Couples and Duffy Waldorf for the first major pro title of his lengthy career. The 53-year-old Kentuckian, the Tradition winner last month in the first senior major of the year, doubted Fox Chapel would be as generous this time around, but with wide open fairways and damp greens, it wasnt a fair fight. More than half the 81 players finished at even par or better. "Its going to take a lot of birdies this week with the conditions as they are right now," Durant said. "Youve just got to keep the hammer down." Custom Detroit Pistons Jerseys . Louis Cardinals, the team will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of the opening of the SkyDome. Jays legends Jimmy Key and Ernie Whitt, members of playoff and World Series-winning teams of the past, will be on hand for the festivities to look back at what was the beginning of the Jays halcyon years. Jerry Stackhouse Jersey . The 57-year-old Tietjens has coached New Zealand to nine IRB World Sevens titles and to four Commonwealth Games gold medals as its only coach in the professional era. New Zealand Rugby Union chief executive Steve Tew said the re-signing was made with a focus on 2016 when sevens will be in the Olympics. http://www.basketballpistonsauthority.co...ns-jersey-c-11/. The Incheon-based tea, of the Korea Baseball Organization said the deal for the 35-year-old Scott included a $50,000 signing bonus. Scott reached the major leagues with Houston in 2005 and hit 23 homers or more for Baltimore each year from 2008-10. Reggie Jackson Jersey . - Even with a new coach, the Denver Nuggets still love to push the basketball. Ish Smith Jersey . Goergl, the 2011 world champion, started 28th after the other top contenders had already gone down but had the fastest time at each interval. Goergl finished the demanding 3-kilometre Kaelberloch course in 1 minute, 47.Los Angeles, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Steve Mason stopped 37-of-38 shots to help the Philadelphia Flyers steal two points from the Los Angeles Kings in a 2-1 victory Saturday at Staples Center. Claude Giroux and Wayne Simmonds tallied for the Flyers, who finished the California portion of their five-game, cross-continent road trip at 1-1-1. Philadelphia, which completes its travels on Tuesday in Columbus, also snapped a season-high six-game losing skid. We played as a team tonight, the Kings are a really good team and Steve [Mason] had a lot of good saves for us. Its kind of a relief to finally get two points, Giroux said. We wanted that first goal especially against LA, when they get the first goal they are a hard team to catch up to. Getting that goal was huge for us. Justin Williams registered the lone goal and Jonathan Quick made only 14 saves for the Kings, who had blanked Boston, Arizona and Minnesota in their last three victories. Williams potted a rebound from the right side of the crease 4:09 into the third period, capitalizing on a defensive coverage miscue in front of Mason. The Kings were given a prime chance to even the score when Simmonds was cited for a questionable slashing call with 4:51 to play and the hosts had a brief 5-on-3 after R.J. Umberger cleared the puck over the glass. That comeback effort was cut short after Stoll was goaded into a penalty with 1:26 on the clock. Quick was sent to the bench for an extra skater one shift later, but the Flyers had the better chances to the empty net. We werent prepared for the one oclock game today. At the same time, times when youre behind you have a channce to come back and we certainly had our chances to come back to atone for our start of the game, Williams noted.dddddddddddd. We got some shots blocked, they got some clears and the end result was a loss. Each team unleashed seven shots on goal in the games first 20 minutes, but Philadelphia was the only club to solve the opposing netminder. Giroux tallied just 4:35 in, slipping into a seam up the middle with a Mark Streit pass and scoring on a wrister. It was 2-0 for the Flyers at 2:08 of the second as Simmonds managed to slip a puck through Quicks legs from the right side on the back end of a power play created when Stoll went off for slashing. Mason made that lead stand up with flexible goaltending on back-to-back Kings power plays, including closing off the near post as Anze Kopitar partially fanned on a breakaway chance. Jeff Carter later missed a half-open net on a one-timer from the left circle. Mason finished the second with 15 saves and halted 22 pucks through 40 minutes. Game Notes The Flyers claimed their first road win since Oct. 22 at Pittsburgh, having gone 0-7-2 in between ... Mason earned his first win since Nov. 22 vs. Columbus after an 0-3-2 clip ... Mason has stopped 72-of-73 Los Angeles shots in his two road appearances with the Flyers in the last 10 months, leading the Flyers to wins in both games ... Simmonds, who leads Philly with 11 goals, scored in back-to-back games for the second time all season, following a three-game run (5G) from Oct. 9-14 ... Los Angeles lost despite tying a season-low for shots allowed in one game (Oct. 19 vs. Minnesota). ' ' '