ATLANTA -- Phil Mickelson paused a good while before answering the question, realizing immediately that how it was answered had the potential to look bad. Of course he would love to win the Tour Championship this week and all the potential riches that go along with it.But really, Lefty admitted, the goal is next weeks Ryder Cup. And getting the issues in his game straightened out here at East Lake is more important than how he fares at the PGA Tours season-ending event.That might not sit too well with the PGA Tour brass, or tournament sponsor Coca-Cola or perhaps even those who come to the course to watch him in person.By now, however, all should know that Phil is going to be Phil.Well, Ive won two Tour Championships, and Ive only been a part of two winning Ryder Cups, Mickelson said Friday after saying that he made an equipment change to better help him next week. Id kind of like to be a part of a third.So not to diminish this [tournament], but Id rather win next week. For me, at this stage in my career, it means a little more to me.Give Mickelson credit for honesty. At 46 and in the World Golf Hall of Fame with 42 victories and five major championships, Mickelson stuck his neck out two years ago at Gleneagles when he basically criticized Tom Watson and the PGA of America for the approach that has seen the Americans lose the Cup eight of the 10 times Mickelson has been part of it.His comments were controversial, and he knew taking on a legend like Watson would not be popular. But it helped force a change he is fully behind, one that saw more player input into the captain, the points standings and the pairings.But now Mickelsons game looks shaky, and he explained why he had hit just a single fairway during the opening round and only five more on Friday, giving him a total of six out of 28 for two days: He put a different driver in play, one with a longer shaft.That was a result of the practice round he had on Monday at Hazeltine National, site of the Ryder Cup.When I went to Hazeltine and saw how long of a golf course it was, I went to a longer driver again, said Mickelson, who brought three drivers that have a shaft an inch-and-a-half longer. I hit this driver 18, 20 yards longer. Thats a significant difference. I carry it a lot farther, and I think its going to be an advantage at Hazeltine if I drive it well.But I needed to get some play with it. I cant just show up and expect to drive it. Yesterday was a different one. Today was the one Im going to end up going with. I drove it great on the back nine. I hit cuts like I did in 2004, when I drove it well, and they were soft cuts. I was able to swing it to the target, and the ball went there. It was great.Ahhhh. ... You can all but see the cynics cringing, hear the doubters groaning.It is certainly fair to wonder if Mickelson is overthinking this. Hes having his best year since winning The Open in 2003, nearly winning this year at Royal Troon, finishing second at Pebble Beach and making his 11th Ryder Cup team. He is ranked 14th in the world.The swing instructor he has been working with since last fall, Andrew Getson, has been with Mickelson for numerous tournaments, including two weeks ago at the BMW Championship and this week. Mickelson has often credited Getson for his improved play in 2016.And part of the reason for that success is the shorter driver, one that helped him keep the ball in play with more frequency.I sacrificed a lot of distance here in an effort to get the ball in the fairway, said Mickelson, who even with that improvement still ranks just 154th on the PGA Tour in driving accuracy, hitting just less than 56 percent of the fairways. I drove it a little bit straighter.But I needed the length, and Ive picked that back up. And Im starting to, after today, feel pretty good with it. I hit a lot of good drives. The stats dont always say. Yesterday the misses were huge. Today the misses were minuscule. On a normal length fairway, I probably would have hit 10, 11 fairways. But these things are tight, theyre tilted, and theyre very difficult to hit.Mickelson has been down this road previously. At the 2008 U.S. Open, for example, he famously played the tournament without a driver. He has, at times, used two drivers, taking a long iron or a wedge out of his bag. Another time he had a period of using a strong 3-wood that served as his driver.Whatever the case, Mickelson clearly had his mind made up after Mondays practice round with several other U.S. players that this was the way to proceed.Thats why playing a practice round is so critical, because you realize what your course setup, your bag setup, your club setup needs to be, he said. You work on the shots youve been hitting, you need to hit. You have to have time to prepare for those.Had I not gone and seen it, Id be showing up there on Monday or Tuesday with a short driver panicking like I need that extra 20 yards. So it was a good thing.Mickelson spent a considerable amount of time on the driving range Wednesday and again after his round Thursday, when he admitted there was concern after hitting just one out of 14 fairways. On Wednesday, he settled on the correct settings for the drivers he would employ, and then it was a matter of determining which of the two drivers hed narrowed it down to was best.The answer, apparently, came Friday, when his back-nine 34 resulted in a score of 2-over 72. He opened the tournament with a 74.I expect this weekend Ill drive it well, Mickelson said. I think Im going to play well because the other holes, everything is fine with my game.I drove it a lot better today. Today went much, much better. Even though the numbers dont warrant it, all my misses were within a yard or two of the fairways. But you just cant play this course like that.Mickelson is tied for 26th in the 29-man field (Jason Day withdrew), already 13 shots back of leader Dustin Johnson. He wont be winning the Tour Championship, and any incremental gains earned in prize money and bonus money are of little consequence to him at this point of a career in which hes made millions.So its all about the Ryder Cup now, where not a penny is on the line but there is plenty at stake. Air Max 90 Leder Damen . LOUIS -- Alexander Steen scored a power-play goal with 59. Nike Air Max 270 Günstig Kaufen . With the first unit struggling of late and Amir Johnson - one of the teams iron men - hobbling on an injured right ankle, Patterson knew he could get the nod in a challenging matchup against one of the leagues up and coming players at his position. http://www.schuhenikeschweiz.com/air-max-97-schweiz-gunstig.html . -- Aldon Smith believes he is on the path to being sober for good. Nike Air Max 270 Weiß . In taking its goal tally to 99 in all competitions already this season, City delivered another demonstration of its lethal firepower at Etihad Stadium to set up a fourth-round match at home to another second-tier team -- Watford. Nike Air Max 98 Gundam Kaufen . -- Mike Smith never saw his first NHL goal go in. TORONTO -- Kory Sheets has his sights set firmly on Mike Pringle. The sophomore running back rushed for 178 yards and two TDs on Thursday night to power the Saskatchewan Roughriders to a 39-28 win over the Toronto Argonauts. It was the third straight week Sheets has rushed for more than 100 yards. With a league-best 442 yards, Sheets is on pace for over 2,600 yards this year, which would smash Pringles single-season mark of 2,065 recorded in 1998. And Sheets is well aware of Pringles record and his standing as the best running back in CFL history with a league-record 16,425 career rushing yards. "Yes, that was the first thing I did when I came up here two years ago, look at the league record for rushing and thats been my goal ever since," Sheets said. "Someone wants to say Im being cocky because I want to be the best, then so be it, thats their opinion. "In everything I do I try and be great." Sheets, who had three 100-yard games last year, has rushed for career highs in the first three weeks of the season. "Kory Sheets has it set in his mind he wants to be the best back in the league and I think hes doing those things to become the best back in the league," said Riders coach Corey Chamblin. "The play-calling was good and our O-line was phenomenal ... he (Sheets) knows for him to be the best back he also has to have the best O-line and those guys are giving good push up front." And earning their keep as Sheets treats his offensive linemen to hamburgers every time he rushes for over 100 yards. "Well have to do something special if we get to 1,000 yards kind of early," Sheets said with a chuckle. Riders quarterback Darian Durant was pretty good, too, completing 14-of-19 passes for 245 yards and three TDs -- including two long ones to Taj Smith -- before leaving with a foot injury with 9:52 remaining. But Durant had cemented the win before a disappointing Rogers Centre gathering of 18,211 with a 70-yard TD strike to Smith at 6:51 of the third. Durant had found a wide-open Smith on a 61-yard touchdown pass in the opening half as Smith finished with a game-high 141 receiving yards on three catches. "Im not sure exactly what happened, I just know I got rolled up on it," Durant said. "Its pretty sore." The good news is Saskatchewan (3-0) doesnt play again until July 21 when it hosts Hamilton. But the Riders also got lucky when Torontos Jamie Robinson returned a Durant interception 88 yards for the TD at 6:43 of the second that wouldve given the Argos an 18-7 advantage. However, it was negated by a pass interference call on Robinson. That gave Saskatchewan possession at the Toronto 14 and set up Sheets two-yard TD run at 7:30 to put the Riders ahead 14-11. SSaskatchewan took a 21-11 lead on Durants first TD pass to Smith at 14:10 en route to a 21-14 half-time advantage.dddddddddddd "It was huge, it was a momentum swing," Durant said of the penalty on Robinson. "Whenever they make mistakes you want to make them pay." Toronto (1-2) made it interesting early in the fourth when Ricky Ray hit Chad Kackert on a 48-yard touchdown pass to cut its deficit to 32-21. But despite passing for 334 yards and two TDs, Ray was also sacked five times as as the defending Grey Cup champions suffered their second straight loss. "Part of it was them getting a two-touchdown lead," said Toronto head coach Scott Milanovich. "They can grind it out and its easier to call his (Sheets) number in that situation. "Clearly they did a nice job with it." Saskatchewan, the CFLs lone undefeated team, has been dominant at Rogers Centre, winning seven of its last eight games there and eight-of-11 overall against the Argos. The Riders also scored more than 30 points for the third straight game. But Saskatchewan opened last season with three straight wins before finishing third in the West Division standings with an 8-10 record. Rob Bagg had Saskatchewans other touchdown. Chris Milo added the converts and a field goal while Ricky Schmitt booted a single. Andre Durie and Zach Collaros scored Torontos other touchdowns. Noel Prefontaine kicked the converts, two field goals and a single Ray started smartly, connecting on his first 12 passes, the third-highest total in club history and five short of the franchise record. Included was a 10-yard touchdown pass to Durie to end the first that put the Argos ahead 11-7. Durie was Torontos receiving leader with seven catches for 100 yards. "We got off to a good start and then just lost our rhythm," Ray said. "We just couldnt get back into it. "They did a lot of things that we saw on film but they did a lot of bringing guys and pressure . . . and I didnt have time for a good enough look (downfield)." NOTES: Durant has yet to throw an official interception this season and the three TD passes give him 102 for his CFL career ... Bagg scored his first TD since 2010 after missing all of 2011 and all but three games in 2012 with knee injuries ... Former Argo defensive lineman Ricky Foley received his Grey Cup ring from Toronto GM Jim Barker prior to the game. Foley spent three seasons with the Double Blue before signing with Saskatchewan as a free agent. He earned his first sack of the season in the first, tackling Ray for a 10-yard loss ... Prefontaine played a day after his wife delivered the couples third child, a daughter ... Mike Rae holds the Argos record for most consecutive completions at 17. Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys cheap jerseys Cheap Jersyes Cheap Basketball Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys cheap jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '