A change of heart could pay massive dividends for Graeme McDowell after the former U.S. Open champion survived a windswept opening day of the Scottish Open.On a day when winds gusting up to 40mph sent scores soaring, McDowell carded a two-under 70 to lie a shot off the lead held by Australias Scott Hend and Chiles Felipe Aguilar at Castle Stuart.McDowell had previously accused the Scottish Open of losing its identity and prestige by moving to the one-dimensional course outside of Inverness, which only opened in 2009.But after apologising to the tournament sponsors the Ryder Cup star was welcomed back with open arms and enjoyed the tougher test after spending two days in similar conditions at Open venue Royal Troon.Myself and Martin Gilbert [chief executive of sponsors Aberdeen Asset Management] have gotten a little closer over the years, McDowell joked after a round containing four birdies and two bogeys.Im really quite surprised by how good the golf course is. It really does feel like its designed for this wind direction.Its a beautiful piece of land here and has a really nice architectural mix of short [par] fours and tough [par] fives and its a helluva lot more narrow than I remember it. People are going to say Im full of s--- having criticised it pretty heavily and now Im saying its good. But Im allowed to change my mind and I like the golf course.McDowell missed the cut with rounds of 80 and 73 in the French Open last week, but made the most of his early exit to practice at Royal Troon, where he made his Open debut in 2004.I think the two days at Troon were a big help coming into this week, added the 36-year-old, who needs to produce some good performances to extend his record as the only European player to qualify automatically for the last four Ryder Cups. The wind really blew hard Saturday and Sunday when I was there. If it continues to blow like this, this is going to be a grind this weekend.Three-time major winner Padraig Harrington produced the best round of the later starters to join McDowell on two under, along with former U.S. PGA champion YE Yang, Swedens Alex Noren and the English quartet of Richard Bland, Tyrrell Hatton, Andy Sullivan and Eddie Pepperell. Inverness native Russell Knox was just three off the lead after a 72 but criticised the terrible set up of the 18th hole, which only one player in the top 20 managed to birdie.Five-time major winner Phil Mickelson remained upbeat despite an opening 76, while compatriot J.B. Holmes could be forgiven for wishing his clubs had never arrived after struggling to an opening 80.It was tough but I think this course is so well designed that it can accommodate difficult conditions, Mickelson said. Its a very fair test. I thought it was very playable even in such challenging conditions.Unfortunately I really struggled on the greens and missed quite a few short putts that prevented me from shooting a score around par.Holmes only received his clubs at 7pm on Wednesday evening after they were lost in transit from last weeks WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Ohio.The former Ryder Cup player -- who was part of the last U.S. victory in 2008 -- immediately headed out to practice but it failed to do him much good as he slumped to nine over par after 12 holes. Nike Vapormax Damen Günstig . President of baseball operations Larry Beinfest was fired Friday after 12 years with the Marlins. The move came as the team neared the end of its third consecutive last-place season in the NL East. Nike Vapormax Herren Deutschland . The nimble-footed quarterback got his wish, dashing through the snow and a weary defence all the way into the NCAA record book. http://www.vapormaxschuhe.de/vapormax-weiss-deutschland.html .ca NHL Power Rankings for the second straight week, ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Colorado Avalanche. Vapormax Schwarz Kaufen . It might not have mattered. While the Dodgers are preparing for the playoffs, the Padres showed their future has promise behind two rookies. Vapormax Plus Günstig Kaufen .B. - Sebastien Auger made 44 saves as the Saint John Sea Dogs edged the visiting Acadie-Bathurst Titan 2-1 on Saturday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. AKRON, Ohio -- Kwan Cheatham Jr. and Noah Robotham each scored 16 points and Akron used a 44-30 rebounding advantage and a late run to beat American University 72-62 in their home opener on Thursday night.Trailing 33-25 at halftime, American rallied to within 40-37 on James Washingtons layup and 3-pointer. Jimond Ivey dunked on Akrons next possession, sparking a 13-5 run and the Zips pulled ahead 53-43 with 5:38 left and the Eagles (0-3) got no closer than 8 the rest of the way.Cheatham grabbed 12 rebounds, Isaiah Johnson scored 14 points and had 110 boards and Ivey added 12 points and 11 rebounds.dddddddddddd The Zips (1-1) were held to 36 percent shooting from the floor (20 of 55) but made 27 of 34 free throws (79 percent).Zips players were presented their 2015-16 Mid-American Conference Regular-Season Championship rings before the game. Akron finished 26-9 overall and 13-5 in league play last season.Washington and Delante Jones led American with 18 points each. ' ' '