ATLANTA -- Rory McIlroy is perplexed that his remarks on Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson being on the "last few holes" of their

ATLANTA -- Rory McIlroy is perplexed that his remarks on Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson being on the "last few holes" of their careers caused so many headlines. Fake Basketball Jerseys Free Shipping . McIlroy was asked on the eve of the Tour Championship whether Woods and Mickelson not being eligible for the 30-man field represented a changing of the guard. He disagreed, saying that Woods was injured most of the year and Mickelson had played well in spots but was going through a long stretch. Noting their ages (Woods is 38, Mickelson is 44) and injuries, he said they were "getting into sort of the last few holes of their careers." He went on Twitter that night to explain what he was asked and what he said. "I was going through Twitter last night and it was like, Hold on, did I say something bad here? I dont think I did," McIlroy said Thursday after opening with a 69. "Look, I know Tiger and Phil really well. I get on really well with both guys. Ive said much worse to Tiger before." McIlroy and Woods recently made the rounds on talk shows together. McIlroy said Wednesday: "Phil has played well in parts this year. He came really close to winning the PGA. I feel like hes gotten a little better as the year has went on. But its a lot of golf for him to play in such a short space of time. So you could see he was getting a little tired the last couple of weeks. And, I mean, Tigers not here just because hes been injured or he is injured. He hasnt had the opportunity to play. "But I think if he gets back and when he gets back to full fitness, youll see him back here again. So Im not sure ... theyre just getting older. Phils 43 or whatever he is and Tigers nearly 40. So theyre getting into the sort of last few holes of their career. And thats what happens. You get injured. Phil has to deal with an arthritic condition as well. So it obviously just gets harder as you get older. Ill be able to tell you in 20 years how it feels." McIlroy said he didnt feel he had to defend himself, but that his tweets were to clarify his remarks. "I thought I was very complimentary," he said. "I said the only reason Tiger wasnt here was he didnt have the opportunity. I wasnt writing him or Phil off at all. ... I didnt say anything out of line or wrong." Asked if he felt as though he needed to explain his remarks to Woods, McIlroy smiled and said, "Ive said worse to his face." Basketball Jerseys China .com) - The 2014 Holiday Bowl is the first postseason venture pitting a pair of ranked foes against each other, as No. Basketball Jerseys Black Friday . They named Mark Washington as their defensive co-ordinator on Thursday and appear to be closing in on an offensive co-ordinator. https://www.fakebasketballjerseys.com/ . Zimmermann became the National Leagues first 16-game winner, pitching seven solid innings to lead the Washington Nationals past the Philadelphia Phillies 3-2 Wednesday night.Raleigh, NC (SportsNetwork.com) - After having scored more than two goals only once in their last 18 games, the Carolina Hurricanes scored three in less than 1 1/2 minutes en route to a 5-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres. Jiri Tlusty put Carolina up 2-1 on a 5-on-3 marker at the 13:50 mark of the second period. Less than a minute later, Eric Staal was credited with a wrap- around goal, and Victor Rask followed that up with a goal on a deflection 26 seconds later. Jeff Skinner and Riley Nash also scored for the Hurricanes, while Ryan Murphy and Justin Faulk each had two assists. Cam Ward stopped 18-of-20 shots to help Carolina win its third straight home game. Both Sabres goals were scored by Philip Varone, who entered the contest with one goal in 10 NHL games. Chris Stewart assisted on both tallies. Jhonas Enroth allowed all five Hurricanes goals on 31 shots as Buffalo fell for the 10th time in its last 11 games. With two seconds left before the first penalty was slated to end, the Hurricanes scored their first 5-on-3 goal of the season. Tlusty set up between the three penalty killers and one-timed a pass from Nathan Gerbe into the back of the net. Seconds after the second penalty expired, Staal was credited with a goal thanks to a fortunate bounce. His backhand pass attempt from behind the net caromed off Sabres defenseman Mike Webers skate into the net to open a two- goal lead. The Hurricanes were not finished. Ron Hainsey wristed a shot from the blue line and Carolina got another break when the puck deflected off Rasks leg into the net at 15:09 of the second. You gotta be alert, said Sabres coach Ted Nolan. You gotta make sure when you get a chance, you gotta play with some urgency. That didnt happen, and wheen it doesnt happen, you take bad penalties and the game is over. Replica Basketball Jerseys. Varone scored his second of the game eight minutes into the final period. Tyson Strachans shot from the blue line sailed high, and the puck skipped between Wards pads after Varone deflected it in the air to pull Buffalo within two. Nash extended Carolinas lead back to three goals less than two minutes later. Faulks wrister made its way through traffic to Enroth, who could not control the rebound. Nash found the loose puck in the crease and swept it into the net for a 5-2 score. After a scoreless first period, Skinner lit the lamp at the 4:52 mark in the middle frame. Alexander Semin maintained possession of the puck in the slot and found Skinner at the side of the net for a tap-in by Enroth. Obviously, its been talked about it a lot here, the lack of offensive punch, said Staal. Tonight, we stuck with it after the first. It was pretty chippy, back-and-forth with the puck bouncing, a lot of whistles. We kind of stepped it up in the second period with some big plays and broke it open. A minute later, the Sabres responded. Stewart backhanded the puck to Varone entering the Carolina zone with speed, and after skating into the slot, he slid the puck past Ward who was moving to his right. Game Notes The season series is now even and will conclude on April 6 in Buffalo ... The Sabres fell to 1-20-0 when trailing after two periods ... Buffalo was outshot for the 35th time this season ... The Sabres have been outscored 50-28 in the second period this season ... Carolina defenseman John-Michael Liles picked up an assist after being activated off injured reserve earlier Thursday ... Semin also returned from IR. ' ' '