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CROMWELL, Conn. -- Three-quarters of the U.S. mens Olympic golf team will be playing together in Connecticut this week.Bubba Watson, Patrick Reed and Matt Kuchar are scheduled to go out as a trio Thursday and Friday for the first two rounds of the Travelers Championship.The fourth member of the team, Rickie Fowler, is skipping the PGA Tour event to attend Fridays opening ceremony in Rio de Janeiro.The other three expect to fly out after Sundays final round, putting them in Brazil well before the Aug. 11 start of the Olympic golf competition.All three say they are focused on this week and this tournament. But they also acknowledge that the excitement for the first Olympic golf tournament in 112 years is building.Much of their Team USA gear was waiting for them when they arrived this week at the TPC River Highlands course.I opened that up and was like a kid at Christmas, just showing every piece to everybody, Reed said.Reed and Kuchar made the Olympic team after two-time major champion Jordan Spieth and U.S. Open champion Dustin Johnson opted not to go, citing health concerns including the threat posed by the Zika virus.I had my fingers crossed that some golfers would bypass the Olympics to be honest, Kuchar said. I had fingers crossed that they would so that Id have a chance to accept.Watson, the defending Travelers champion, said he prepared his schedule with this tournament and the Olympics in mind, taking some time off earlier in the year to be fresh for what he knew would be a grueling stretch of golf.Who cares if I finish dead last, he said. Just to be part of the Olympics is a big honor and a thrill.Besides the Americans, three other Olympians are playing in Cromwell -- Germanys Alex Cejka, Denmarks Soren Kjeldsen and Irelands Padraig Harrington.They will be competing with the other golfers on a newly renovated course.The TPC River Highlands, which has hosted the Connecticut stop on the PGA Tour since 1984, underwent a $3.5 million face-lift over the past year.Officials removed about 50 bunkers that were no longer in play for the longer-hitting pros, repositioned others, added some viewing areas and reconfigured some greens to allow for tougher hole placements.The course remains a par-70 and is still 6,841 yards.Its all about appeal, Watson said. I dont know if youd call it modernization or something, but it looks newer, fresher.Watson announced Wednesday that he would donate $100,000 to the Bruce Edwards Foundation for ALS research. Edwards, who was from Wethersfield and was Tom Watsons long-time caddie, died of Lou Gehrigs disease, also called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.The fight against ALS became the charitable focus of this years tournament after former Travelers chief executive Jay Fishman announced he had been diagnosed with the neurodegenerative disease.At Fishmans behest, New Britains Hospital for Special Care, which treats most of the ALS patients in Connecticut, became the tournaments primary charitable beneficiary. Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping . It was the kind of score that might make everyone else wonder which course he was playing. Except that Graeme McDowell saw the whole thing. Crouched behind the 10th green at Sheshan International, McDowell looked over at the powerful American and said, "Ive probably seen 18 of the best drives Ive seen all year in the last two days. Cheap Jerseys 2020 . Irving scored 23 points, Tristan Thompson had 20 points and 10 rebounds and the Cavaliers beat the Denver Nuggets 117-109 on Friday night. https://www.wholesalejerseys2020.com/ . After Gasquet beat fifth-seeded Ivan Dodig of Croatia 7-5, 6-3, Tsonga followed up with a 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-2 win against sixth-seeded Edouard Roger-Vasselin in an all-French match. Wholesale Jerseys Online . -- The Sacramento Kings are set to become the first major professional sports franchise to accept Bitcoin virtual currency for ticket and merchandise purchases. Cheap Jerseys From China . Mickelson barely made the cut but had the best round of the day with nine birdies and an eagle coupled with two bogeys to sit two shots behind leader Craig Lee of Scotland. Lee shot a 69 for a 12-under 204 total. "I just love the fact I am in contention and have an opportunity in my first tournament of the year here in Abu Dhabi," Mickelson said. Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, we pose a question to a rotating panel of ESPN fantasy basketball experts to gauge their thoughts on a hot topic. Todays contributors are ESPN Fantasys Joe Kaiser and Kyle Soppe and ESPN NBA Insider Bradford Doolittle.Kemba Walker has averaged 40.6 FG% and 33.8 3-FG% for his career, but after 13 games this season, those numbers are up to 47.0 FG% and 41.3 3-FG%. In turn, he is averaging 24.7 PPG -- way up from 20.9 PPG last season. What do you think his FG% and PPG will be at seasons end and what do you think of his overall fantasy value?Joe Kaiser: You can trace Walkers improved 3-point shooting back to the summer of 2015, when he dedicated the offseason to shedding the label of poor perimeter shooter. The hard work paid off immediately, as he notched career highs from the field (42.7 percent) and 3-point range (37.1 percent) last season while also making a career-best 2.2 3-PPG.I bring this up as a reminder that Walkers improved shooting isnt a new thing; it started before last season, held up over 81 games, and is merely carrying over into this season. In fact, all indications are that his jumper is better than ever. While I dont expect him to shoot this well all season, I do believe hell reach 45 FG% and 40 3-FG% for the first time in his career. Achieving that would make him a top-20 fantasy player, when you consider how well hes also contributing with rebounds (4.3 RPG), assists (5.5 APG) and steals (1.8 SPG).Kyle Soppe: Walker is playing a bit over his head right now, but not by as much as you might think. The Hornets have picked up the pace a touch, as they are averaging nearly two more possessions per game than they did a year ago. With more possessions and the assumed growth, it stands to reason that Walkers fantasy value is on the rise.He has adjusted his game to be more friendly in terms of analytics, as nearly 74 percent of his field goal attempts this season are coming from closer than eight feet or further than 24, aallowing him to maximize his TS%.dddddddddddd. A career-high six free throws per game should help stabilize his scoring, even if his FG% drop, and that makes him a threat to sustain top-15 production (and maybe top-10) for the entirety of the season.Ill say he splits the difference between his current 47 FG% and his career 40.6 FG% and sets a new career-high in points per game. Give me 22.5 points on 43.8 percent shooting from the field.Bradford Doolittle: There is not much in Walkers early-season performance that strikes me as unsustainable. Hes the best player on a good team and, at 26, is just hitting his stride. The 3-point percentage may be a little high, but its an area of improvement hes focused on the last couple of offseasons, and this years accuracy builds upon the gains he made in 2015-16. Its legit. Hes become nearly automatic when left alone in catch-and-shoot situations, and when hes running the pick-and-roll, teams have generally come over the top of picks set for him, whereas they use to duck under and dare him to shoot. The way defenses play a guy is a strong indicator of how the league sees a players skill set at a given time.The Hornets have played well for the most part, though theyve slipped a little of late. But with Walker on the floor, the offense has averaged around 112 points per 100 possessions, an elite figure. So there is no reason for Walkers role to change or for Steve Clifford to shuffle the players around him. I see Walker averaging a little over 24 points this year and shooting about 46 percent. Hes solidly in the second tier of stars in the league and is one of the top-six or -seven point guards. Hes productive, efficient -- no, really -- and well-rounded. He doesnt put up elite assist numbers but is on the next level down. He is also a good source of steals and gets a lot of rebounds for a player his size. ' ' '