PHILADELPHIA - The calendar has flipped to 2015 and the Masters commercials are already running. This is not a bad thing. The four-month buildup to the first major helps people in cold-weather states dream of spring as they shovel out from the latest snow storm. The serene pictures of Augusta National make golf addicts hear the roars of the crowd in their head and help them reminisce about previous Masters memories. The buildup will be especially big for the No. 1 player in the world. Rory McIlroy will enter Augusta as the holder of the Open Championship and PGA Championship titles. He is also one Masters win from completing the career grand slam. While people debate McIlroys chances, a player that once dominated Augusta comes back from injury. Four-time Masters champion Tiger Woods was held to nine events, including his unofficial one in December, in 2014. Woods seemed to be healthy at his event at Isleworth, but his short-game was awful. He has said that he will tweak his schedule a little with the WGC- Cadillac Match Play Championship moving to Apr. 29-May 3 from its traditional February date. No one knows what that tweak will entail since Woods keeps his schedule as close to his vest as the secret service does with the Presidents schedule. Another player returning from a long layoff will be Dustin Johnson. He took a leave of absence, or was suspended, depending on what you believe. Regardless, Johnson will return for his first tournament action since he missed the cut at the Canadian Open last July. Johnson and fiancee Paulina Gretzky are expecting their first child in the near future as well. He has said he wont play until after their son is born. According to reports, Johnson will play the Farmers Insurance Open, February 5-8. That likely is also the first PGA Tour event at which Woods will play, while McIlroy will make his first European Tour start of 2015 in Abu Dhabi, but he hasnt announced his PGA Tour debut yet. Those three will garner plenty of attention once they tee it up. What other players are we interested in for 2015? To start off, Mr. Almost from 2014 - Rickie Fowler. He finished in the top- five at all four majors last year and had six top-five finishes overall. Fowler is still searching for his first victory since his only tour title at the 2012 Wells Fargo Championship. Next are a pair of wily veterans - Jim Furyk and Phil Mickelson. Furyk has blown eight 54-hole leads in a row, including a pair last year. He hasnt won since the 2010 Tour Championship. Can he win again? Or will he have to wait five years until joining the Champions Tour before he wins his next title? Mickelson is coming off arguably the worst season of his career. He didnt have a top-10 finish on the PGA Tour until the PGA Championship. Mickelson was winless for the fourth time since he turned pro in 1992. In the seasons that followed his first three winless years, Mickelson combined for eight wins, including his 2004 Masters victory. History says Mickelson will bounce back and win this year. As for the European Tour, what will we see from Ian Poulter and was Victor Dubuisson just a flash in the pan? Poulter had just three top-10 finishes in 14 starts and had a subpar Ryder Cup, an event which he had dominated in the past. Dubuisson had four runner-up finishes after earning his lone tour win in 2013. The Frenchman was 2-0-1 in his first Ryder Cup. Will he keep that momentum going into 2015? The LPGA continues to grow after some down years and four of the biggest names in the sport are ranked in the top-six in the world rankings. Inbee Park, Lydia Ko and Stacy Lewis are 1-2-3 in the rankings and all three are coming off three-win seasons. Lewis is the oldest of the group as she will turn 30-years-old in February. The trio should continue to wrack up victories for years to come. World No. 6 Michelle Wie, the reigning U.S. Womens Open champion, won twice last year for her first wins since 2010. Wie is the biggest name in the game, and if she keeps winning, the LPGA will gain even more appeal. The Solheim Cup is this September and with six players ranked in the top-20 in the world, to just three for the Europeans, the United States team will be the favorite on paper. But that was the case in 2013, when the Europeans rolled to an 18-10 win in Colorado. That was their first-ever win in the U.S. in the Solheim Cup and it marked the first time the Europeans ever won back-to-back cups. Those are a few of the things well be watching in 2015. Now it is time to tee it up and enjoy the action. MINI-TIDBITS - The field at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions includes 34 players that have combined for 100 PGA Tour titles, including six major championships, and has six members of the 2014 United States Ryder Cup squad that lost in Europe. - One non-golf thought for the week, the passing of ESPNs Stuart Scott hit home for many, including myself. My father is in his third battle with cancer and it pains me to see what he is dealing with on a daily basis. Scott dealt with much of the same, and maybe worse, yet was able to be strong for his family, his coworkers and his viewers. Rest in peace, Stuart, you will be missed by many. Cheap NCAA Jerseys China . Nine-year veteran Danny Granger did not make his debut with the Clippers because of a technicality on the teams active list, which is signed by coach Doc Rivers before every game and relayed to the officials. Grangers name was printed by hand by a member of the public relations staff under the heading: "Updated Roster Additions," but the number on the sheet was not circled along with the other active players by the required deadline of 6:30 p. NCAA Jerseys . The Philadelphia left fielder clubbed a tiebreaking, solo home run in the seventh inning, and the Phillies edged the Red Sox, 2-1, in the middle test of a three-game interleague series at Citizens Bank Park. https://www.cheapncaajerseysjustwholesale.com/.com) - The Toronto Raptors set their sights on a second straight victory with the Oklahoma City Thunder visiting the Air Canada Centre tonight riding a two game streak of their own. Cheap NCAA Jerseys . -- Hee Young Park topped the leaderboard at 8 under Friday in the suspended second round of the Kingsmill Championship. Authentic NCAA Jerseys . Murray beat Sam Querrey 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-1, 6-3 to clinch Britains opening-round victory against the United States on Sunday at Petco Park. "Im proud of the way Im playing just now, because I had to do a lot of work to get back to where I want to be," Murray said after celebrating with his teammates on the red clay court in a temporary stadium in left field of the downtown home of baseballs San Diego Padres. MONTREAL -- Sarah Koltuns Yukon rink may be paving the way for a new generation of northern curlers. The team representing the Territories lost twice at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts on Monday -- both by a score of 9-3 after eight ends -- to Team Canadas Rachel Homan in the afternoon and Quebecs Allison Ross in the evening. But theres promise in the Yukons (1-4) play. Theyre the youngest team at this years Scotties. Skip Sarah Koltun, lead Andrea Sinclair and second Patty Wallingham are all 20 years old, while third Chelsea Duncan is 21. The young women from Whitehorse have put their studies on hold for the year in order to stay in the Yukon and train for the season. "Its just something we decided was worth it in order to become more successful," said Koltun. "In the sport in general, teams are becoming more successful at a young age." They raise money year-round and receive funding from the Yukon government to offset the cost of travel expenses to tournaments. After skipping seven consecutive years at the Canadian junior championship, Koltun is now the youngest skip ever to play in this, her first Scotties. "Its been really good so far," she said. "And to have the crowd on our side is really cool. Weve been enjoying it a lot. The teams here are a lot stronger." In their evening match, Quebec Ross (1-4) broke a deadlock in the seventh end, putting up a four-spot with her last stone. "It wasnt my first instinct," Ross said of the tough shot that ultimately gave her the victory. "I was just going to draw for two. And my lead (Pamela Nugent) said, Is the double there? We went and looked. We figured it was, and that we might as well try it out." Quebec stole another two in the eighth to record their first victory of the Scotties to the delight of the hometown fans. "We made some shots that made it worth the crowd cheering for us," said Ross. "It feels really good -- finally. We played as well as we played in the other games, but it actually went our way this time. Nice change." The evening draw saw tight finishes across all other sheets. Newfoundlands Heather Strong (4-1) and P.E.I.s Kim Dolan (2-3) took a 4-4 tie into the 10th end, where Strong scored a deuce for the 6-4 victory. Nova Scotias Heather Smith (1-4) was involved in a seesaw battle with British Columbias Kesa Van Osch (2-3). Van Osch made her final rock count in the 10th end to win 9-8 after giving up the two-point leaad in the ninth.dddddddddddd Nova Scotia has given up leads in each of its four Scotties losses. "Weve had chances to win all four," said Smith. "An end or a shot, here or there, are the difference in our games so far. We just cant find a way to win. "In a week like this one, you just have to hope to get more wins than losses on those close ones." Albertas Val Sweeting (4-1) needed extra ends to beat New Brunswicks Andrea Crawford (2-3) by a score of 9-8 in the 11th. Sweeting put two points on the board in the eighth, and another two in the ninth, before Crawford tied the game with the hammer in the 10th. In afternoon matches Monday, Dolan edged Ontarios Allison Flaxey (1-3) by a count of 7-5. Flaxey scored one in the seventh end, and another in the eighth, but couldnt complete the comeback. Manitobas Chelsea Carey (3-1) scored four in the ninth against Nova Scotia, which conceded right after. The afternoon draw also saw a Saskatchewan team that could do no wrong, beating New Brunswick 9-3 after eight ends. Saskatchewan skip Stefanie Lawton (3-1) stole four in the third and another three in the fifth to seal the victory. "Theres always room for improvement," said Lawton, who called the four-point steal in the third end a game changer. "It definitely gave us an advantage and we were able to capitalize on that throughout the game. We played strong and put the pressure on." Homan scored three to take the lead over the Yukon in the third end, and never looked back. With the score 4-1 in the fourth, Koltun had a chance to reduce the deficit, but overthrew her final rock. "Unfortunately we didnt play our best, but we just need to learn from it," said Koltun. Still-unbeaten Canada (4-0) added another four in the seventh for an impressive victory. "Were playing well," said Homan. "We have to fine-tune a few things here and there. We got an early head start, and it was tough (for the Yukon) to catch up. "Were feeling good. We just need to keep rolling." Homan said she recognized a slightly younger version of herself in the Yukons skip, and suggested their styles of play were similar. Koltun couldnt agree more. "We try to play and train similarly, putting in the effort, the time, thats necessary to be successful," said Koltun, whos admired Homan since seeing her play at the 2007 Winter Canada Games in Whitehorse. "That hard work will eventually pay off." ' ' '