HOYLAKE, England -- Edoardo and Francesco Molinari are pretty much inseparable. The brothers were partners in Europes winning Ryder Cup side in 2010. A year earlier, theyd teamed up to win the World Cup for Italy at Mission Hills. Now they are together on the British Open leaderboard. About 30 minutes after Edoardo signed for a 4-under 68 in the opening round at Hoylake on Thursday, Francesco rolled in a 15-feet eagle putt at No. 18 to shoot the same score. They ended the day tied for third with five others. "We were here on Sunday practicing together," said Francesco, the younger sibling by nearly two years. "Probably we did a good job." The brothers have been feeding off each others games ever since they dominated their local club championships at Circolo Golf Torino as teenagers. "It was a big thing growing up in Italy," Francesco said. "At our age, there werent that many golfers playing well so there was someone that you could compete against every day -- even just training with him every day, it was good to get the best out of our games." For the 33-year-old Edoardo, it is a welcome return to big-time golf. Since 2011, he has been beset by injuries, primarily to his left hand, on which he had surgery in 2012 and again last year. He also had problems with his left wrist. Edoardo has been playing injury-free for the past seven months and a runner-up finish at the Irish Open last month secured his spot at the British Open. "The toughest time was after the first surgery when you undergo one surgery one time, then you hope its the last one," he said. "And then to do it again something like a year later wasnt fun at all. But hopefully, touching wood, everything is fine now." Its not the first time Edoardo and Francesco have been alongside each other on a leaderboard. In the last qualifying event for the Ryder Cup in 2010, they were the final pairing at the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, and Edoardo finished with three straight birdies to win the tournament and seal a place on Europes team. In 2009, they also went head-to-head at the Scottish Open, with Edoardo prevailing again. "We dont like to lose to each other," Francesco said, "we dont like to lose to anyone else." "I saw the leaderboard," he added about his round on Thursday, "but its a tough course so you have to focus on what you are doing rather than the others are doing, even if its your brother." Just to maintain the Italian flavour at Royal Liverpool, Matteo Manassero shot 67 and is in second place behind Rory McIlroy. "Its good to see three Italians up there," Francesco said. "Im sure its going to be good for the kids watching us at home." Golf doesnt normally get much attention in Italy, but that may be about to change. 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DETROIT LIONS AT CHICAGO BEARS, 1:00 PM (ET) Detroit - G Rodney Austin, WR Ryan Broyles, DT Nick Fairley, QB Kellen Moore, DT Caraun Reid, CB Mohammed Seisay, DE Larry Webster Chicago - S Chris Conte, DT Brandon Dunn, QB David Fales, K Robbie Gould, CB Terrance Mitchell, OT Michael Ola, DE Trevor Scott GREEN BAY PACKERS AT TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS, 1:00 PM (ET) Green Bay - LB Carl Bradford, DT Bruce Gaston, C Garth Gerhart, CB Davon House, WR Jeff Janis, TE Justin Perillo, QB Scott Tolzien Tampa Bay - OT Anthony Collins, CB Isaiah Frey, WR Robert Herron, RB Mike James, WR Solomon Patton, FB/TE Evan Rodriguez, LB Lawrence Sidbury KANSAS CITY CHIEFS AT PITTSBURGH STEELERS, 1:00 PM (ET) Kansas City - WR Donnie Avery, CB Marcus Cooper, OT Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, OL Eric Kush, QB Aaron Murray, RB Charcandrick West, DT Nick Williams Pittsburgh - WR Justin Brown, DE Clifton Geathers, G Chris Hubbard, QB Landry Jones, S Troy Polamalu, TE Matt Spaeth, CB Ike Taylor MINNESOTA VIKINGS AT MIAMI DOLPHINS, 1:00 PM (ET) Minnesota - LB Anthony Barr, OT Carter Bykowski, DB Ahmad Dixon, OT Charlie Johnson, FB Zach Line, CB Shaun Prater, TE Kyle Rudolph Miami - G Nate Garner, WR Matt Hazel, S Don Jones, WR Rishard Matthews, LB Chris McCain, G Dallas Thomas, RB Daniel Thomas NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS AT NEW YORK JETS, 1:00 PM (ET) New England - CB Kyle Arrington, RB LeGarrette Blount, OL Dan Connolly, CB Alfonzo Dennard, OT Jordan Devey, WR Julian Edelman, RB James White NY Jets - DT T.Here are my thoughts on Dwane Caseys contract extension, Michael Carter Williams as rookie of the year, Mark Jacksons firing in Golden State, RC Buford as executive of the year and Kevin Durant as most valuable player. 1. Dwane Casey contract extension: Makes complete sense to me. Stability in leadership positions in any organization is vital to success and the fact that you know what the vision/direction of the Raptors will be for the foreseeable future, thats a positive. He earned that extension with a solid approach the past three years. The building process of creep-crawl-walk-run is in the walk stage right now and thats a solid development. Lots and lots of work ahead to get it to the run stage but usually an important part of that vital next step beyond better players is having consistency and shared vision at the top to see the job through. The right decision was made. A good day for not only Dwane Casey but for Raptors fans. 2. Michael Carter Williams (76ers): Rookie of the Year choice was a no-brainer. Hes actually a better pro than what I saw from him in college at Syracuse. Wonderful all-round talent that impacts the game on so many fronts. If they can add a solid supporting cast around him, hes got a chance to be one of the elite lead guards in the league for a long time. A real positive amidst a season of frustration in Philly. 3. Mark Jackson (Warriors): Cant say Im surprised by this move. With two assistant coachhes being let go during the regular season and the constant rumors, you knew that something behind the scenes had run amiss in the Bay Area.dddddddddddd He did a good job in his run there and in my opinion, deserves and will get another crack at it at some point, possibly quite soon. Opens up a very attractive job. If Im in their shoes, the guy I go get is Stan Van Gundy. He did a terrific job in both Miami and Orlando as a head coach and, after taking two years off, youd be getting an energized guy with big time leadership and head coaching experience. Lots of talent and money invested there so go get a guy that can help you see full return on your investment. 4. RC Buford (Spurs): The model franchise. Partnership, leadership, basketball savvy and smarts all in effect in major doses. Behind the scenes, Buford sets the tone for the positive direction for this organization. No panic, always the big picture in mind and a terrific feel for the team concept. They do things in a first class fashion and his support of Gregg Popovich in the shadows is impressive. Well earned and well deserved. 5. Kevin Durant (Thunder): If you havent watched/listened to Durants MVP acceptance speech, please do so. Wow! Ive always been a huge fan of him as a person and player but now Im head over heels about him. Gotta tell you, he had me crying. What a terrific speech from one of the true genuine guys in sport today. A class act and a true gentleman. ' ' '
