HOYLAKE, England -- Even when hes not the favourite, Tiger Woods is still the show at the British Open. Woods earned that attention by piling up majors at a faster rate than anyone in history, and the attention is just as great now because his recent past includes back surgery and his immediate future is more uncertain than ever. ESPN plans to show his entire round online Thursday. Not to be overlooked at golfs oldest championship, however, is a new generation of stars. Rickie Fowler and Harris English will be playing ahead of him. Two groups behind will be Jordan Spieth and Hideki Matsuyama. They are among 25 players who share a bond that speaks to the state of golf. Woods has never won a major during their professional careers. Yes, they saw his dominance on TV. They just never experienced it. They were not around for the decade when Woods won majors with regularity, sometimes by a record score, sometimes by a record margin. They missed the days that were so Tiger-centric a player couldnt get through an interview without being asked something about Woods. "Tiger ruined a lot of guys lives," Charles Howell III, a longtime friend of Woods who lived through those times, said earlier in the year. "He caused a lot of people some sleepless Sunday nights. But he also motivated an entire generation behind him." Howells point was that while the next generation might have been in awe of Woods, being outside the arena allowed them to study him without getting scarred. They learned from the way he worked. They were more prepared than the generation before them. The talk at this British Open is that it is more open than ever. But then, thats been the case since Woods won his last major six years ago. Since that 2008 U.S. Open, 19 players have won majors, and no one has won more than two. In the 24 majors leading up to his last major, Woods won six, Phil Mickelson won three and no one else won more than one. "Looking at the different amount of winners in the last five years at the major championships, were seeing so many players win," Henrik Stenson said Wednesday. Its so competitive. At some point there might have been 20 guys battling out for it. And now it feels like anyone in the field can win if they have a great week. So its definitely tighter." Stenson, No. 2 in the world and among the favourites this week, will be playing alongside Woods for the opening two days. "Hes just one of the guys I need to beat if I want to do well this week," Stenson said. "But its a good start if you know you can beat him." Woods is playing his first major of the year because of March 31 back surgery. Returning to Royal Liverpool was always the target -- he won his third claret jug on these links in 2006 when it was brown and fast, not green and slower as it is this year. Woods came back sooner than he expected, missing the cut at Congressional three weeks ago in what had the feeling of a 36-hole rehab assignment. He feels healthy. He feels strong. And he still commands a presence. That much was clear when Woods played only two holes Wednesday as spectators scrambled for a view. He brings energy and excitement to a golf tournament. Does he bring intimidation? The Open is his next opportunity to see if he can regain the mystique that a younger generation has yet to experience. Matt Kuchar, who played a practice round with Woods on Sunday, doesnt think it will take much. Hes not sure Woods ever lost it. "The kids today grew up idolizing him," Kuchar said. "He gets back on form again, I dont think that intimidation factor is gone at all. These are the kids that grew up watching him and wanting to be him." Kuchar said it can be intimidating to play alongside, although Patrick Reed sure wasnt flustered having Woods in the group ahead of him at Doral, and Spieth didnt looked rattled when he shot 63 at Torrey Pines (the North Course) with Woods in his group. Is there a difference between watching dominance on TV and seeing it in person? "Youre saying a different intimidation for the guys who are now just coming up and just watched it on TV as opposed to my generation that were actually losing by 10 to it?" Kuchar said with a laugh. "Im not sure. If I was to go shoot baskets with Michael Jordan right now, I would be pretty intimidated. So its probably similar. The guys that played against him and got scored 40 on probably have a similar feeling to me in the awe that surrounds a guy like that." It all unfolds on Thursday, where the only mystery greater than Woods in the English weather. The final day of practice featured sunshine and rain. Hoylake when its green is there to be attacked -- its the only course on the Open rotation with four par 5s. The greens are not severe. The fairways are relatively flat, which makes them more fair. All eyes will be on Woods, and theres nothing unusual about that. The difference is that no one is sure what they will see. College Football Jerseys . But the young forward is more than willing to shed a little blood if thats what it takes to make the team this season. "It caught me pretty good, dazed me for that shift, but I didnt want to be off the ice for too long," he said after practice, his lip still bleeding a little despite the plastic stitches holding it together. College Jerseys . 1. Lions WR Calvin Johnson (6 REC, 101 YDS, 1 TD, 10 targets) leads receivers with 1,299 yards and 12 touchdowns, though his 118.1 receiving yards per game ranks second behind Clevelands Josh Gordon. Gordon (10 REC, 261 YDS, 2 TD, 15 targets) is emerging as a superstar, putting up huge numbers even with Jason Campbell and Brandon Weeden at quarterback. https://www.cheapncaajerseysjustwholesale.com/ . The Argentine midfielder made the announcement himself on Twitter on Tuesday and posted a picture of his swollen left foot. His message said he would be out "at least three weeks. NCAA Jerseys .S. -- Carl-Antoine Delisle snapped a tie in the third period with his second goal of the game to lead the Tigres past Cape Breton 4-3 in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action Wednesday as Victoriaville won its eighth in a row. Wholesale College Jerseys . Bouchard went down to a 1-6, 6-1, 6-2 defeat at the hands of Svitolina in her opening match at the Sony Open on Friday. Bouchard got the rivalry going two years ago when she won the junior Wimbledon title over Svitolina. CINCINNATI, Ohio -- Edwin Encarnacion hit two three-run homers Friday night, and the Toronto Blue Jays pulled off the second-biggest comeback in franchise history, rallying from an early eight-run deficit to a 14-9 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. Toronto hit four homers during its comeback, including the two by the major leagues home run leader. Encarnacion started the comeback by connecting in the third inning off Mat Latos and finished it with his 23rd homer off Sam LeCure during a five-run ninth inning. Brett Lawrie and Juan Francisco also homered for Toronto, which piled up 16 hits and nine walks. The eight-run deficit was the second-biggest overcome in franchise history. Toronto overcame a 10-run deficit to beat Boston 13-11 in 12 innings in 1989. With the score tied at 9, Aroldis Chapman (0-2) came on to pitch the ninth and walked leadoff hitter Colby Rasmus. Erik Kratz doubled off the wall in left field to break the tie, then came around on Melky Cabreras single. Chapman was replaced after getting only two outs, and Encarnacion completed the big comeback and his sixth multihomer game of the season. Dustin McGowan (4-2) pitched a perfect eighth. Casey Janssen retired the three batters he faced in the ninth for his 13th save in 15 chances. The comeback boosted the Blue Jays out of a recent funk. They were swept for the first time this season at Yankee Stadium and had dropped nine of their last 12. The Reds pitching meltdown wasted a chance to get back to .500 for the fourth time this season. Cincinnati has yet to have a winning record. It was the first time the Reds blew an eight-run lead and lost since May 20, 2010, at Atlanta, a 10-9 defeat.ddddddddddddThe Reds gave up a season-high nine walks and 15 hits. The Blue Jays called up Liam Hendriks to start in place of R.A. Dickey, getting two extra days to rest a sore groin. The Reds knocked him out in the second inning while sending 11 batters to the plate for an 8-0 lead, their biggest inning of the season. Devin Mesoraco started the rally with a two-run homer and Jay Bruce finished it with a two-run shot. Bruce also singled as the Reds piled up seven hits and a walk. Latos made his second start since returning from the disabled list and wasnt sharp. He gave up nine hits, three walks and Encarnacions three-run homer during 5 2-3 innings. Reliever Jumbo Diaz made his major league debut in the seventh and gave up Lawries solo homer and Franciscos two-run shot, cutting it to 9-8. Toronto then tied it in the eighth on Dioner Navarros double off Jonathan Broxton. NOTES: LHP J.A. Happ (6-3) faces RHP Mike Leake (4-6) on Saturday. Leake lost his only other career start against the Blue Jays in 2011. ... The Blue Jays optioned RHP Steve Delabar to Triple-A Buffalo to open a spot for Hendriks. ... Encarnacion has 21 homers during 42 games since May 6, the most in the majors over that span. ... Hendriks fell to 3-14 in 31 career starts and two relief appearances. ... The Reds optioned LHP Tony Cingrani to Triple-A Louisville and called up Diaz. They also moved LHP Sean Marshall to the 60-day DL. Marshall will have shoulder surgery on Tuesday. ' ' '