3 of 23 for 158 yards and a touchdown, while Mauk was only 2 of 7 for 18 y

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Rickie Fowler astutely pointed out that the United States is the only country in the Olympic golf tournament that can sweep the podium and capture all three medals.But after the first round at the Olympic Golf Course, that will now be an extremely difficult task -- and could todays results could affect a few Ryder Cup hopes as well.Fowler struggled in the afternoon wind Thursday, and he was joined over par by Bubba Watson and Patrick Reed. For Fowler, a four-putt on the first hole didnt help.Usually on the green, youre at worse [a] two-putt, Fowler said. It made it tough. Cross-wind putting is very tough, especially when its breaking one way and its blowing the other.Of the Americans, only Matt Kuchar managed to get in red numbers, and his 2-under-par 69 left him tied for 11th, 6 strokes back of tournament leader Marcus Fraser from Australia.It was a disappointing showing for the only country to qualify four players in the 60-man tournament, especially considering all are presently ranked in the top 20 in the world, with two in the top 10.Reed shot 72, Watson 73 and Fowlers 75 left him near the bottom of the leaderboard, just 2 shots ahead of last place.Its called golf and its very tough, said Watson, who birdied the last hole but had a double-bogey on No. 10. Some guys show that its easy, and thats what we do. Youve got guys who played good every week, no matter who they are.For me, it was one shot. Theres only one shot I want to re-do. I can take some missed putts that I lipped out that I hit great. I hit a lot of great shots out there. The score is just not what I wanted. But Ive got three more days to challenge and keep enjoying my adventure this week.Say this for Watson and the others, they have so far relished their time in Rio and immersed themselves in the Olympic experience.When all four players met in the media on Tuesday for a pre-tournament news conference, they lit up the room with their stories and good-natured banter. It was a nice departure from the grind of tour golf, which seemed to contribute to a looser vibe.But that vibe didnt translate to the course, and this kind of golf is not going to help Watson and Fowlers Ryder Cup causes.Neither has fared very well over the last several months. Only once has Fowler contended since the Waste Management Phoenix Open, where in February he lost a playoff to Hideki Matsuyama. Fowler let a third-round lead slip in May at the Wells Fargo Championship and has struggled to regain the form he showed earlier when he won a European Tour event in Abu Dhabi and moved to fourth in the world.Now ranked eighth, Fowler missed cuts at the Masters and U.S. Open and his best recent finish is a tie for 10th at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational last month.Watson finished second at the WGC-Cadillac after winning the Northern Trust Open in February, but his showing since is a tie for eighth at a European Tour event in China.Both are outside of the top eight in the U.S. Ryder Cup team standings, and while the Olympic tournament cant earn them any Ryder Cup points, it could have earned them some goodwill with captain Davis Love III. The top eight becomes final in two weeks following the Barclays, with Loves at-large selections coming later.Reed snuck into the top eight last week with his performance at the Travelers Championship, but he was far from pleased.I couldnt hit the ball any worse and I couldnt putt worse, he said.Kuchar also has work to do to make the Ryder Cup team, but at least he can see the top of the leaderboard.As for that podium thing ...Yeah, we did pretty good on that, huh, said Reed, who then added that its still possible.We all want to be on the podium. I feel I can shoot three quality rounds of golf. There is lot of birdies out here. Theres still time. Thats the one thing about this sport and the Olympics is you have 72 holes of golf. Its not a sprint, its a marathon. If we post some low numbers, we might be able to climb up that board. Danny Manning Jersey .ca! Hi Kerry, Its another day and here we are looking at another dubious hit to the head. 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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- During coach Darrell Hazells first three seasons at Purdue, defense certainly hasnt been the Boilermakers forte, explaining in large part why this program entered Saturdays opener 6-30 beginning with 2013.Seven of last years 12 opponents scored at least 41 points in a 2-10 season, but defense provided all the momentum Purdue needed against Eastern Kentucky in Ross-Ade Stadium.Leroy Clark and Gelen Robinsons first-quarter interceptions helped Purdue build an early 21-0 lead, and the Boilermakers outlasted the Football Championship Subdivision Colonels 45-24 in the season opener for both teams.Clarks interception of Maty Mauk, the fifth-year graduate transfer quarterback from Missouri, set up Purdues second touchdown and a 14-0 lead, and Robinsons 78-yard interception return for a score pushed the Boilermakers advantage to 21-0 with 3:31 remaining in the first quarter.Markell Jones scored on a 3-yard run to cap an efficient opening drive for Purdue.Obviously, we like to win the turnover battle, and that was a huge part of our preparation, as it is for every team, said Robinson, the son of former Purdue All-American basketball standout and NBA player Glenn Robinson.For me, it was great to do my part to help the defense win that battle. On my interception, as soon as I saw the quarterback flare out, I knew my job. I had help scoring when (cornerback) Myles Norwood blocked the quarterback.Eastern Kentucky turned the ball over four times. The Boilermakers were guilty of one.While Eastern Kentucky out gained the Boilermakers 284-243 during the first 30 minutes, Purdue built a led 28-18 at halftime, thanks to the 14 points as a result of interceptions.Any time you can play out front like we did, it takes a little bit of stress off you, coach Hazell said, So it was good for us to get those turnovers and convert those turnovers into points. Then I thought our guys responded well in the second half by playing great defense and penetrating well.First-year Eastern Kentucky coach Mark Elder said the first-quarter turnovers provided this games storyline.You are not going to have a chance to win many games with three turnovers in the first quarter, Elder said, We have to do a better job of protecting the ball. Our guys fought and played hard all game, but we got down by too much too early.Boilermaker redshirt sophomore quarterback David Blough ran for two touchdowns and threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver DeAngelo Yancey, giving Purdue a 28-8 lead late in the second quarter.I thought we moved the ball really well, said Blough, who was 1-7 as a starter in 2015. We sustained some drives and picked up some crucial third downs, but theres so many little things that we can do to make it that much better. We didnt score on one drive when we got inside their 10.Jones carried 24 times for 143 yards for a Purdue team that now has won 13 consecutive home openers, including 4-0 for fourth-year coach Hazell, now 7-30 with the Boilermakers. Hazell is 4-0 against FCS opponents.You have to know that those 143 rushing yards all start up front, Jones said. Those guys did a good job of imposing their will, which made it pretty easy for me to find holes and seams and hit them.Each team struggled to generate anyy third-quarter offense, especially after Colonels quarterback Bennie Coney, who replaced Mauk in the first quarter, took a hard hit while scrambling and was helped to the sideline, prompting Mauks return.ddddddddddddurdue finally broke the second-half scoring drought on Bloughs second TD run, a 1-yard plunge with 12:48 remaining in the game to extend the lead to 35-18.J.D. Dellingers 30-yard field goal with 4:56 to play capped a 13-play, 66-yard drive and gave the Boilermakers a 38-18 lead.Blough finished 25 of 43 for 245 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Domonique Young caught eight passes for 74 yards.Purdue capped its scoring with a 48-yard touchdown run from freshman Brian Lankford-Johnson with 4:23 left. The Colonels got a TD with 1:34 remaining to complete the scoring.TAKEAWAYPurdue: While the Boilermakers pulled away during the final 12:48, they led their FCS opponent by just 10 points heading into the final quarter in front of only 32,074 fans on a gorgeous September afternoon. Purdue finished with 512 yards of offense and snapped a four-game losing streak to end the 2015 season. The 32,074 was the smallest home crowd for a Purdue home opener since 25,000 watched the Boilermakers defeat Missouri 31-0 on Sept. 25, 1954, almost 62 years ago.Eastern Kentucky: If Coney is able to play next week after taking a hard hit in the second half, the Colonels coaching staff will have a difficult decision to make at quarterback. Mauk struggled at Purdue, but he was 17-5 as a starter at Missouri. It was clear Saturday that the Eastern Kentucky offense had a better rhythm with Coney under center.Our plan from the get-go was that we were going to put Mauk in for the first two series and Coney was going to play series three and four and we were going to go from there, Elder said. Bennie had a hot hand, so we kept him in there. For the second half, we had the same plan.KEY NUMBERSPurdue: The Boilermakers key to limiting Eastern Kentucky to six second-half points centered on third-down conversions. The Colonels were 10 of 14 in the first half when they scored 18 points and 0 for 6 in the final 30 minutes when they scored six.Eastern Kentucky: Coney finished 13 of 23 for 158 yards and a touchdown, while Mauk was only 2 of 7 for 18 yards with two picks. Mauk did rush eight times for 39 yards.INJURY REPORTPurdue was without starting cornerback DaWan Hunte (sprained ankle) and defensive end Austin Larkin (sprained ankle). Each starter, according to Hazell, should be ready for the Sept. 10 game against Cincinnati.THE LAST WORDWe did not come here to play close, and we certainly did not come here to lose by 21. We came here to win the game. --- Eastern Kentucky coach Mark Elder.UP NEXTPurdue: The Boilermakers are home again on Sept. 10, hosting Cincinnati at noon. The Bearcats defeated Purdue in September of 2013 in Hazells first game with the Boilermakers, 42-7 in Cincinnati. The Bearcats opened the season Thursday night with a 28-7 victory against Tennessee-Martin.Eastern Kentucky: The Colonels will attempt to give coach Mark Elder his first victory at EKU on Thursday when they play Pikeville. ' ' '