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MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Davis Love III is busy still trying to play his way back into shape after back surgery in February. Playing with Brandt Snedeker and Dustin Johnson, he did a bit better than just keep up. The 49-year-old Love shot a 4-under 66 for his best round of the year Thursday for a share of the lead with five other players after the first round of the St. Jude Classic, the final event before the U.S. Open next week at Merion in Ardmore, Pa. "I still hit some bad shots," Love said. "At the Players and Memorial, I felt like I was playing better than I was scoring. I think its rust. Im excited to be back, and Im anxious and I want to play better than Im playing. Im a little bit tired from the two 36-hole qualifiers as well. You got to be a little bit more patient and polished. Thats going to take some rounds of golf to get back." Stuart Appleby, Harris English, Nathan Green, Martin Flores and Glen Day also pushed their way into the lead on a day where at least three others had a piece of the top spot lead at some point. Defending champ Dustin Johnson was 5 under through six holes, taking advantage of near perfect conditions at the TPC Southwind with a temperature in the low 80s and only a slight breeze early. But Johnson finished with a 67 and was tied with 10 others including David Toms, a two-time winner here, and Shawn Stefani, who was tied for the lead before he hit into a fairway bunker and bogeyed No. 18. Snedeker, currently No. 6 in the world, opened with a 70. Boo Weekley, who won at Colonial, shot a 68 and was tied with seven others. Phil Mickelson had a 71. Love took off in February for surgery to relieve numbness and weakness caused by spinal stenosis and bone spurs. He didnt play at all in March or April, and this is his fourth tournament back on tour. He tied for 29th at Memorial last week, and tied for third here a year ago in what wound up being his best finish of 2012. He credited his good start to being grouped with Johnson and Snedeker, who also like to play fast. "I tried to keep up with Dustin and Brandt," Love said. Love made the turn at 2 under and birdied Nos. 10 and 11 to move into a five-way tie at 4 under with six others a stroke back at that point. He bogeyed No. 12 and bogeyed the par-3 14th. But Love birdied two of his final three holes to finish with a piece of the lead. Appleby had five birdies and a bogey for his best round this year. The Australian with nine victories hasnt won since The Greenbrier Classic in 2010, and his best this year was a tie for 35th at the Heritage in South Carolina. He said he was surprised the scores werent lower on a day where there wasnt any wind. "I thought there were some more birdies out there," Appleby said. "I think just with the pace of the greens if youre above the hole its tricky. Im happy with the way I played today. Anybody who got under par today, the scoreboard, certainly fought to get there." English, a 23-year-old from Georgia, got to 5 under on his back nine only to bogey his next hole at No. 5. Flores also got to 5 under when he birdied No. 13 to take the lead to himself only to double bogey the 14th after hitting into a bunker. He birdied No. 16 to get back into the lead group. Green, who lost his card last year, was the clubhouse leader at midday. The Australian who won the 2009 Canadian Open has been busy rebuilding his chipping and putting. This is his best round this year, but it had been a while since Green had seen his name at the top of a leaderboard. "I was starting to get nervous seeing my name on the board and made two good up and downs to finish off the round, which is nice," Green said after hitting into bunkers on Nos. 17 and 18 on his way in. Mickelson struggled on Nos. 15-17 with two bogeys and a double bogey on the par-5 16th where he hit into a greenside bunker into the rough and into another bunker before finally holing out. He said he wasnt sharp with his short game on small, fast greens that dont hold shots well in his first competitive round in a month. "This is great because its a great test," Mickelson said. "The guy that strikes it well is going to have a big advantage, but when you do miss greens, youve got to be pretty sharp with your short game because the lies around the greens are some of the most difficult that we get." But for someone who hadnt played in so long, Mickelson said he was happy with how he hit the ball. "Its about as good as Ive been striking it, and I feel like theres a good round in me," Mickelson said. Notes: Paul Goydos, who shot a 73, may have re-injured his left wrist hitting out of some deep rough on 15. This was his first event in more than a year after extensive surgery on his wrist. He wrote on Twitter that he got some therapy after his round and planned to ice every hour but will not know how bad it is until he warms up Friday morning. ...Guan Tianglang, the 14-year-old from China who made the cut at the Masters, opened with a 73. ... Matt Bettencourt withdrew because of illness after shooting a 39 on the front nine. New Balance Nz Sale . Both players have lower body injuries that will keep them out of the lineup until at least January 31, which is the first game they can be activated from IR. New Balance Sale Nz . Its an influence in football and a big part of the game. http://www.newbalancesalenz.com/ . The Americans, skipped by John Shuster, seized the advantage in the eighth end by scoring five points for a 7-3 lead. The Czechs pulled two back in the ninth, but Shusters team of third Jeff Isaacson, second Jared Zezel and lead John Landsteiner ended with another point to secure the last Olympic berth on offer. New Balance Wholesale .com) - The Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks both take aim at their first wins of the season on Saturday, as the Canucks open their home slate at Rogers Arena. New Balance Cheap Nz . PETERSBURG, Fla. MILWAUKEE -- The Chicago Cubs acquired Mike Montgomery in July with the intention of bolstering their bullpen.An injury prompted him moving into the rotation and in his fourth start with the Cubs on Wednesday night, Montgomery turned in five strong innings, allowing one run and two hits.He didnt factor into the decision as the Cubs lost to the Brewers 2-1, sparked by Jonathan Villars two home runs and a game-saving catch by Keon Broxton in the ninth.(Montgomery) was really good, Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. The hanging changeup to Villar, that was the pitch that hurt us. But good curveball, good changeup, good fastball.Montgomery, acquired from Seattle in a four-player trade, gained a spot in the starting rotation when John Lackey went on the disabled list with a shoulder problem. He remained in the rotation after Lackeys return on Sunday as the Cubs have temporarily opted to go with a six-man rotation.Montgomery faced the minimum number of batters through three innings.I felt a little better than the last couple outings, Montgomery said. I just wanted to go out and attack guys a little better, and get ahead. I made a mistake to Villar, but I felt good about (the outing).Milwaukee, which took two of three in the series, got its first hit when Villar homered leading off the fourth. Villar homered again off Joe Smith (1-1), the sixth Chicago pitcher, leading off the eighth.Corey Knebel (1-2) pitched a scoreless inning in relief to get the win. Tyler Thornburg notched his ninth save in 13 chances.With one out in the ninth, Rizzo hit a drive to deep center. Broxton drifted back and jumped above the wall to make the catch.I knew I hit it well, it just wasnt carrying as much as it was yesterday, Rizzo said. (Broxton) made a nice play.Maddon said he knew that ball would carry to the fence as soon as it was hit.That kid, Broxton, hes so athletic thhat he was able to go over it, he said.ddddddddddddThe Cubs loaded the bases with one out in the first against Milwaukee starter Matt Garza, but failed to score.Garza, facing his former team for the second time this season, retired 14 of 15 batters at one point before giving up the solo home run to Rizzo with two outs in the sixth.He made that one mistake to me on the slider but other than that, he really pitched us well, Rizzo said.Garza gave up one run and three hits in six innings.Milwaukee won for just the sixth time in the last 28 games against the Cubs.SLIDING BYRyan Braun tried to stretch a single into a double in the fourth but slid past second base and was called out when Cubs second baseman Ben Zobrist applied the tag.TRAINERS ROOMCubs: Reliever Justin Grimm left the game with an undisclosed illness after facing one batter in the sixth. ... Maddon thought about resting Rizzo but reconsidered. Watching him yesterday, he didnt look tired so I put him back in. I thought the day before (Monday) his bat looked a little bit off, Maddon said. But with the night game after the day game he got some good rest. We have a day off (Thursday) so I chose to play him today.UP NEXTCubs: Jon Lester (15-4, 2.61 ERA) gets the start as Chicago opens a three-game series at Houston on Friday. Lester took a no-hitter into the seventh inning in his last start on Friday against San Francisco and finished with a complete game three-hitter. He will make his second career start against Houston and first since June 2008.Brewers: Junior Guerra (7-3, 2.85 ERA) will take the mound as Milwaukee opens a four-game series at St. Louis on Thursday. Guerra is 0-2 with a 4.50 ERA in two career starts against St. Louis, both coming this season. ' ' '