PINEHURST, N. Arsenal Jerseys .C. -- Phil Mickelson spent five hours in the stifling heat Tuesday at Pinehurst No. 2 with a lot on his mind. He was trying to sharpen his game, figure out what it will take to finally win a U.S. Open and make enough putts with his claw grip to avoid losing to a pair of players whose combined age is younger than him. This major has a reputation as the toughest test in golf. Its every bit of that for Mickelson. "I really believe that this week is testing a players entire game," Mickelson said. "Because it forces you to make good decisions, to choose the right club off the tee, hit solid iron shots into the green and utilize your short game to save strokes. Its just a wonderful test ... the best test Ive seen to identify the best player." His definition of Pinehurst and its rugged, natural look would seem to require every ounce of concentration. And that could be his biggest challenge. On the golf course, Mickelson is trying to ignore the enormous expectations on him this week. He holds the worst kind of U.S. Open record with six runner-up finishes. He needs this major to complete the career Grand Slam. And hes a sentimental favourite at Pinehurst No. 2, where in 1999 he played the entire week knowing his wife was on the verge of delivering their first child. Payne Stewart made a 15-foot par putt on the final hole to beat him by one shot. Amanda Mickelson was born the next day. Stewart died in a plane crash four months later. "Payne and I had this moment where we talked about fatherhood, but he also talked about winning future U.S. Opens," Mickelson said. "Although I havent won one yet, Im still fighting hard, and this would be a great place to break through and do it. The flip side is that I tend to do well when its least expected. "I dont want to put the pressure on that this is the only week that Ill have a chance," he said. "I think Ill have a number of great opportunities in the future years. But this is certainly as good a chance as Ill have." Off the course, Mickelson has made headlines that threaten his clean image. He was linked two weeks ago to an insider trading investigation involving activist investor Carl Icahn and Las Vegas gambler Billy Walters over some timely trades of Clorox stock three years ago. FBI agents even came to the golf course to try to interview Mickelson. He referred them to his attorney, said he had done "absolutely nothing wrong" and that "Im not going to walk around any other way." It would seem to be a major distraction for Mickelson. Even though he hasnt won in nearly a year, and he has dropped to No. 11 in the world ranking, he is the centre of attention in the sand hills of North Carolina -- especially with Tiger Woods still out of the game while recovering from back surgery. Then again, it could be to Mickelsons advantage to be at a place such as Pinehurst. The course doesnt allow anyone to think about anything but the next shot. "We have so many players when they have a lot of stuff swirling around them that use that four or five hours on the golf course as a sanctuary," two-time U.S. Open champion Andy North said. "You can focus sometimes even better, which sound crazy, but its your place where no one can get to you. The phone cant ring. No one can ask you questions about whatever it is. And you get out there and find your little space. And sometimes that creates a situation where a guy can play exceptionally well." The investigation has not been a big topic since Mickelson said repeatedly at the Memorial that he had done nothing wrong, was co-operating and would not talk about it until it was resolved. There were no direct questions at his news conference Tuesday, only veiled references to coping with off-course distractions. Barclays, one of his biggest sponsors, declined to comment on Mickelson. KPMG, another major sponsor, said in a statement, "We have had a very strong relationship with Phil for a number of years, and we fully expect it to continue. We have great respect for him." While Mickelsons U.S. Open record is loaded with disappointment, he sees only opportunity. To have been the runner-up six times -- not to mention other U.S. Opens where he had a chance to win in the final hour -- means he must be doing something right. And he hasnt lost his sense of humour. "I feel as good about my game as I have all year," Mickelson said, pausing before he added, "Thats not staying a lot because I havent played well all year." He also said an analysis of his close calls in the U.S. Open revealed that it rained during the week in five of those second-place finishes. "So Im pulling for rain," he said. As for that other match? Mickelson carried the load as he and Rickie Fowler rallied from 3 down to tie the match, only for 20-year-old Jordan Spieth to make a 20-foot birdie on the 17th, and 21-year-old Justin Thomas to drill a tee shot on the 18th hole to set up a par for the win. Another close call. Its a U.S. Open. Mickelson should be used to that by now. Mesut Ozil Arsenal Jersey . 11 Ana Ivanovic and American Sloane Stephens, and former world No. Granit Xhaka Arsenal Jersey . When a game is in the balance, however, they still have the personnel and the experience to end up with the two points. http://www.footballarsenalstore.com/Women-Alex-Iwobi-Arsenal-Fc-Jersey/ . - Canadian tennis star Eugenie Bouchard has signed with WME-IMG, saying the sports management powerhouse will help maximize the value of my brand.Tampa Bay’s defence gets better with Hedman’s return, a rookie burns the Oilers and the Habs’ number one defenceman plays like it; lineup news, Fantasy tips and more in Scott Cullen’s Statistically Speaking. HEROES Victor Hedman – Accumulated three assists in Tampa Bay’s 6-3 win over the New York Rangers. He’s missed more than five weeks with a broken hand, but Hedman now has 10 points (3 G, 7 A) in seven games. Since the start of last season, Erik Karlsson and Mark Giordano are the only defencemen with a better points-per-game rate than Hedman. DEFENCE SCORING DEFENCEMAN TEAM GP G A PTS PTS/GP Erik Karlsson Ottawa 105 26 65 91 0.87 Mark Giordano Calgary 89 20 52 72 0.81 Victor Hedman Tampa Bay 82 16 49 65 0.79 Duncan Keith Chicago 103 11 65 76 0.74 Shea Weber Nashville 102 29 42 71 0.70 In his limited playing time this season, Hedman is also putting up career-best possession numbers (58.3% Corsi) though, in this very small sample, he’s had the ice tilted in his favour (63.9% of shifts starting in the offensive zone). Tobias Rieder – Drafted by the Edmonton Oilers, in the fourth round in 2011, the Coyotes rookie winger scored a pair of shorthanded goals, 58 seconds apart, to lead Arizona past Edmonton, 5-2, Monday. Rieder has nine points (6 G, 3 A) in the first 16 games of his NHL career and while his on-ice shooting percentage is high (12.8%), he’s doing a nice job generating shots on goal (2.69 per game after five against the Oilers) while skating on a line with Sam Gagner and Shane Doan. P.K. Subban – Montreal’s stalwart defenceman played 28:09 at Colorado Monday, registered a goal and an assist, along with team-best possession (28 shot attempts for, 14 against, 66.7%) while starting more of his shifts in the defensive zone. ZEROES Henrik Lundqvist – The Rangers’ star goaltender allowed five goals on 15 shots against Tampa Bay in a 6-3 Lightining win Monday. It’s the sixth time this season that Lundqvist has given up at least four goals in a game and his save percentage sits at what would be a career-low .905. Viktor Fasth – It was looking like the Oilers goaltender might be making some progress with his recent play before he surrendered five goals on 24 shots against Arizona, dropping his season save percentage to .891 which, for the Oilers, isn’t much of an alternative to Ben Scrivens (.888). Couldn’t one of them put up decent numbers? Dominic Moore – The Rangers’ checking centre was locked into the defensive zone (5 shot attempts for, 17 against, 22.7%) in Monday’s 6-3 loss to Tampa Bay, really pinned in when matched up against Tampa Bay’s line of Ondrej Palat, Tyler Johnson and Nikita Kucherov, with Kucherov and Johnson on for 11 shot attempts for and one against (91.7%) when matched up with Moore. LINEUP NEED TO KNOW Sami Vatanen – The third-leading defence scorer left Monday’s win over Boston after Simon Gagne’s goal cut the Anaheim lead to 3-2. His 20:55 ice time for the game was his lowest in nearly a month. Eric Brewer – Leftt Monday’s win over Boston with a suspected lower-body injury. Sokratis Papastathopoulos Arsenal Jersey. If the Ducks, already missing Francois Beauchemin, Clayton Stoner, Mark Fistric and Ben Lovejoy on defence, are suddenly without Vatanen and Brewer, they’re going to be digging deep for reinforcements. They already have rookies Josh Manson and Mat Clark taking regular shifts. Jesse Blacker is an option and Stoner should be nearing a return from mumps. Connor Murphy – Played 37 seconds against the Oilers before leaving with an upper-body injury after a big hit by Oilers forward Tyler Pitlick. Michael Sgarbossa – An undrafted free agent acquired from San Jose in 2012, Sgarbossa played six games for the Avalanche in 2012-13 and made his season debut, playing 10:51 in Monday’s 4-3 loss to Montreal. He had 12 points (3 G, 9 A) in 18 AHL games before getting called up. SHORT SHIFTS Tampa Bay C Tyler Johnson had two goals and an assist in the Lightning’s 6-3 win at the Rangers and is now tied for eighth in the league with 26 points (8 G, 18 A) in 25 games…LW Ondrej Palat contributed a goal and an assist and has 19 points (7 G, 12 A) in 26 games. Blue Jackets G Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 24 of 25 shots faced in a 2-1 win over Florida…Panthers LW Sean Bergenheim had stellar possession (19 shot attempts for, 5 against, 79.2%) in the 2-1 loss at Columbus. FIRSTS David Pastrnak – Boston’s rookie winger, skating with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand, registered an assist, in his third NHL game, for his first career point. In the first three games of his career, the 18-year-old has been on the ice for 47 shot attempts for and 29 against (61.8% Corsi). Colin Smith – The Avalanche centre played 6:06 his NHL debut, a 4-3 loss to Montreal Monday. Smith had 12 points (4 G, 8 A) in 18 AHL games before his promotion. Kerby Rychel – In his second NHL game, registered an assist for his first NHL point and, incidentally, had nice possession stats (13 shot attempts for, 8 against, 61.9%) despite starting one-third of his shifts in the offensive zone. FANTASY FOCUS It’s a busy night on the ice, with 10 games, so here are a handful of players that you may want to get into your lineup, or at least monitor – we’re digging deeper here: Tom Wilson – Anyone playing with Alex Ovechkin and NIcklas Backstrom has value, but the second-year winger also has points in each of the last two games (and fights in the last three). Nathan Gerbe – The mighty mite has been effective, skating with Riley Nash and a variety of wingers, putting up five points (2 G, 3 A) in the past six games and he’s ben rocking better than 56% possession for the season. Zemgus Girgensons – As the Sabres enjoy a dose of respectability, Girgensons is taking on a bigger role and has seven points (4 G, 3 A) in the past seven games. Matt Nieto – Scored his first goal in 23 games last game and has been putting up great possession stats (a team-best 60.5%). Nick Spaling – Getting a chance to play on Sidney Crosby’s wing, Spaling has three points (1 G, 2 A) in the past six games, playing more than 16 minutes in each. Much of the data included comes from www.war-on-ice.com, www.puckalytics.com, www.hockeystats.ca and www.naturalstattrick.com Scott Cullen can be reached at scott.cullen@bellmedia.ca ' ' '