DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Rory McIlroy hit wedge into 5 feet for birdie on the 18th hole for a 2-under 70 to regain the outright lead in the Dubai Desert Classic on Friday. Phillips Valdez Mariners Jersey . The chief challenge for McIlroy came from an American -- but it wasnt Tiger Woods. Brooks Koepka, who earned his European Tour card last year by winning three times on the Challenge Tour, made seven birdies against no bogeys for a 65 that left him one shot behind McIlroy going into the weekend. Woods, meanwhile, hit only four fairways and had to rely on some key putts to salvage a 73. He was in a tie for 44th, eight shots out of the lead. McIlroy was at 11-under 133. He appeared to be in control at Emirates Golf Club, leading by three shots after his birdie at No. 10. But he drove wildly into the waste area on the par-5 13th and the par-4 16th holes, both leading to bogeys, before recovering on the 18th. "It was nice to birdie the last and at least give myself a one-shot lead going into tomorrow," McIlroy said. "I will just go back tonight and sort of regroup and realize I am still leading the tournament. I was more frustrated on the back nine, as the back nine is where you want to build your score after playing the harder front nine." Danny Willett of England, who began his week by jumping out of a plane at 4,000 metres (13,000 feet), had a 65 and shared third place with Damien McGrane of Ireland (70) and Julien Quesne of France (70). Henrik Stenson, who won the Race to Dubai and the FedEx Cup last year, had a 67 and was four shots behind. Woods, trying to join Ernie Els as the only three-time winners of the Dubai Desert Classic, opened with a birdie on his third hole and the highlights were few after that. His only other birdie was on the par-3 11th, with a shot into 2 feet. Instead of going to the practice range after his round, he conducted a clinic with Mark OMeara. "I was on so many parts of the golf course today that I got to meet so many people, signed so many autographs out there and gave a lot of balls away," Woods joked with the crowd. "Seriously, I was just hitting it sideways." He even joked about the 79 he shot last week at Torrey Pines to miss the 54-hole cut on a course where he had won eight times previously, including a U.S. Open. "I have to tell everyone here I never made a 10-footer for not shooting 80," Woods said. As for his round on Friday, he said he putted well, but had too many putts from 40 and 50 feet, which is "not exactly the best thing." "I just didnt hit it close enough and didnt hit it well," Woods said. "I struggled with it and had a bad warm-up, as well. Just one of those days." Koepka is in his first full season on the European Tour. He came close to winning the Frys.com Open last autumn in America before struggling on the back nine. He is roommates in Florida with another American on the European Tour, Peter Uihlein, who bogeyed his last hole to miss the cut. "Winning is winning," said Koepka, who has four Challenge Tour wins. "Ive been able to do it on the Challenge Tour, so hopefully I can get it done with week." It should be more difficult with McIlroy, a two-time major champion, starting to regain his form. McIlroy ended a year without winning in December when he edged Adam Scott at the Australian Open. He finished one shot behind in Abu Dhabi two weeks ago. "Im leading the golf tournament. Ive been in this position before and Ive went on to win," McIlroy said. "Ive led from the front quite well in tournaments that I have won. I feel like I am still playing well and I know the course just as well as anyone else. Im now expecting to go out there and shoot two good scores over the weekend and hopefully lift the trophy." Willett, along with his wife and caddie, began the week with an assisted sky dive on Monday in a charity event. He feels it might have helped with his golf. "If you stand on the first tee, trying to hit a drive into the fairway seemed a little bit less nerve-racking than jumping out of a plane at 13,000 feet," Willett said. "You never know, might have prepared us quite well." Richie Sexson Mariners Jersey .The league also seems to have a fairly active Twitter account www.twitter.com/bikinihockey that features the description “We provide a positive alternative to the hockey community and a venue for adult female hockey athletes to continue in their sport. Marco Gonzales Jersey . Louis Cardinals are one of Major League Baseballs model franchises. https://www.cheapmariners.com/2475k-mike-zunino-jersey-mariners.html .C. -- Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe is resigning after 13 seasons at the school.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Houston Rockets have won five games in a row just once this season and will try to reach that mark Wednesday against the Orlando Magic at Amway Center. The Rockets started the season with six straight wins and are currently riding a four-game winning streak. They headed to the Big Apple to face the Brooklyn Nets on Monday and came away with a 113-99 victory behind James Hardens 30 points. Harden leads the NBA with 26.9 points per game and is averaging 28.2 ppg in his previous 12 games. He has scored 30 or more points 16 times this season. Donatas Motiejunas scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, Dwight Howard finished with only eight points and five rebounds, and Josh Smith netted 13 points for the Rockets. The Rockets have won three in a row on the road and are 14-5 as the visitor. Tempers were heated in this matchup at Barclays Center, as Howard and Nets big man Kevin Garnett almost came to blows. The two were tangled underneath the basket in the first quarter, and Garnett was later ejected for throwing the ball at Howard and head-butting him after he was shoved in the mid section. The two then stepped towards one another, with Garnett delivering a head butt to Howards jaw and the latter retaliating with an open right hand to the face before both players were ultimately restrained. In the good old days, that was a play-on. Now, they throw people out, said Rockets head coach Kevin McHale. I didnt think it was a big deal. Garnett was suspended one ggame without pay for initiating the altercation and head-butting Howard, who was fined $15,000 for pushing Garnett in the neck area. Reggie McClain Mariners Jersey. Houston will return to Space City for the next three games versus Oklahoma City. Golden State and Indiana. The Magic are back home from their four-game sojourn (1-3) and will play the next three games at Amway Center versus Houston, Memphis and Oklahoma City. Orlando is winless in its last four home games and 4-12 in central Florida. It did put the brakes on a six-game slide with Mondays 121-114 triumph over the Chicago Bulls, as Nikola Vucevic and Victor Oladipo both scored 33 points. Oladipo scored 13 points in the fourth quarter, Vucevic grabbed 11 rebounds and Elfrid Payton rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points for the Magic, whose 121 points and 59.3 percent shooting were a season-high. Orlando led by as many as 17 points in the second half and later saw its lead trimmed to 109-104. The Bulls got no closer the rest of the way. Magic guard Evan Fournier (knee) and forward Tobias Harris (ankle) are both questionable Wednesday. Orlando lost both games against Houston last season and will visit the Rockets March 17 at the Toyota Center. Houston has won four straight against Orlando after losing the previous five games in this series. Howard was drafted No. 1 overall by Orlando in the 2005 NBA Draft and spent the first eight seasons of his career with the Magic, including an NBA Finals appearance in 2009. ' ' '