Patrick Reed believes the back nine will prove crucial during The 145th Open after going round in 66 in his opening round. Portland Trail Blazers Pro Shop . The American took the clubhouse lead on five under after a round that included five birdies, an eagle and just two bogeys. Watch The Open Watch the first round of The Open for free, no contract Its one of these golf courses where you feel like you have to go out and make a ton of birdies early, Reed told Sky Sports. But at the same time, if you get too aggressive then you can make a lot of big numbers so what I tried to was, I played pretty conservative through the first six or seven holes. Then it just happened that I holed out a wedge shot, hit a couple of good iron shots and rolled in a couple of puts. The key this week isnt so much the front as it is the back nine. The back nine here, if it plays into the wind, is brutal.Reed also spoke of how he feels that competing in last weeks Scottish Open has benefited him at Royal Troon. Justin Thomas started his round with four birdies on the bounce Its very important, he added. It allows you to get a little bit more comfortable because back home everything is carry and spin and over here it is more about keeping the ball down, fighting it but at the same time, you need to get comfortably hitting pitching wedges from 100 yards. I think that is the hardest thing for me - hitting something really soft yet really being able to control the trajectory, distance and direction. Justin Thomas finished on four under at Royal Troon in his first ever round at The Open Justin Thomas, meanwhile, began his round with four consecutive birdies on his debut at The Open and another gain on the last saw him finish -4.It definitely helps, thats for sure, he said of his superb start. The front nine was definitely scoreable, the wind is in a good direction and it wasnt too heavy so you had to get on those on the front nine.I put myself in good spots off the tee and gave myself a lot of chances and it was nice to make the turn like that.It was great [to end with a birdie] after I felt like I was grinding throughout the back nine just to salvage pars and bogeys and doubles even.I love links golf, I have been fortunate enough to play some events on it and you just have to be creative. You never know what youre going to get with the conditions and so I think  in terms of a gameplan and how youre going to attack the course, it changes day to day.On a day like today, you can be a little bit more aggressive but that back nine is still really, really difficult and you just have be patient, get the ball on the fairway and try to minimise the mistakes. Also See: Sign in to watch The 145th Open LIVE! Latest leaderboard WATCH: Oosthuizens hole in one! Cheap Blazers Jerseys . They kicked off the still-going trend of host cities winning the Grey Cup and sent Hall of Fame head coach Wally Buono to the front office a champion. Gary Trent Jersey .com) - The Eastern Conferences best team takes on one of its worst Tuesday night when the Atlanta Hawks pay a visit to the Wells Fargo Center to take on the Philadelphia 76ers. PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Penguins acknowledge theyve been getting by more on talent than discipline recently even as theyve soared to the top of the Eastern Conference standings. The perpetually rebuilding Florida Panthers have no such luxury. On Monday night, the Panthers hard work made up the difference. Drew Shore scored twice for the first multi-goal game of his career and the Panthers ended Pittsburghs club-record 13-game home winning streak with a 5-1 victory. "It was a big game," Shore said. "We kind of treated it like a playoff game. We only had a couple more games until the (Olympic) break so we wanted to make a strong push." Jonathan Huberdeau, Dmitry Kulikov and Shawn Matthias also scored for the Panthers, who won in Pittsburgh for the first time in five years. Scott Clemmensen stopped 35 shots in his first start in three weeks as Florida ended a two-game losing streak. "I asked them for 60 minutes and 200 feet," Florida coach Peter Horachek said. Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma received neither. Matt Niskanen scored the only goal for the Penguins as Pittsburgh lost at home for the first time since Nov. 13. Marc-Andre Fleury made 23 saves but fell for only the fourth time in his past 37 starts at Consol Energy Center. "We were just awful," Niskanen said. "Bad execution. Bad work ethic. We just werent hungry enough to win the loose puck battle and they just beat the (stuffing) out of us." Pittsburgh defenceman Paul Martin played 20 minutes in his return from a broken leg, clearing the way for him to play for Team USA in the Olympics. Forwards James Neal, Chuck Kobasew and Jayson Megna also returned from injuries as the Penguins -- already with a comfortable 13-point cushion in the Metropolitan Division -- continue to get healthy with the Olympic break looming. While it may take a game or two for the Penguins to adjust to the familiar faces, they dont necessarily view it as an excuse. "Were assimilating players back into our lineup ... but thats not a new challenge for this group," Bylsma said. "Its not a new challenge for our team." Neither is winning in Pittsburgh for the Panthers. But Florida beat the Penguins for the second time in three meetings behind Clemmensen, a resurgennt penalty kill that has gone a franchise-record 10 games without allowing a goal and some unlikely offensive contributions. Jack Ramsay Jersey. "I dont think we got lucky tonight," Clemmensen said. "I think we just willed it a little bit. It doesnt always go your way obviously. You stick with it and nights like tonight happen." Shore entered with just four goals in 54 career games and has spent most of this season in the American Hockey League. Still, he scored twice in less than 20 minutes to stake Florida to an early lead that was more than enough to end Pittsburghs two-month run of perfection. The Penguins entered the night having trailed barely 10 per cent of the time at home since their streak began. A significant chunk came in last weeks 4-3 comeback victory over Washington, when they rallied from a goal down three times to escape. It was the kind of game thats popped up frequently since Christmas, where Pittsburghs high-powered offence was able to overcome some uncharacteristic lapses at the other end of the rink. The miscues finally caught up with them. A rare breakdown by the leagues top power-play unit gave Shore the chance to stake Florida to an early lead. Clemmensen stopped Evgeni Malkins shot, then passed to Shore to spark a two-on-one that ended with Shore flicking a wrist shot over Fleurys shoulder 15:46 into the first period. The Panthers had three opportunities in the second to double their lead only to let three straight power plays go to waste before Shore struck again. Huberdeau stripped a Penguin behind the Pittsburgh net, slid the puck to Jesse Winchester, who found a streaking Shore down the slot. The wrist shot caromed off Fleurys shoulder and into the net to make it 2-0 at 13:34 of the second. Kulikov pushed the Florida lead to 3-0 by taking a long bounce off the end boards then beating Fleury just 1:17 into the third. Niskanens seventh goal of the season 5:11 into the period briefly gave the Penguins some energy, but it faded when Huberdeau and Matthias scored 12 seconds apart to send the Panthers to the upset. NOTES: Pittsburgh went 0 for 3 on the power play. ... The Panthers have killed 31 straight penalties. ... Florida is 10-0-1 when leading after two periods. ... Pittsburgh hosts Montreal on Wednesday. ... The Panthers play at Buffalo on Tuesday. ' ' '