DUBLIN, Ohio -- Keegan Bradley had his best round ever at the Memorial on Thursday. It was the way he accomplished that feat that was so unusual. Bradley did not use a belly putter for the first time in his PGA Tour career, and it worked out just fine. He knocked in a 12-foot birdie putt on his opening hole, added four more birdies for a 5-under 67 and was one shot out of the lead among the early starters at Muirfield Village. "Im totally in a trial period here," said Bradley, whose best score in eight previous rounds was a 71. "Im not in any way saying Im switching for good from now on. This is just for right now and this week." Masters champion Bubba Watson, Chris Kirk and Paul Casey each had a 66 on a hot morning at the Memorial. Adam Scott and Rory McIlroy, both coming off victories on either side of the Atlantic Ocean, were among those playing in the afternoon. Bradley was the first player to win a major using a belly putter at the 2011 PGA Championship. The anchored stroke used for long putters will be banned starting in 2016, which he said was like a "ticking clock in your head." But it was advice from his mother, and a week of practice and trash talking with Michael Jordan, that persuaded him to give it a try. Bradley didnt like the way he finished off the Byron Nelson Championship two weeks ago, and while talking to his mother, she suggested he go to a shorter putter. "I hadnt put any thought into it up until that point," he said. "And so I thought I needed something to get me excited about playing because I was bummed." Bradley has not won since the Bridgestone Invitational in 2012, and he needs to get moving if he wants to earn a spot on the Ryder Cup team. Inspired to experiment by his mother, he played with Jordan at The Bears Club in South Florida, asking him to be relentless in heckling and make Bradley feel uncomfortable, "which hes good at." "And we just kept playing and playing. And I felt better and better with it," he said. "And I came here not knowing what I was going to do. I played a round with Brendan Steele and I felt good with it again, and I thought theres no reason for me not to do it." Bradley said he last used a conventional putter in 2010 in his second start on the Nationwide Tour. He is not considered a bad putter. Bradley switched over to the belly putter because he felt he was better with it. His plan for the year was to qualify for the Ryder Cup team and start converting to a shorter putter after October. Now? Who knows? The putter is 41 inches, which is about 6 inches longer than a standard putter. The difference is that Bradley doesnt press the end of it into his belly. He felt better over lag putts, and he said the shorter putter improved his touch on fast greens. "The negatives are just ... Im aware that people are watching me," he said. "And thats the hardest part." Watson also started his round at No. 10 and got going with an eagle on the 15th hole. He finished strong with four birdies over the last five holes, knocking in a 15-foot putt on the ninth hole. Hunter Mahan had a bogey-free 68, a signal that he is finally starting to round into form. Mahan has not been in the top 20 since the second week of March at Doral. Cheap Shoes Black Friday .cas NHL Play of the Year showdown continues today with a man whos spent most of his career on highlight reels and a goalie actually "reaching back" for a save. Fake Shoes Black Friday . 9 Baylor Bears just needed some time to get on track in their first game after the Christmas break. https://www.cheapshoesblackfriday.com/. -- Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew practiced in a limited capacity Friday, a positive sign he might be able to play against the Tennessee Titans. Shoes Black Friday Deals 2020 . - New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis says the club has an agreement to bring back outside linebacker Parys Haralson on a one-year deal. Discount Shoes Black Friday . How foolishly wrong I was. Forget the now inherent corruption and back handed favours that plague the beautiful game. Goal Line Technology? Youre having a laugh. As for them penalty cheating bandits, footballs lawmakers upend them by awarding the penalty to the opponent each time a player attempts to con the referee into awarding ghost penalties. CINCINNATI, Ohio -- Juan Perez hasnt gotten many at-bats in the majors. He didnt need a whole lot of experience to know what was coming this time. Left-hander Tony Cingrani was going to throw a first-pitch fastball. The young outfielder got it and hit it out. Perez and Michael Morse homered with two outs in the sixth inning on Wednesday night, rallying the San Francisco Giants to a 3-2 victory that ended the Cincinnati Reds longest winning streak of the season at four games. San Francisco won for the 10th time in 13 games, improving the best record in the majors to 38-21. Morse hit a solo shot and Perez had a two-run homer off Cingrani (2-6), who has lost all of his four starts since returning from shoulder tendinitis. Cingrani relies on his fastball -- he threw it 81.7 per cent of the time last season, second-most in the majors -- and threw one to Perez to start the game-changing at-bat. Perez, making only his fourth start this season, was ready to swing. "I was looking for a fastball in and I got a fastball down the middle," Perez said. Perez is in his second stint with the Giants this season. He was only 1 for 21 heading into the game on Wednesday, struggling to adapt to his limited playing time. "Hes probably had the toughest job of anybody since hes been here because he doesnt get many starts," manager Bruce Bochy said. "Their guy shut us down. Hes got a good, live fastball. He was throwing very well. So Perez came through for us." Ryan Vogelsong (4-2) extended his recent streak of solid pitching by giving up two runs and seven hits in 6 1-3 innings while fanning a career-high nine. The right-hander is 3-0 with a 2.05 ERA in last four starts. "I just really kept doing what I was doing," Vogelsong said. "I felt the stuff was there, I just need to keep making pitches." It was a rare win in Cincinnati for the Giants, who had lost 11 of their last 12 at Great American Ball Park during the regular season. San Francisco won all three there while taking the division playoff series in 2012. Vogellsong gave up Todd Fraziers team-leading 11th homer in the third inning, a ball that hit the screen on the left field foul pole.dddddddddddd Jay Bruce added a run-scoring double, his third RBI in the last two games. Bruce came into the series with no RBIs since April 25. Sergio Romo pitched the ninth for his 18th save in 20 chances. He had allowed a run in each of his last three outings. Billy Hamilton had three singles off Vogelsong, matching his career high. It was his sixth three-hit game. Cingrani has been trying to get back into form after being on the disabled list for 17 days because of tenderness in the left shoulder. His velocity has been inconsistent -- the left-hander throws mostly fastballs -- while hes gone 0-4 with a 5.16 ERA in his four starts. With Cingrani trying to hold a 2-0 lead with two outs in the sixth, Morse hit his team-leading 12th homer on the first pitch. Cingrani gave up a single by Brandon Hicks, and Perez hit his first homer of the season and the second of his career for a 3-2 lead. It was only the fourth time in 28 career starts that Cingrani allowed more than one homer. Hamilton ran the Giants to distraction again, but this time they prevented him from scoring. Hamilton had two infield singles among his three hits, forced two throwing errors and was caught by catcher Buster Posey while he trying to steal third base. The Giants have seven errors in all during the two games. NOTES: LHP Madison Bumgarner (7-3) faces Mike Leake (3-4) in the final game of the series. Bumgarner is 5-0 in his last six starts, matching the longest winning streak of his career. Leake is 4-0 with a 0.92 ERA in his last four starts against the Giants. ... The Giants have scored 122 runs with two outs, the most in the majors. ... Giants OF Hunter Pence extended his hitting streak to five games. ... RHP Mat Latos made what the Reds had hoped would be his final rehab start before hes activated, but he had to leave the game for Triple-A Louisville with a cramp in his calf after only 67 pitches. ' ' '