Koreas Byeong Hun An came out on top in the long drive contest at the U.S. PGA Championship, much to the irritation of Rory McIlroy.All players had the opportunity to hit one tee shot on the first hole at Baltusrol Tuesday, with the distance measured as long as the ball finished on the fairway.McIlroy had set a daunting target of 345 yards early in the morning and looked set to win the gold money clip and a $25,000 donation to a charity of his choice, only for An to beat him by two yards.Im a little bit gutted, McIlroy said with a smile. That would have been a mini victory this week and I hit mine at half-past eight this morning when there was no wind. I pulled it a little bit, so I was a little concerned it might just miss the fairway left, but it just hung on.Im not going to lie to you, Ive been checking the board since to see if anyones got up close to me. I saw Gary Woodland on the putting green just as he was going out and I said thats one of the guys Im worried about. I thought he could maybe get it out there by me. But thankfully he missed the fairway.Its a cool concept. Its a lot of fun and I think the guys enjoy it.McIlroy had to settle for a silver money clip and a $15,000 donation, with Belgiums Nicolas Colsaerts winning a bronze clip and $10,000 for third after a drive of 341 yards. Josh Jacobs Womens Jersey . Jim Rutherford, President and General Manager of the Carolina Hurricanes, announced Wednesday that the team would assign Swedish forward Elias Lindholm to his nations team for the upcoming tournament. Marcus Allen Raiders Jersey . Nathan MacKinnon, Jamie McGinn and Jan Hejda also scored for the Avalanche, who won despite being outshot 38-23. MacKinnons goal, also on the power play, came with just over a minute remaining. http://www.shoptheraidersonline.com/Elite-Art-Shell-Raiders-Jersey/ . Pirlo limped out of Sundays 1-0 win over Udinese after just 13 minutes. Juventus says Pirlo underwent tests on Monday which revealed he has "a second-degree lesion to the collateral medial ligament in his right knee. Jim Plunkett Youth Jersey . 10 Texas A&Ms offence dominated as usual against SMU. Bo Jackson Jersey . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. Alex Hales has realised he must remain his own man as he tries to cement his position at the top of Englands batting order rather than trying to copy anyone else.Earlier in the series at Old Trafford, the television coverage picked up that Hales had made an adjustment to his technique between the first and second innings. Hales revealed that had come from watching Joe Root during his double century, but he said that the tweaks, which involved trying to replicate Roots trigger movements at the crease, did not feel natural to him.Instead, he went and worked with Peter Moores, the former England coach who is now a batting consultant with Nottinghamshire, and returned to trusting his own methods.Hales made 54 in the game-changing opening stand of 126 with Alastair Cook in the second innings at Edgbaston, which was his first significant contribution of the series, but he is still waiting for the maiden Test century which would make him the first Englishman to make hundreds in all three formats.Watching Rooty bat in the first innings [at Old Trafford], the way he moves his feet around the crease, got me thinking about little adjustments in my game. Second innings, I tried to give it a go and it wasnt something I was comfortable with, Hales said.In between Tests I did a lot of work with Peter Moores. Trying to copy other players isnt being true to yourself. I made some improvements after South Africa and just because you get a couple of good balls doesnt mean you should go away from what you have done well in the past.So I did a bit of alignment work, sticking to the basics of trigger and head movements, some adjustments to the left-armers, but sticking to what has brought me success in the past.Despite four half-centuries this season, Hales has not quite done enough to end the debate about Alastair Cooks opening partner. After ten Tests he has 555 runs at 29.21, a difficult start in South Africa being followed by an encouraging display against Sri Lanka where he came close to a maiden hundred on three occasions.Against Pakistans higher-class of pace bowlers, however, he has again looked a little vulnerable. He has been caught behind or in the slips in five of his six innings in the series, while in the other was cleaned up by a classy Mohammad Amir inswinger in the first innings at Old Trafford.ddddddddddddThe results I have had this series have not been what Ive wanted, having got a couple of good balls and played a couple of rash shots, but the exciting thing for me is that Im developing and learning. Keep doing that and enjoying myself and I will give myself the best chance, he said. I think the second innings at Edgbaston showed that, but at the same time its about scoring runs and getting results and I know I need to score more, particularly in this Test coming up.Its important in anyones career to get a century. I have given myself five opportunities with five half centuries but not gone on. I am learning and improving so hopefully the best is to come.One of the curious dynamics of this series has been that Hales, perceived as more of a dashing batsman, has a strike-rate of 47.56 while Alastair Cook is blazing away at 76.20 (Cooks ODI strike-rate was 77.13). The notion that Hales could be Englands David Warner was always ill-conceived and Hales is happy with how he is adjusting his game.Something Ive learnt is not to go out and bat with any preconceived ideas, he said. I dont want to be a guy who is known for blocking it nor hitting it to all parts. You have to be adaptable to each situation. If they bowl well I want to be good enough to see it off and if they bowl poorly still have the intention to hit the bad balls. Just play the situation.Another contrast between Hales and his opening partner is their sweating. Cook is famous for barely dropping a bead while Hales can barely keep his hands dry. It means the bowlers are desperate to keep the ball away from him when it starts to reverse, as it did so crucially on the final day at Edgbaston.I stay well clear of it - if I know its coming my way I rub them on the floor to try and dry them out, he said.Hales sweating is out of his hands. His chance to finish the Test season in convincing style is certainly not. ' ' '