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When Smylie Kaufman thinks back to his victory in last years Shriners Hospital for Children Open, it makes him, well, smile.That would be the appropriate and expected response for the memory of ones first PGA Tour victory and is a natural for a golfer who goes by Smylie.As soon as I walked in the door, I had good memories being in the media room, Kaufman said Wednesday.Kaufman returns to defend his title at the TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas beginning Thursday, but hell have to fend off the challenge of 143 other competitors in a field thats one of the best of the autumn portion of the Tours 2016-17 wraparound season.Kaufman (whose first name is Carter; Smylie is his middle name) carded a final-round 10-under-par 61 to finish the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open at 16-under 268, winning by one stroke over six players. He finished his round 2 1/2 hours before the final group holed out.His closing 61 is the lowest finish on the PGA Tour by a winner since Tommy Gainey ended the 2012 RSM Classic with a 10-under 60. His seven-stroke, come-from-behind victory was the best on Tour in the 2015-16 season.Kaufmans victory in Las Vegas was one of four top-10s in his rookie season. He also tied for 10th at both the Safeway Open and the Quicken Loans National and tied for eighth at World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship (then played at Trump-Doral in Miami).The field features three players from the victorious United States Ryder Cup squad -- Brooks Koepka, Ryan Moore and Jimmy Walker -- as well as and U.S. team captain Davis Love III.Love III returns to competition for the first time since hip surgery in July. The 1993 champion will make his 23rd start in Las Vegas, where he has just three missed cuts.The courses were shorter back then, and I was hitting it longer, the 52-year-old Love said. It was a time where I was playing well, and I had a good week.Loves expectations for this week arent lofty, a sentiment based on the time off caused by his surgery and his other commitments.Id like to play well and make the cut, he said. I love playing out here in the desert. So if I can stick around for the weekend, Ill be pleased.The event is the fifth tournament in the PGA Tours schedule that bridges two years with 43 events. Seven of those tournaments are during the fall of 2016. After a seven-week break, the season resumes in January with the traditional swing through Hawaii before moving to the West Coast.Nine major winners are in the field: Ernie Els of South Africa, Vijay Singh of Fiji, Keegan Bradley, Stewart Cink, Lucas Glover, Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland, Webb Simpson, Love III and Walker.The top 10 finishers from the 2015 tournament have returned this season and nine other former Shriners Hospitals for Children Open champions will also compete for the $6.6 million purse ($1,188,000 that goes to the winner. They are Ben Martin (2014), Webb Simpson (2013), Ryan Moore (2012), Kevin Na (2011), Jonathan Byrd (2010), Martin Laird of Scotland (2009), Stuart Appleby of Australia (2003), Bob Estes (2001) and Love III (1993). Hydro Flask Coffee Cup . The deal is pending a physical, assistant general manager Bobby Evans said. Traded from Seattle to Baltimore on Aug. 30, Morse also can play first base and right field to give manager Bruce Bochy some flexibility in writing his lineup. Hydro Flask Standard Mouth Flex Cap . Jon Montgomerys gold medal in skeleton at the Whistler Sliding Centre and his subsequent auctioning off of a pitcher of beer in the village square elevated him to folk-hero status. http://www.hydroflask32oz.com/coffee-flasks/16-oz-coffee.html . The Redskins announced Monday that the quarterback who led the team to the Super Bowl championship in the 1987 season will serve as a personnel executive. Hydro Flask 32 Oz Wide Mouth . Q: Team Canada announces their Olympic roster three weeks from today. Who is general manager Steve Yzerman watching? LeBrun: Over the last 48 hours, hes taken in the home-and-home between the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche with Jamie Benn and Matt Duchene being the obvious targets. Hydro Flask 32 Oz Sale (STATS) -- North Carolina A&T and North Carolina Central have shared the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title in each of the past two seasons. On Saturday, one of them will be the outright champion.The ninth-ranked Aggies make the short 55-mile trip from Greensboro to take on the No. 24 Eagles in Durham in a winner-take-all season finale with a trip to the Celebration Bowl on the line.North Carolina A&T (9-1) has won all seven of its conference games following its only loss, 58-21 at FBS member Tulsa on Sept. 17. North Carolina Central (8-2) is also unbeaten in seven MEAC contests and has won eight in a row overall, leading to the program entering the STATS FCS Top 25 for the first time Monday.That means there can be only one MEAC champion after the Aggies and Eagles were part of a five-way tie in 2014 before both shared the title with Bethune-Cookman last season. North Carolina A&T won the tiebreaker in 2015 and went on to beat Southwestern Athletic Conference champion Alcorn State 41-34 in the inaugural Celebration Bowl.The Eagles have won the past two meetings in this series -- both in the season finale -- to earn a share of the MEAC title.Its going to be a big one, said North Carolina A&Ts Rod Broadway, a finalist for the STATS Eddie Robinson Award as FCS Coach of the Year. Were going up against a 7-0 team and theyre our biggest rival. We have to be better prepared to play well.The Eagles have managed to beat the Aggies twice in a row despite Tarik Cohen combining for 315 rushing yards and two touchdownss.dddddddddddd Cohen, a finalist for the STATS FCS Walter Payton Award as Offensive Player of the Year, is second in the FCS with 1,436 yards and 17 TDs on the ground.The senior recorded his fourth 200-yard game of the season last Saturday, rushing 13 times for 221 yards -- an average of 17 per carry -- and two scores in North Carolina A&Ts 45-14 win at Delaware State.North Carolina Central does most of its damage through the air. The Eagles lead the MEAC with 225 passing yards per game behind redshirt senior Malcolm Bell, who tops the league with 2,007 yards and 15 passing TDs and is tied for second with seven rushing scores.North Carolina A&T also has a star quarterback in redshirt sophomore Lamar Raynard, who ranks first in the MEAC in completion percentage (64.6) and pass efficiency (140.8 rating) and second behind Bell in passing TDs (14).Both squads have solid receiving corps. The Aggies are led by senior Denzel Keyes and freshman Elijah Bell, who have combined for 15 TD catches, while senior LaVontis Smith and sophomore Jalen Wilkes have five each for the Eagles.I think everybodys getting what they always wanted, theyre gonna get an outright champion this year, North Carolina Central coach Jerry Mack said. Everythings on the table and we want to be greedy this year. We want to have a chance to take an outright championship and go to a bowl game, so its right there before us. ' ' '