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TROON, Scotland -- Rory McIlroy felt the wrath of the Postage Stamp.Strange, too, since this par-3 hole is more in line with what youd expect at the local muni, at least from a distance standpoint.If you get greedy at all there ..., said Kevin Na, his voice fading off.Enough said.The most famous hole at Royal Troon is one of the shortest youll find at any major championship. A mere 123 yards at its maximum, roughly the length of an American football field with the end zones included.But, ohhh, this tiny little patch of Scottish coastline, somehow crammed in between a gully and clinging to a sandhill at the far edge of the course hosting this weeks British Open, is a treacherous place indeed.Just ask McIlroy, who lofted a tee shot that drifted to the right during a practice round Tuesday.The ball skidded into a pin-high bunker, one of five penal pits strategically placed around the long but diabolically narrow green.McIlroy surveyed what he had done, and attempted to play out.Six swings later, he was finally on the green, having knocked three shots off the stacks of sod that line the pot bunker, two more that actually cleared the lip but rolled back into the sand.Had he actually been keeping score for real, it wouldve have been a 9.That didnt go too well, McIlroy said. There is a lot of sand in the bunker. So when the ball just trickles in back into the bunkers, it doesnt go into the middle. It sort of stays. Obviously that lip there is basically vertical, so it sort of just stayed there. And every time I tried to get it out, it would go back into the same spot.He can only hope that doesnt happen when the shots start counting for real on Thursday.Its one of those holes where you just try to hit it in the middle of the green, McIlroy said. Even though its only 115, 120 yards, you just have to not be that aggressive. Try to hit it in the middle. Hitting it into the middle of the green is a good shot, and then take two putts.While McIlroys struggles were a bit of an anomaly, European Tour up-and-comer Andrew Johnston endured what is likely to be a more common chain of events during the Open.Late in the afternoon, after the sun broke through the clouds for the first time in days and the nearby Irish Sea glistened in the glow, Johnston struck a tee shot that was right on the flag, careering into the green about 6 feet short of the cup.Then, the ball spun back off the ledge that serves as another line of defense, not stopping until it had dropped into the front bunker.Unlike McIlroy, Johnson got it out with one swing, the ball stopping about 12 feet past the flag. But the treacherous downhill putt came up short, leaving him with a bogey if he was actually keep score.Even for the best players in the world, par is an acceptable score.If you make four 3s there this week, McIlroy said, youre probably going to gain a bit of ground on the field.The hole got its name when two-time Open champion Willie Park Jr., writing in Golf Illustrated sometime after the turn of the last century, described it as a pitching surface skimmed down to the size of a postage stamp.The name stuck, and it couldnt be more appropriate.Its a special hole the way that the short par 3s of this world are special, said Colin Montgomerie, no doubt referring to others such as the 155-yard 12th at Augusta National.Theres never been a decent par 3 over 200 yards, in my opinion, built. (At) 123 yards, the expectation raises dramatically into, you are on that tee and you are a professional golfer, its your job and youre expected to hit this green at 123 yards. You could throw it on, really. I wish I could. And thats why its difficult.When the pin is at the back of the green, the Postage Stamp is especially challenging.You have to hit a shot where you know you are going to come up short, or just play to a certain spot, rather than whacking one up there and hoping for the best, Matthew Southgate said. Its one of them where you have to be precise. Ive got my mind on picking a small target and forget where you are, hit a good yardage and dodge the bunkers.On a calm day, it can be easy pickings for the pros.Of course, this being Scotland, the wind is usually blowing.Thats when the misery really begins.Anyone who wants to see potential train wrecks, if its blowing hard into it off the left, that would be the place to sit, Henrik Stenson said. On the scorecard, it doesnt look much, but when the wind is blowing and youve got to be precise with a 7-, 8-, 9-iron, something like that, into the wind there, its quite tricky.Thats what makes a marvelous hole.The Postage Stamp certainly delivers.---Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963 . His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/paul-newberry .Domingo Leyba Jersey . They hope to persuade the other team owners and commissioner Roger Goodell to put pressure on Redskins owner Daniel Snyder to drop the nickname they find offensive. "Given the way the meeting transpired," Ray Halbritter, an Oneida representative and leader of the "Change the Mascot Campaign," said Wednesday, "it became somewhat evident they were defending the continued use of the name. Chris Young Jersey . 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Matt Williams Jersey .J. -- New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz will miss the rest of the season after having surgery on his left knee.MOSCOW -- Russian President Vladimir Putin attacked the ban on his country from the Rio de Janeiro Paralympics as immoral and inhumane on Thursday, while six Russian athletes launched a bid to compete at next months games as individuals.Russia was suspended on Aug. 7 over what International Paralympic Committee president Philip Craven called a medals over morals culture with evidence of state-sponsored doping. The ban was confirmed Tuesday when the Court of Arbitration of Sport rejected a Russian appeal.The decision to disqualify our Paralympians is outside the bounds of law, morality and humanity, Putin said at an award ceremony for Olympic athletes at the Kremlin. He called the ruling against Russia cynical and claimed that it even humiliates those who take such decisions.Foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova added to the criticism, calling the ban collective responsibility for an unproven crime. While Russia has accepted there were some shortcomings in its anti-doping system, it insists drug use was not systemic or supported by the government.The Paralympics start Sept. 7. On Thursday, six Russian athletes, including three gold medalists, wrote to IPC president Craven asking for a route into the games as individuals.I strongly believe that real perpetrators of the dirty system must be punished and banned from sport. I do not want to lose to cheaters and I dont want to compete with cheaters, even Russians, says the letter, which was provided to The Associated Press by Andrei Mitkov, an agent representing the six. However even more strongly I believe that innocent people should not suffer for actions of cheaters that tried to deceive clean athletes of the world.The athletes, who say they have been repeatedly tested outside Russia and found to be clean, asked for the IPC to provide criteria which could allow some Russians to compete if they can show they are clean. The approach is similar to the criteria that allowed U.S.-based Russian long jumper Darya Klishina to compete at the Rio Olympics when the rest of the Russian team was banned.I would be very grateful if you review my individual request for entry to the Paralymmpic Games in such exceptional circumstances or, alternatively, describe me conditions upon which my participation in Rio Games would be possible, the letter states.dddddddddddd. In the event of a refusal, the athletes say they may request a ruling from the Court of Arbitration for Sport.On Thursday, Putin said special competitions will be organized in Russia for banned Paralympic athletes with winners getting the same prizes they would have had from success in Rio. Russia awards cash prizes to Olympic and Paralympic medalists and gave out dozens of BMW luxury cars to its Olympic medalists Thursday.Putin also attacked what he said was political manipulation of sport directed against Russia, whose team was reduced to a single athlete in track and field and banned entirely from weightlifting at the Olympics. That came after World Anti-Doping Agency investigations detailed widespread doping and evidence that senior sports ministry officials allegedly covered up hundreds of doping cases.You came through a tough test with honor, Putin told a room full of Olympic gold medalists. We know how difficult it was for our athletes in Rio. Ahead of the competition, the team was cut by almost a third, and was deprived of the chance to show what it can do in sports where Russia is traditionally considered one of the favorites. But our team, you, my friends, coped with all the difficulties, competed as a united team.Russia was fourth in the medal count with 56 medals, 19 of them gold.Earlier, Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko appeared to cast doubt on the achievements of second-placed Britain, suggesting it had won medals in Rio thanks to its lobbying power.Look at the comparative growth in results of some countries, such as Britain. I dont want to accuse them of anything, he said in comments reported by the state R-Sport agency. And look at the leadership of all the sports institutions. There are only British and Canadians there.Britain won 67 medals in Rio, with 27 golds, in its best performance for more than a century. ' ' '