When Annika Sorenstam played in the 2003 Bank of America Colonial amid much fanfare as the first woman to compete in a PGA Tour event since Babe Didrikson Zaharias in 1945, Lexi Thompson was only 8 years old.Ive seen highlights, but I didnt watch too much golf then, Thompson says. I was a little younger and too busy practicing myself.The work paid off. Thompson is 21 now, No. 5 in the Rolex Rankings -- the highest-ranked American golfer -- with seven career LPGA victories, having won her first title in 2011 at the then-record age of 16.Thompsons presence in this weeks Franklin Templeton Shootout, an unofficial PGA Tour team event in Naples, Florida, certainly isnt wrapped with the hype of Sorenstams appearance at Colonial, where she shot 71-74 to miss the 36-hole cut by four strokes while impressing with her skills and grace under pressure.Still, when Thompson tees off with PGA Tour rookie Bryson DeChambeau on Thursday at Tiburon Golf Club in the first round of the 54-hole event, it will be her first time competing against men in this type of scenario. She partnered with DeChambeau in the 36-hole CVS Health Charity Classic earlier this year, tying for sixth in the unofficial event, but played shorter yardages on most holes.A few holes were from the same tees, Thompson says, but for most part they were up.No woman might have a better background for venturing to the back tees in a mens tournament than Thompson, the first LPGA participant at the Franklin Templeton since Sorenstam paired with Fred Couples in 2006. Her two brothers, Curtis, 24, and Nicholas, 33, are professional golfers -- Curtis is on the Web.com Tour, and Nicholas has been on the PGA Tour for a decade -- and she learned how to play alongside her siblings.It helped me out a lot, Thompson says. It made me a lot stronger as a player and as a person. They got me started in the game, and they were always there to help. Growing up with two older brothers who played is the main reason I swing as hard as I do. I always tried to outdrive them, to be able to handle the golf course, and it definitely made me a lot longer.Thompson has been one of the LPGAs most powerful players since joining the tour as a teenager. She averaged 277.40 yards to rank second behind Joanna Klatten (281.37 yards) in driving distance during the 2016 season, the fourth time she has been No. 2 in the category. (Thompson was fourth in 2015.)The length will be needed. Thompsons 2016 drives would have ranked 178th on the PGA Tour. And the demands at Tiburon Golf Club will be much different for Thompson this week than they were in the LPGAs season-ending CME Group Tour Championship. The women play par-72 Tiburon at 6,540 yards; it will measure 7,271 yards on the scorecard for the Shootouts 12 teams in scramble, modified alternate shot and better-ball formats.Its going to be different for her, playing the distance that the men do, says Curtis Thompson. But shes going to embrace whats going on and enjoy it. When she plays a couple of rounds before the tournament starts, shell adapt, shell figure it out. The par 5s and shorter par 4s is where shell succeed, and on the long par 4s and par 3s, Bryson will have to take over.Tiburons front nine, with three par 4s of 440 yards or more, will be a test for Thompson. So will three of the layouts par 3s, which will measure at least 205 yards, something she doesnt encounter on the LPGA.There will be a few holes that definitely can play very hard, that will be tough, says Thompson, who doesnt plan to carry any different clubs to take on the longer set-up. The par 3s will be a good amount longer than in our tournament, and I already have a 6-iron into two of them.Sorenstam and Couples finished last 10 years ago, shooting 18-under 198, 13 strokes behind the winning team of Jerry Kelly-Rod Pampling. The intimidation factor never really went away because theyre such good ball strikers, Sorenstam told reporters of competing with men at the end of the 2006 Shootout, which occurred during a decade when women were getting opportunities to test their games as Zaharias had in the 1930s and 1940s.A couple of months after Sorenstam played at Colonial, Connecticut teaching professional Suzy Whaley was in the field at the Greater Hartford Open. Michelle Wie, only 14, played in the 2004 Sony Open in Hawaii, the first of 14 tournaments in which she competed against men on a handful of pro tours. Se Ri Pak and Laura Davies also made appearances in mens tournaments, Pak tying for 10th in a 2003 event in South Korea.Thompson, who got the Shootout invitation from tournament host Greg Norman, vows to enjoy the experience playing with DeChambeau, 23, who approaches golf like a physics class and in 2015 became only the fifth player to win the mens NCAA individual championship and U.S. Amateur in the same year.I dont look at it as pressure. Overall, its to have fun, Thompson says. I think its good for the LPGA to have someone out there playing out there playing against the men, and it will bring a bigger fan base to the LPGA. It was a huge honor to be invited. People on tour have been encouraging and theyre excited.Regardless of how Thompson fares in this different environment, the appearance is unlikely to shake up her career path too much.I really havent had an interest, she says of playing in an official mens event. My only interest is if my brothers are playing and if the golf course suited my game well. The LPGA competition makes it hard enough to win. China Shoes Cheap .com) - The game was all punts and field goals before Kodi Whitfields catch. China Shoes Wholesale . If ever they start actually putting pictures beside words in the dictionary, the Blue Jays left-handers mug will appear beside “Consistency. https://www.chinashoesshop.com/ . John Lucas, signed as a mentor for rookie Trey Burke, showed he can score if required, scoring 12 points of his 16 points in the second quarter as Utah built an 18-point lead. Fake China Shoes . Collaros, 25, was solid last season, posting a 5-2 record as the starter while incumbent Ricky Ray was injured. Collaros also started Torontos 23-20 regular-season finale loss to Montreal — Ray didnt dress because the Argos had already clinched first in the East Division — but was one of three quarterbacks to play that day. China Shoes Jordans . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. (STATS) -- Lightning held up the start of North Carolina A&Ts game at Kent State for more than two hours Saturday night, but the biggest strike basically occurred after midnight.N.C. A&T upset Kent State 39-36 in four overtimes -- the Aggies first win over an FBS opponent. Not surprisingly, they climbed in the STATS FCS Top 25 on Monday, moving up five spots to No. 18.This is big for the program, the athletics department and the school as a whole, N.C. A&T coach Rod Broadway said after the win. To do it in four overtimes is really something because I thought they would eventually wear us down because of their scholarship advantage.North Dakota State remained No. 1 in the rankings after the five-time reigning FCS champion earned its second straight overtime win to start the season. Richmond was No. 2 and Sam Houston State, Jacksonville State and Illinois State followed in the top five.FCS teams have notched seven wins over FBS teams in the first two full weeks of action. Most have been reserved for the larger FCS conferences, with two teams from both CAA Football and the Missouri Valley claiming wins and the Big Sky and Ohio Valley gaining one each. But N.C. A&T also carved one out for the smaller MEAC, giving it a 2-0 record while the other 10 teams in the conference have combined for only one victory.The Aggies FBS win was more than a bit improbable as Broadway turned to third-string quarterback Oluwafemi Bamiro after replacing his starter and having the backup get injured. In overtime, the fifth-year senior threw two touchdowns and rushed for one. After Kent State kicked a field goal on the opening possession of the fourth OT, A&T ended the game on Bamiros 15-yard TD strike to Denzel Keyes.N.C. A&T, winner of the inaugural Celebration Bowl last year, had lost its three previous games against the FBS by an average of 39.7 points. The Aggies will try to make it two in a row on Saturday when they visit Tulsa of the American Athletic Conference.North Dakota State (2-0) takes a five-game winning streak against the FBS to Iowa on Saaturday.dddddddddddd Coach Chris Kliemans Bison beat Eastern Washington 50-44 in overtime this past weekend. They collected 151 of the 169 first-place votes in the poll.Richmond (2-0), which defeated Norfolk State 34-0, received the other 18 first-place votes. Sam Houston State (1-0) moved up one spot to No. 3 following a bye, Jacksonville State (1-1) also gained a spot after a 34-13 loss to SEC power LSU, and Illinois State (2-0) moved up four spots following its 9-7 upset at Northwestern from the Big Ten.Chattanooga (2-0) remained at No. 6 and was followed in the Top 10 by Montana (2-0), Eastern Washington (1-1), South Dakota State (1-1) and Northern Iowa (1-1).James Madison (2-0), which has scored 135 points in two easy wins, checked in at No. 11, followed by Charleston Southern (1-2), William & Mary (1-1), McNeese (1-1), The Citadel (2-0), Western Illinois (2-0), Coastal Carolina (2-0), N.C. A&T, Portland State (1-1) and Youngstown State (1-1).Rounding out the Top 25 were No. 21 Villanova (1-1), New Hampshire (1-1), Colgate (0-1), Northern Arizona (0-2), and Albany (2-0), which moved into the rankings for the first time since Oct. 27, 2014.Albanys inclusion helped CAA Football join the Missouri Valley with a poll-best six teams each. Nine conferences have at least one ranked team.North Dakota fell out of the Top 25 after suffering its second straight close defeat.A national panel of sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries select the STATS FCS Top 25. In the voting, a first-place vote is worth 25 points, a second-place vote 24 points, all the way down to one point for a 25th-place vote.The Top 25 is released every Monday afternoon during the regular season, except for Sunday morning, Nov. 20, prior to the selection of the 24-team FCS playoff field. A final Top 25 will follow the FCS championship game, which will be held Jan. 7 in Frisco, Texas. ' ' '