The final major championship of the golfing calendar begins on Thursday with the Evian Championship, which finds two of the brightest stars in the womens game at the head of the list of contenders.Lydia Ko of New Zealand, who is the top-ranked player in the world, returns to the Evian Resort Golf Club near Paris, where she captured her first major championship a year ago. When she returned for a practice round this past Sunday, a host of memories came to light.When I first played the 18th hole on Sunday, this past Sunday, a lot of memories (came back), Ko said. Walking down the 18th on that last day, it was so much more than I could have ever imagined it. To know that I had a lead coming down the last hole so that I could have a little bit of a breathing room. I think was great. It just brought a lot of great memories.Kos own recollections of that memorable Sunday afternoon remain vivid.To remember all the seats by the green to be all full of people, for people to cheer our final group on, and the double whammy tears and the New Zealand flag, theres so many great things about this event, she said. ... but its just really hard to choose one best one because every moment really stood out to me.Ko and Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand rank one and two, respectively, in the world rankings as well as the battle for the Rolex Player of the Year Award. Jutanugarn, who has a tour-leading five victories this season, is once again planning to leave her drive out of her bag.I tried to hit driver on Monday, she said, but Im not really (feeling) comfortable because this course is really narrow and its not that long to me to hit driver, so no driver this week.Several other players are chasing historical milestones this week. Yani Tseng (Taiwan) and Laura Davies (England) each can complete a career grand slam with a victory here. In addition, Karrie Webb (Australia) is trying to win her sixth different major championship.The field also includes Brooke Henderson (Canada), In Gee Chun (South Korea), Carolta Ciganda (Spain), Suzann Pettersen (Norway), Charley Hull (England), Anna Nordqvist (Sweeden) and Stacy Lewis (United States).The golf course will play to 6,470 yards with a par of 71. Athletics Jerseys China . In Europe, top teams seem to be largely happy with their squads after spending nearly $1 billion in the off-season. And although English league clubs are unlikely to splash cash in January, Arsenal and Chelsea could be tempted to strengthen their squads with new strikers. Authentic Custom Athletics Jersey . 1 position. The Mustangs (6-0), who beat Queens 50-31 last weekend, earned 17 first-place votes and 287 points in voting by the Football Reporters of Canada. Western was last ranked first in the country in October 2011. http://www.customathleticsjersey.com/ . Deulofeu injured a muscle in his right leg in Evertons 4-1 win over Fulham in the English Premier League on Saturday. Barcelona says that its team doctors will "co-ordinate" with Evertons medical staff as Deulofeu recovers. Custom Athletics Jersey China . Los Angeles star goalie survived those perilous gymnastics with no problem, and he eventually backstopped the Kings to a skid-snapping win. Quick stopped 27 shots in his return from a 24-game injury absence, Jeff Carter scored the tiebreaking goal with 7:55 to play, and the Kings snapped their five-game losing streak with a 3-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night. Custom Athletics T-shirts . -- Running backs Darren McFadden and Rashad Jennings were back at practice for the Oakland Raiders on Wednesday despite being hampered by hamstring injuries. MASON, Ohio -- Angelique Kerber has a chance to become No. 1 at the Western & Southern Open. The mens bracket is wide open, too, providing an opportunity for someone outside the Big Four to claim a Masters title.Its a week for the up-and-comers.Two-time defending champion Serena Williams pulled out of the tournament with an inflamed shoulder, making it possible for Kerber to overtake her in the rankings. She would move up to No. 1 by winning the tournament for the first time.Williams has been in the top spot for 183 consecutive weeks, the second longest such stretch in WTA history.Theres a long way to go, Kerber said Tuesday. Im not thinking about that. Somebody told me about that, but Im trying not to listen.Everyone dreams about being No. 1. It would be amazing. I would give everything to reach that goal.The mens bracket provides an opportunity for second-tier players to move up for a week. Defending champion Roger Federer and top-ranked Novak Djokovic are sidelined by injuries, and Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal are still recovering from hectic weeks at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The four of them have accounted for 54 of the last 58 Masters titles.Theres a chance for somebody else to get a Masters trophy on Sunday.I played 23 hours in seven days, Nadal said Tuesday, referring to his Olympics stay. My body is a little bit tired. Obviously its going to be tough.Rain repeatedly interrupted the first full day of matches on Tuesday, although none of the top-ranked plaayers was in action.ddddddddddddKerber opens play on Wednesday, trying to extend a successful season that includes the Australian Open championship, a Wimbledon final and a silver medal in Rio.That was a special week, Kerber said of the Olympics. I had a lot of experiences. The atmosphere was different than a normal tournament. I had a great week. I won a medal. That was my goal.Nadal had a lot of fun in Rio but came away running on fumes.The 30-year-old Spaniard missed two months with an injured left wrist and returned in Rio, where he reached the semifinals in singles -- a good showing given how much time he was away from the court. Hes hoping to get in more matches in Cincinnati to get ready for the U.S. Open without aggravating the wrist.It was not an easy injury and it still bothers me a little bit, Nadal said.Murray beat Juan Martin del Potro in a wild, four-set match for his second Olympic gold medal on Sunday, leaving him drained. Then came the flight directly to Cincinnati -- yes, he brought his medal along.The match against Juan Martin was so up and down, so emotional, physical, Murray said. It was a really, really hard match, one of the hardest matches Ive played.Doing the long trip straight afterward was tough. Hopefully it will be able to rain in the next few days.---AP freelance writer Mark Schmetzer contributed to this report. 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