discussions.Ultimately, having a great comp

Rangers manager Mark Warburton was delighted with his sides performance in a 4-3 win over a Tottenham XI in a behind-closed-doors friendly at Hotspur Way on Wednesday. Warburton and his players were given the hospitality of Spurs state-of-the-art training facility near Enfield as they prepare for next Saturdays Scottish Cup final against Hibernian, live on Sky Sports 1HD.The Spurs side was mainly made up of youth players and returning loanees, but Warburton insists they provided a tough test in good conditions. First-half goals from Dean Shiels and James Tavernier put the visitors 2-0 up at the interval before Spurs hit back after the break, but Martyn Waghorn and Nicky Clark sealed victory for the Gers.Warburton told www.rangers.co.uk: Spurs were excellent hosts for us and their hospitality was superb. The playing surface for the match was outstanding and it was a really good test for us.We were really good in the first half and I was delighted with our intensity and tempo. We scored a couple and looked in good shape.In the second half, Spurs responded to our first half and posed us a different challenge, but I thought it was really beneficial for all the players and staff, and I am so thankful to Spurs for their warmth of welcome.They were a really technically gifted team, as all the Spurs teams are. It was a really good test for us and I am delighted with it.Warburton was especially pleased with another successful run-out for top-scorer Waghorn, who recently returned from injury, but admits the break between the final game of the season and the cup final is a learning curve for the club.Martyn did really well but so did all of the boys that played today. We got good pitch time, and that was really, really pleasing for us, Warburton said. Martyn Waghorn got another successful run out following his recent return from injury From my point of view its about how we fill in these three weeks, and we have to learn from it given we have a winter break coming up next season.We have to look at how best we use the time and what we can do. In general, though, I am really, really pleased with the way in which our players have responded this time.We have to look at it, though - Hibs have a very active game schedule - so we have to see what way best prepares our players - whats right, whats wrong and what best poses them a challenge.Rangers (4-3-3): Foderingham; Tavernier, Kiernan, Wilson, Wallace; Halliday, Holt (Thompson), Shiels (Law); McKay (OHalloran), Miller (Clark), Waghorn (King) Also See: Rangers video Rangers fixtures Rangers stats Sky Bet Club Cheap New York Rangers Jerseys .Y. -- Syracuse has turned up the defence at the right time all season, and when High Point threatened to pull off a monumental upset the second-ranked Orange did what they do best with their quick hands and savvy play. Cheap Rangers Jerseys China . A forerunning sled crashed into the worker Thursday at the Sanki Sliding Center. The unidentified worker broke both legs and was airlifted to a nearby hospital. http://www.cheapnewyorkrangersjerseys.com/ . "Trying to breathe," he said with a grin. Bernier stopped 42 of 43 shots on Monday night, including all 22 in a hectic middle frame, his heroic performance propelling the Leafs toward an undue point in their final game before the Christmas break. Cheap Rangers Jerseys Authentic . The players spoke Jan. 13 during a Major League Baseball Players Association conference call after Rodriguez sued the union and Major League Baseball to overturn an arbitrators decision suspending him for the 2014 season and post-season. Cheap Rangers Jerseys . At a Manhattan federal court hearing, attorney Jordan Siev said his law office has gotten more evidence nearly every day to support its lawsuit accusing MLB and Selig of going on a "witch hunt" to ruin Rodriguezs reputation and career. He said the defendants went "way over the line. RIO DE JANEIRO -- The light was just right Tuesday morning at the Olympic Golf Course, and the man who designed the layout figured it was a good time to try to take some photos.Gil Hanse spotted two-time major champion Martin Kaymer playing down the first fairway and thought, Wow, were actually here. Theyre actually playing our golf course.Im not sure if that is the point where it really hit me, but I think that is the point where the pride really started to flow.Hanse, 53, was the surprise choice for the Olympic Golf Course project, his Gil Hanse Golf Design company beating out industry heavyweights such as Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman, Gary Player, Martin Hawtree, Robert Trent Jones Jr., Peter Thomson and Tom Doak.And there is no way he could have known back in March 2012, when the contract was awarded, what was ahead.Environmental issues. A land dispute. Construction delays. As much as all of the Olympic Games in Brazil have been affected by various problems and negativity, so, too, was the golf course.Had the 2016 Olympics been awarded to, say, Chicago, there would have been numerous choices to stage the Olympic tournament. Not so here, where just two courses existed in Rio; neither is public or suitable for a major golf competition.The new course was built in the Barra da Tijuca section of Rio within a natural reserve on sandy-based terrain that provides excellent drainage and a links-like feel. There are virtually no trees on the property, so wind will be a factor. Only a lagoon separates the course from the Atlantic Ocean.What struck me was how little dirt he really moved, Ty Votaw, an executive with the PGA Tour who is also vice president of the International Golf Federation, told ESPN.com. He really built a golf course that rolled with the terrain he was presented with. Because of this location, seaside, it has a links feel to it. But he designed something that fit really well into the landscape and topography.Players such as Sergio Garcia and Rickie Fowler both noted its Australia-like qualities, especially the sand belt region near Melbourne, where the courses are known for the links-like, sandy-based terrain.We talked to Gil earlier today and told him how much we appreciated what he did here, said Bubba Watson, the top-ranked American in the field. Its beautiful. The layout is unbelievable. Couldnt ask for anything more.For the mens tournament that begins Thursday, the course will measure 7,128 yards (6,245 yards for the womens event, which starts Aug. 17) and play to par-71. It has four par-5s and five par-3s.The finishing holes offer the chance for drama with a drivable par-4 at the 16th, the par-3 17th, and then a reachable par-5 18th.One of the reasons Hanse was selected for the job was he was willing to relocate to Rio from his home in Malvern, Pennsylvania. All of the applicants were offered a set fee of $300,000, well below market value; Hanses design group could easily expect to earn double that and likely triple now that hes had the exposure that comes with the Olympic project. Designers such as Nicklaus and Norman routinely command seven-figure design fees. (Nicklaus later offered to waive the design fee, believing the Olympic project was so important to the game.)Hanse had also been awarded the task of revamping the Blue Monster course at Doral, owned by Donald Trump. He also designed Castle Stuart, where the Scottish Open was played last month; did an overhaul of Los Angeles Country Club; made alterations at TPC Bostonn, site of the Deutsche Bank Championship.dddddddddddd And he recently completed a third course at Streamsong Resort in Florida.But seven months into a planned yearlong stay in Brazil -- with his wife and a daughter who was close to college age -- Hanse realized the process was going to take much longer.He moved back home, then took numerous trips to Brazil, spending 10 to 14 days at a time, overseeing the construction. Delays became worrisome because a test event was supposed to be played a year ago (the course was not ready) and a new course needs time to grown in and soften.I was really delighted how quickly the course matured once it was grassed, said Peter Dawson, the IGF president and former long-time CEO of the R&A who along with Votaw served on a four-person committee that picked Hanse for the job. If it had been going on in the U.K., it wouldnt yet be ready. But down here it went quickly.I think he produced a masterpiece, frankly. And hes been a delight to work with. The players Ive spoken to have been very positive. I think theyre all surprised how good it was. I dont think they were sure what they were coming to.Several of the design applicants brought on a woman partner to help strengthen their bid, which is why Nicklaus pitch seemed so formidable when he enlisted Hall of Famer Annika Sorenstam, who dabbles in course design.Not only that, Nicklaus and Sorenstam had been prominent campaigners for golfs inclusion in the Olympics when the sport was awarded a spot in 2009. Norman had Lorena Ochoa on his team, and Thomson worked with another Australian icon, Karrie Webb.Hanse brought on Amy Alcott as a consultant and could not have been happier with her role.Her being in the room I think gave us more credibility having a womens golf Hall of Famer up there, Hanse said. She talked wonderfully about how she got into the game and how much this golf course could provide an opportunity going forward.She also gave Hanse feedback on landing areas, a tricky aspect to the design because the course needed to be championship caliber for both men and women. If the idea is to have a hole play as a driver, 7-iron, for instance, then the tees need to be moved up for the women to hit a 7-iron to the green -- and the landing area also will be in place close to the hole.There are different ways to provide risk-reward without piling hazard after hazard out there, Hanse said. Amy was really good about those type of discussions.Ultimately, having a great competition and tournaments that are remembered and appreciated by Brazilians will be the most important aspect in forming a legacy, Hanse said. Getting them to come here to play the course and embrace golf will be the next great challenge after the Games are complete.For now, Hanse can only watch, his design and all that went into it ready when for so long there were doubts about this day ever arriving.As a designer, you have a certain intuition as to what youve built and how its going to play, he said. I feel really good about what we built and I think knowing that the conditioning is where it is ... looking at the weather, the wind is going to blow, well get wind from different directions ... I think the golf course will be shown off in its best light. And thats good.But dont get me wrong; on Thursday morning Ill be shaking like a leaf, nervous and excited at the same time. ' ' '