MELBOURNE, Australia - Defending champion Adam Scott stayed in contention at the Australian Masters on Friday with a 4-under 68 to leave him six shots off the lead after two rounds at Metropolitan Golf Club. Cheap Authentic Jerseys 2020 .Leader Michael Wright shot a 68 Friday for a 36-hole total of 9-under 135, two strokes ahead of fellow Australian Paul Spargo on a crowded leaderboard.Scott, who was tied for 12th, has won the last two Australian Masters, also at Melbourne sand-belt courses — Royal Melbourne last year and Kingston Heath in 2012.His playing partner, 2006 U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy, was five strokes behind after a 71.All three Americans made the cut — Kyle Stanley was 2 under after a 73, Boo Weekly (72) was even and Zac Blair (75) was 1 over.Scott birdied three of four holes on the front nine, but was frustrated by poor approaches with wedges on the back nine.There were some positive signs early, some putts went in on the front, and I feel like I created some chances, Scott said. It was a bit slow on the back nine, I was disappointed. I have been working on a few things with the wedges, and I may have more work to do.The 40-year-old Wright, who has won three second-tier Australasian PGA events, said he wasnt worried about the players behind him, including Scott.Im not concerned what hes doing, Wright said. Obviously hes a fantastic player and I would expect him to play well over the weekend, but I expect myself to play well, too.Earlier Friday, Golf Australia championship director Trevor Herden said Scott would not be paired with No. 1 Rory McIlroy over the first two rounds of the Australian Open next week at The Australian in Sydney.McIlroy birdied the 18th hole at Royal Sydney last year to win the title and prevent No. 2 Scott from winning the so-called Australian Triple Crown — the Masters, PGA and Open.Scott said two weeks ago hed like to be paired with McIlroy over the opening rounds.Its very tempting, but there are several considerations when pairing the strongest world-class players, Herden said. Just like all the major championships do, we will spread out the superstars across the draw to ensure as many people as possible see them. China Jerseys 2020 .Y. - Rob Manfred was promoted Monday to Major League Baseballs chief operating officer, which may make him a candidate to succeed Bud Selig as commissioner. Cheap Jerseys 2020 . And theyre pointing to the NHLs biggest market: Toronto. With Gretzky paid out for what is believed to be $7 to 8 million, Gretzky may be eager to get back into the NHL and TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reports that the Maple Leafs are very much interested in The Great Ones services. http://www.wholesalejerseysreview.com/ . The Canadiens captain, who underwent surgery on his injured biceps in the off-season, had been skating with the team in a non-contact capacity since last week.McLaren boss Ron Dennis says his team deserve no higher than a five out of ten grade for their performances in 2016. Although vastly improved from their humiliating nadir of 2015, when the fallen superpowers only finished above a points-less Manor in the Constructors Championship, McLaren have still failed to reach the podium this year, the second of their renewed partnership with Honda.Despite the best efforts of their all-champion driver line-up, Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso, McLaren look set to end the year just sixth out of eleven in the standings - an improvement of sorts but hardly a satisfactory return for a team of McLarens title-winning calibre. About a five, admitted Dennis upon being asked to grade his teams year out of ten. Were just not good enough. We are here to win races and were not winning races - but we are going in the right direction.But it is McLarens starting position at the start of 2017 following the sports regulations reset which is now concentrating minds at both Woking, where McLaren are based, and at Hondas factory headquarters in Sakura.Our new engine is running on the dyno now and thats several months earlier than our engine last year, revealed Dennis. We are well advanced on the car and making really good steps. As everyone will have been telling you, the cars will be four, maybe five to six seconds faster, and I think thats when the great drivers will start to excel. McLarens anticipated 2017 competitiveness is just one of the questions hanging over the team. Fake Nike NFL Jerseys. Another is their 2018 driver line-up after McLaren appointed Stoffel Vandoorne to partner Alonso next year while simultaneously agreeing a new two-year deal with Button.The Englishman has been at pains to insist that he is not retiring from F1 but many in the paddock suspect Button is entering the final months of his F1 career.Dennis, however, is not one of them.We all get a little mentally weary, and for a driver it is physical and mental, and Id like to see how he is in about four months time.I think he will be pretty bored, l think he will be hungry again, and l think the opportunity for him to come back exists.We want him to be fully involved in all things we are developing and so we needed to close off the opportunity of that data going to another team. So wanting him to be involved meant having him under contract for 2018 - and thats what we have done. Its difficult to predict what is going to happen in 2018. But I dont think having three great drivers is a bad problem to have. I will worry about the decision as and when it has to be taken.You can watch Englands tour of Bangladesh, plus Premier League football and the British Masters on Sky Sports. Upgrade now and enjoy three months at half price! Also See: McLarens 2016 results The Formula 1 Gossip column ' ' '