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ST. ANDREWS -- Wearing a black rain suit and a soft smile, Inbee Park looked calm as ever standing before the imposing Royal & Ancient clubhouse just moments before she teed off Thursday in the Womens British Open. Only after her unsteady round of 3-under 69 did Park reveal perhaps the biggest surprise at St. Andrews. She was nervous. "But then once the round started, and especially playing so good in the first few holes, that really gave me a lot of confidence," Park said. "I didnt feel much pressure when I was playing during the round. Im just glad that its already started and I got the first round under my belt." Park wound up three shots behind Morgan Pressel and Camilla Lennarth of Sweden, a solid start to what should be a fascinating week at the home of golf. Her pursuit of history looked more like a high-speed chase when the 25-year-old South Korean made six birdies in 10 holes. Three poor tee shots, two three-putt bogeys and one double bogey from a pot bunker on the back nine made her realize theres a reason no golfer has ever won four majors in a single year. "Felt like a roller coaster today," Park said. She was only too happy it finally stopped with a 6-foot birdie on the 18th hole, ending a slide during which she dropped four shots in a five-hole span. Pressel, one spot out of making the Solheim Cup team this week, caught a break when the rain and wind never materialized in the afternoon. She made seven birdies in a round of 66 that gave her a share of the lead with Lennarth, who birdied the 18th. Stacy Lewis, the former No. 1 player in womens golf, shot 31 on the tougher back nine for a 67 to be part of a large group that included former U.S. Womens Open champion Na Yeon Choi and Nicole Castrale. Another shot behind were Paula Creamer, Catriona Matthew and Lizette Salas. Those who played early had reason to worry. Lewis was on the 10th tee when she looked over at Park knocking in an 18-foot birdie putt, her fifth of the round. Castrale had not yet teed off when her husband saw a leaderboard with Parks name in a familiar position. "Its amazing, the fact we all possibly can play with history," Castrale said. "Its amazing what shes done to this point, the composure she has. I dont know what she shot today, but Im going to guess shell be in the mix come Sunday." If there were nerves on the first tee for Park, she didnt show it. She opened with a wedge into about 7 feet for birdie, and then she really poured it on with an astounding display of her putting stroke. She rolled in a 30-foot birdie putt on No. 3 with perfect pace. She made an 18-foot birdie on No. 4 and a 35-footer on No. 6. It didnt look as if she would ever miss. Her sixth birdie came at the 10th, when her sand wedge checked up to 5 feet right of the hole. Another birdie. Just like that, there was a feeling of inevitability about this Womens British Open, much as there was for Tiger Woods when he won the British Open for the first time at St. Andrews by eight shots to complete the career Grand Slam in 2000. But not for long. It started with a tee shot into thick grass to the right of the 12th fairway. She saved par with another great putt, this one from 15 feet, but she couldnt save herself much longer. After another poor tee shot on the 13th, she came dangerously close to a large gorse bush. She chipped to 15 feet and made bogey, her first of the day. A delicate pitch-and-run helped her avoid another bogey on the 15th after a third tee shot to the right. Park appeared to be in big trouble when her approach rolled toward the high face of the vetted wall in a pot bunker short of the 16th hole. She considered a shot over the wall toward the flag, but then wisely turned sideways and blasted out to some 90 feet away, her ball about halfway between the flags of No. 2 and No. 16 on the double green. Her first putt wasnt hit nearly hard enough, and her par putt from 15 feet caught the lip. "A little disappointing, but Im glad that Ive done that in the first round instead of the final round," she said. It was only her second double bogey in a major this year. She also three-putted the 17th from 40 feet when her first attempt came up 10 feet short, leading to another three-putt bogey. "I thought that I fixed my problems coming into this week. I was hitting it so good on the practice round and I didnt really miss any balls," Park said. "I thought I was really prepared, but those couple of bad shots really shocked me. I couldnt really concentrate on the greens when I hit those shots. Ive learned my lesson. Good thing Ive got my time to fix that today and tomorrow." Only four months ago, Park and Lewis were battling for No. 1 in the world until the South Korean left everyone in her wake by adding to her collection of majors. The Kraft Nabisco Championship put her in position to take No. 1 away from Lewis, and the playoff win at the LPGA Championship and four-shot win at the U.S. Womens Open brought her to the brink of something grand. Lewis and Karrie Webb were on the 11th tee when they saw Park make another birdie. "We both looked at each other and shook our heads," Lewis said. "We knew she was going to be there, but its like she keeps doing it over and over and over again." Lewis made up ground on the back nine. And when rough weather didnt arrive, plenty of others took aim on the Old Course. Park was tied for 18th on a day in which 73 players broke par. Her biggest test might come if the strong wind arrives before Sunday. Shes not ready to think that far ahead. 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Brady v Manning is a classic sporting rivalry and will be remembered long after both join the Hall of Fame, but in 2016 this is an uneven match up as Peyton Manning struggles to move the ball like he did in his prime.Meanwhile the main event is the one no one is talking about, as the Carolina Panthers take on the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC title game (Sunday 11:30pm, Sky Sports 2). Cam Newton has been in outstanding form this season These are the seasons two best teams, without question. Both have played fast, aggressive offence and disruptive, no-nonsense defence and, unsurprisingly, they are the two most heavily represented franchises in the Pro Bowl. Panthers quarterback Cam Newton is a legitimate dual-threat player; that is, he can throw and run the ball incredibly effectively and always keeps the opposition defence guessing.His opponent, Carson Palmer, is a different type of quality. 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David Johnson (left) has scored 13 touchdowns this season for the Arizona Cardinals The Cardinals have offensive talent of their own, not least the wide receiver core of Larry Fitzgerald, John Brown and Michael Floyd. Palmers success is, certainly in part, due to the speed and athleticism of his three receivers who have combined to place Arizona atop the passing rankings for most yards gained during the regular season. Add in Rookie of the Year candidate running back David Johnson and Palmers weaknesses in his own running game fade into insignificance. Tom Brady could go head to head with Cam Newton in the Super Bowl On the defensive side of the ball, both sides have leaders who will be looking to steal the show.dddddddddddd. 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The Panthers are unbeaten in their last 12 home games. Both coaches are viable Coach of the Year candidates, and it wouldnt be surprising if either quarterback won season MVP either. This game is going to be high intensity, thoroughly unpredictable and well worth staying up for. Also See: Sky Live: Championship games AFC and NFC Championship predictions Osis play-off preview Rivers reveals hoverboard ban ' ' '