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RIO DE JANEIRO -- At times, Victoria Lovelady has to pause to take it all in. The Olympic Games are in her home country of Brazil, golf has returned to the Olympics for the first time since 1904, and she was fortunate enough to qualify.Although the mens tournament is being played this week at the Olympic Golf Course, Lovelady, 29, was on site to practice and play, one of the neat aspects to the event that saw a smattering of the women at the venue Monday.Adding to the experience was the fact that Lovelady was asked to play a practice round with Germanys Martin Kaymer and Spains Rafael Cabrera-Bello.Oh my goodness, Lovelady gushed prior to hitting off the 10th tee. When I found out the Olympics was going to be in Brazil and that golf was coming back, it became part of my daily mental routine. There was not one day I didnt think about the Olympics. I was finishing college at the time.My whole motivation to turn pro after college was based on the Olympics. I was ready to turn pro and pursue my dream of playing in the Olympics. Its been a huge goal for me.Lovelady, who played college golf at USC when she went by her maiden name Victoria Alimonda, is a perfect example of how golfs return to the Olympics has been an inspiration. Lovelady has yet to make the LPGA Tour in two tries and this year is competing on the Ladies European Tour, where travel is difficult and purses are sparse..@RickieFowler and @vic_brasil_golf hammed it up after practice round @Rio2016_en on Sunday. pic.twitter.com/nsz4MKsYxL- USA GOLF (@USAGolf) August 8, 2016But she kept after it because of the Olympics, and scrambled to earn world ranking points when it was coming down to the wire for qualification last month. Only one Brazilian golfer was guaranteed a spot in the field (same for the men), so Lovelady was not a lock. She was running close to the other Brazilian golfer in the womens field, Miriam Nagl, and in the end they both made it.It was a super adventure, said Lovelady, who will begin the competition on Aug. 17. All because of the importance I gave to the Olympics being in Brazil, golf coming back to my country. I dont know what Id be doing with myself right now if I wasnt here. For the past year, every day somebody asked me, Are you going to the Olympics? I thought, My God, Ive got to be there. Not only for my personal goal but also the whole vibe around me. And being one of the only Brazilians on tour. That topic was a hot question.Lovelady took up golf at age 12 due to the influence of her grandfather and father, who was the rare person in Brazil who was a member of a private club. She earned a scholarship to USC after spending time in California as an exchange student, where I was able to study and play golf at the same time, she said. Brazil has some 200 million people but only about 20,000 golfers. You have to have a golf tradition in your family, she noted, something Lovelady said she hopes the Olympics will help change.The Olympic Golf Course, which she described as one of the best courses Ive played in my life, is the first public course ever in Rio. The course is brand-new and was built especially for then Games. How it is treated, and how the public has access to it after the Olympics, will go a long way toward more people becoming interested in the game.There will be more curiosity, more access, she said. I hope it opens up more opportunities.For now, Lovelady is taking advantage of hers. Monday was the last day she could practice on the course until next Monday, two days prior to the first round of the womens competition.But the women are allowed to use all of the practice facilities here throughout the week. And it will be a time to enjoy everything that comes with it.The opening ceremony was literally the best moment of my life, she said. It was beautiful. To be able to be received by so many people in my country. We were singing the anthem and chanting. And one of the cool things was I saw my dad in the first row. He called out my name and all of a sudden I see him, and hes hugging me. He played such an important role in my athletic life.And that would not have happened if the Olympics were somewhere else.Jordan 4 For Sale Cheap . The injury bothered Bledsoe in the Suns victory over the Clippers on Monday and he sat out the teams home loss to Memphis on Thursday night. Jordan 11 Cheap China .J. Ellis hit two-run homers and the NL West champion Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the San Diego Padres 4-0 Saturday night. http://www.wholesalejordan11.com/discount-jordan-11.html . The team said Saturday that Lopez was hurt during its 121-120 overtime loss at Philadelphia on Friday. The Nets said they would issue another update next week after consultation with their doctors. Air Jordan 6 Clearance . But by the time the game started, the Toronto Raptors forward felt even worse. And, for three quarters, it showed as Gay shot a woeful three-for-13 from the field. Affordable Jordans For Sale . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter.CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Wake Forest coach Danny Manning is ready to face No. 3 Villanova, even if hes fairly certain his Demon Deacons wont have a similar offensive outburst as they did to run past UTEP.John Collins scored a career-high 24 points and Bryant Crawford had 20 in Wake Forests 103-81 victory, the first time in eight years it surpassed the century mark in a game.Shots fell early and often as the Demon Deacons, 3-0 for the first time since 2013-14, took a double-digit lead early and were rarely pressed by UTEP (1-1). Next up, though, are the national champion Wildcats with a spot in the Charleston finals on the line.Were excited, Manning said. Its the chance to play, rightfully so, one of the teams that higher ranked in the country.And one that will do its best to ensure Wake Forest doesnt shoot almost 60 percent from the field as it did against UTEP (35 of 59, 59.3 percent).Its going to be a challenge, but its something we welcome, Manning said. Well see where were at.Wake Forest put things away with a torrid first half where it went 13 of 20 from behind the arc. Dinos Mitgolou had four 3-pointers while Austin Arians, Mitchell Wilbekin, Crawford and Keyshawn Woods each had two the first 20 minutes.I dont think we were close (defensively) on any of those shots, said UTEPs frustrated coach, Tim Floyd.UTEP (1-1) plays Western Michigan, which fell to Villanova in the eight-team tournaments first game, on Friday in the consolation round.The Demon Deacons led 63-44 lead at the break, the first time they had reached 60 points or more in half since the 2008-09 season when it accomplished that against UNC Wilmington. That was also the last game they finished with 100 points or more, defeating the Seahawks 120-88.Wake Forest couldnt quite gget that many, but did more than enough to move past UTEP.ddddddddddddCollins, at 6-foot-10, made nine of 10 shots -- all in the second half -- including several jams to break his previous high of 19 set last November against Bucknell.Mitgolou finished with 18 points and Keyshawn Woods 16 for Wake Forest. Dominic Artis led UTEP with 24 points.BIG PICTUREWake Forest wants to run and did so at will against the Miners. Things will get considerably tougher against Villanova, the national champions known for its in-your-face defense.UTEP had few answers to slow down the Deacons. Artis did his share, hitting three 3-pointers. The team, though was 5 of 14 from behind the arc with many of the misses triggering the Wake Forest transition game.CHANGING GEARSManning like his teams outside touch early on. But at halftime, he stressed to his players about looking for the Deacons big men, Collins and Mitgolou down low and give them touches. The result was Collins big performance, something the team will look to duplicate against Villanova. Its going to tell us where we are and what we need to do, Crawford said.LACKING DEFENSEUTEP coach Tim Floyd had nothing good to say about his teams defense. He said his team did not rebound well or slow Wake Forests transition game. Evidence? We shot 60 percent (18 of 30) in the first half were down 19, Floyd said.UP NEXTWake Forest will face No. 3 Villanova on Friday with the winner advancing to Sunday nights championship game.UTEP will take on Western Michigan on Friday in the consolation round.---More AP college basketball: www.collegebasketball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 ' ' '