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ByDougFerguson TheAssociatedPress HOYLAKE, ENGLAND Rory McIlroy had everything go his way Thurs- day in the British Open. A lovely summer day in England with abundant sunshine and min- imal wind allowed him to attack Royal Liverpool. He made half his six birdies on the par 5s and kept bo- geys off his card. And on the day Ti- ger Woods made a promising return, McIlroy took the lead with a 6-under 66, his best score in nearly two years at a major. Now if he can only find a way to get to the weekend. McIlroy either set himself up for a good run at the claret jug or another dose of Friday failures. In what al- ready has been an unusual year for golf, no trend is more mysterious than Boy Wonder going from awe- some to awful overnight. Six times in his last eight tourna- ments, he has had a nine-hole score of 40 or higher on Friday that has taken him out of the mix. "It's not like I've shot good scores in first rounds and haven't backed them up before," McIlroy said. "I'm used to doing that. I just haven't done it recently. We'll see what tomorrow brings and what weather it is and try and handle it as best I can. "Hopefully," he said, "it's just one of those things and I'm able to turn it around tomorrow." Woods also would like to keep moving in the right direction. He got off to a troubling start with two quick bogeys, nearly made another one on the fourth hole, and then looked like a 14-time major cham- pion when he ran off five birdies in six holes toward the end of his round for a 69. Not bad for a guy who had back surgery March 31, who started tak- ing full swings only a month ago and who had not played in a major in 11 months. "It felt good to be back out there competing again," Woods said. Such pristine weather — how long it lasts is the big unknown — gave just about everyone a chance to score. Matteo Manassero broke par in The Open for the first time since he was a 16-year-old amateur. He began his round by hitting into a BRITISH OPEN GOLF McIlroy,Woodsdeliverinfirstroundonsunnyday With6-under66toopen, McIlroy holds lead; Tiger cards 69 in solid round PETERMORRISON—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland plays out of a bunker on the 16th hole during the first day of the British Open Golf championship Thursday at the Royal Liverpool golf club in Hoylake, England. The Red Bluff Little League so ball Major All-Stars won the District 1 championship July 3. The team includes Riana Zepeda, Regan Parkinson, Bailey Diggs, Aliyah Hethcoat, Faith Tatro, Karli Rainwater, Mac Clement, Cassie Drury, Emma Peterson, Taylor Sousa and Alycia Mackey. LITTLE LEAGUE SOFTBALL DISTRICT CHAMPS Red Bluff Major All-Stars win District 1 tournament championship earlier this month Thousands of Israeli soldiers invaded the Gaza Strip on Thursday, escalating a 10- day military operation to try to destroy Hamas' weapons arsenal, rocket firing abilities and tunnels under the border. MIDDLE EAST IsraelinvadesGaza a er truce rejected FULLSTORYONPAGEB3 The 37th annual Lions All-Star Football Game is scheduled for Saturday at Shasta Col- lege. The 8-man game is at 5p.m. and the 11-man game following at 7:30p.m. Tickets benefit Camp McCumber. FOOTBALL Lions All-Star games set for Saturday Red Bluff Roller Derby will hold a car wash and bake sale 10a.m. to 2p.m. Saturday at Tom's Glass and Muffler. Get your car washed by your favor- ite Derby girl for a suggested donation of $5. ROLLER DERBY Car wash and bake sale scheduled for Saturday The San Francisco 49ers announced Thursday a er opening new Levi's Stadium that le tackle Joe Staley has signed a two-year contract extension that will run through the 2019season. NFL 49ers give le tackle Staley 2-year extension FULL STORY ON PAGE B2 ERIC RISBERG — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS A groundskeeper drives across the field at Levi's Stadium on Thursday in Santa Clara. The San Francisco 49ers held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially open their new home. By Antonio Gonzalez The Associated Press SANTA CLARA San Francisco 49ers CEO Jed York got a little teary on his drive to Levi's Sta- dium on Thursday. His voice cracked while talking about tak- ing his young son to games at the stadium for years to come. Others had a different reaction upon walking into the building: Wow! With confetti streaming down under a blue sky, the 49ers offi- cially opened the $1.2 billion sta- dium in Santa Clara with a rib- bon-cutting ceremony complete with all the opulence of their new home. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, 49ers coach Jim Har- baugh, linebacker Patrick Willis and left tackle Joe Staley joined York and others on stage to cut the ribbons. They used oversized red scis- sors with gold-colored blades in keeping with team colors. Hard- hat wearing construction work- ers lined the steps in fluorescent yellow jackets as team employees cheered and a fog horn blared. "This is a long time in the making," York said. The stadium's opening put one of the NFL's flagship franchises on firm footing and planted the country's most popular sports league in technology-rich Sili- con Valley for the first time. Goodell called it a milestone for the league. He also added a twist to the ceremony by ad- dressing the looming stadium is- sue just up the road in Oakland, where the Raiders have long been searching for a replacement to the outdated Coliseum. Goodell said it's up to the Raiders to decide whether they want to try to build a stadium in Oakland or share the facility at Levi's Stadium with the 49ers — an idea York has never dis- missed. NFL 49ersopenposh,newhome Levi's Stadium in Silicon Valley befits flagship franchise The Associated Press OAKLAND The Oakland City Council has approved a 10-year lease extension that would keep the Oakland Athletics at the Col- iseum — but with several modifi- cations opposed by A's manage- ment. The San Francisco Chron- icle reports the amendments approved Wednesday do not impact the economics of the deal. Among the changes were a clarification of the notice the team must give the city before it would leave, and the definition of practices relating to parking and other matters. A's president Mike Crowley said the team was disappointed that the council refused to sign off on lease terms that had already been approved by the joint Oakland-Al- ameda County board that oper- ates O.co Coliseum. Crowley said the team would have to review the amended terms. Council President Pat Ker- nighan said she hoped the A's would accept the minor changes sought by the council. Information from: San Fran- cisco Chronicle, http://www.sf- gate.com BASEBALL A's lease approved, but with changes Council president hopes team accepts new terms that it currently opposes GOLF PAGE 2 STADIUM PAGE 2 SPORTS » redbluffdailynews.com Friday, July 18, 2014 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B1