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ByDougFerguson TheAssociatedPress LOS ANGELES The road to the Masters starts on the other side of the country for Rory McIlroy. McIlroy has heard enough of Riviera that he decided to play the Northern Trust Open for the first time, and 27 holes over the last two days have left him con- vinced that it was a smart move and that it was worth it to add one more event to a busy sched- ule. He is playing five of the next six weeks, and every field will be among the strongest in golf for this time of the year. "I think the Masters at this point of the year is on pretty much everyone's mind," McIlroy said Wednesday. "You're build- ing up to it. You've got some great events between now and then, but obviously I'd love my game to be in peak shape for Au- gusta in April." McIlroy has played twice this year, a tie for third in Abu Dhabi and a tie for sixth in Dubai, and typically waits until the Florida swing to get into gear. Instead, he tees it up Thurs- day off Sunset Boulevard with a field that has five of the top eight in the world, starting with Jor- dan Spieth at No. 1. The Honda Classic next week in Florida is expected to have a strong field, and then Doral will bring to- gether the top three — Spieth, Jason Day and McIlroy — for the first time since September. McIlroy also is scheduled to play at Bay Hill and then the Match Play for the top 64 in the world. "It's going to be a great stretch of golf," he said. "I think the guys that are up at the top PGA TOUR McIlroybeginshisroadtotheMasters World's No. 3 ranked golfer decides to play in Northern Trust Open for first time in career KAMRANJEBREILI—THEASSOCIATEDPRESSFILE The road to the Masters starts on the other side of the country for Rory McIlroy, who has decided to play the Northern Trust Open for the first time. By Jenna Fryer The Associated Press DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. NAS- CAR's new charter system was introduced as a monumental moment in auto racing — a tri- umphant merger between a one- time dictatorship and a group of team owners finally organized enough to demand their fair share of the financials. The franchise-type model in- troduced days before teams ar- rived at Daytona International Speedway has been celebrated for a series wracked with in- stability because of an inde- pendent-contractor model that forced competitors to heavily rely on sponsorship. Now the owners are guaran- teed a bigger chunk of the pot and 36 slots in the field every week. The drivers? Well, most aren't so certain how good of a deal this is for their bottom line. "I think anyone would like to know before the terms of their employment change, but that is not the situation," Brad Kesel- owski said. "I am aware of the fact that I am a race car driver, and no matter what happens, I am still going to be OK. I am not looking for anyone to feel bad for me. On the other side, it is not ideal. "It would be like if your em- ployer just said, 'Hey, don't worry about it, you will get paid.' That is kind of where most ev- ery driver is." The charter system has com- pletely overhauled how drivers will be paid. Drivers typically negotiated individual contracts with team owners in which they were promised specific salaries and percentages of each week's purse. The new system has set aside a fixed portion of the purse for the 36 charter teams, and an additional portion that goes to charter teams based on a per- formance scale. Starting with last weekend's exhibition race at Daytona, the race winnings and total purse were not pub- licized as had been the norm. NASCAR had touted transpar- ency in the charter agreement, but now the public — and some drivers — won't know how prize money was distributed. Drivers said that when the final charter deal was signed by NASCAR and team owners, the language surrounding their method of pay differed from what they had been led to be- lieve. Most are now scrambling to renegotiate the driver com- pensation part of their con- tracts. "I think that everyone will have to have something redone within their contract," Denny Hamlin said. "There's verbiage in stuff that has changed how drivers get paid from the purse. There's not one common stan- dard that one driver or team of- fers that's going to be the same. It's up to the individual driver and owner to work out those de- tails." Many weren't concerned about ultimately finding a fair solution with their respective owners. Some weren't pleased with the timing. "Everybody knew there was going to be some contrac- tual stuff that we had to work NASCAR SPRINT CUP Newcharterscreate puzzlingpaytodrivers New system has set aside fixed portion of purse for charter teams, plus bonuses PHOTOS BY JOHN RAOUX — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Drivers Brian Scott, le , and Dale Earnhardt Jr. talk between interviews during NASCAR media day at Daytona International Speedway on Tuesday in Daytona Beach, Florida. Jimmie Johnson talks with reporters during NASCAR media day at Daytona International Speedway on Tuesday in Daytona Beach. DAYTONA500 Sunday: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, 10a.m., TV on FOX. TUNEIN Staff Reports CORNING The Corning Cardinals held off the last-place Central Val- ley Falcons on Tuesday night at home, 62-56, to remain unbeaten in the Northern Athletic League standings. It was all Corning early and the Cardinals went into the half up 28-16. The Falcons wouldn't go quietly, though, outscoring the Cardinals in both the third and fourth quarters to chip away at the lead. It wouldn't be enough in the end. Noah Zoppi led the Cardinals with 16 points, five rebounds and two assists; Brendan Hoag had 15 points, eight rebounds, three as- sists and a steal; Wyatt Haydon went 2-for-3 from beyond the arc and had nine points, two re- bounds and two assists and Co- rey Busta had eight points, eight rebounds and three assists. Cal- vin Ware had nine rebounds and a steal. The Cardinals (20-5 overall, 9-0 league) are scheduled to finish the regular season at 7:30 p.m. Friday on the road against the Anderson Cubs (15-10 overall, 4-5 league). WARRIORS 73, BULLDOGS 48 The Mercy Warriors won big Tuesday night over the Los Molinos Bull- dogs, 73-48. The teams matched up well the first period, which ended with the Warriors up 15-14, but the War- riors caught fire in the second and third periods and built a lead of 64-32. The Bulldogs put up 16 in the final frame, but the deficit was too big. Nick Ornelas was selected player of the game with 20 points, three rebounds, five assists and five steals. Teddy Ranberg had 16 points, seven rebounds, six assists and two steals; Travis Gorden had 10 points, 13 rebounds and two BOYS BASKETBALL Cardinals take care of Falcons from CV Warriors win big against county rival Bulldogs Staff Reports RED BLUFF Mercy's Lady War- riors basketball team got past the visiting Los Molinos Lady Bull- dogs on Tuesday night 52-46. Early on it looked like it would be all Warriors, who finished the first quarter with a 13-4 lead. The Bulldogs woke up in second but the Warriors showed no signs of letting up, taking a 30-16 lead into halftime. The Bulldogs continued to im- prove in the second half, putting up 17 in the third quarter, but the Warriors played tough and hung on for the win. It was Senior Night at Mercy High School and the Warriors honored seven seniors, Cheyanne Johnson, Maddie Flynn, Laura Keane, Tasha Pimentel, Minju Ahn, Selena Dobson and Cavalli Jiang. Pimentel was the high scorer for the Warriors with a career- best 22 points to go with three re- bounds, an assist and four steals. Point guard Johnson scored 12 and had two rebounds, four assists and three steals; Flynn scored 10 and had four rebounds, two assists and three steals and Keane scored eight and had four rebounds, four assists and five steals. Ahn had four rebounds, Dob- son had a rebound, an assist and a steal and Jiang had a steal. As of 5:40 p.m. Wednesday, no individual stats had been posted for Los Molinos. The Warriors (14-11 overall, 5-2 league) are tied for first place in the Five Star League standings with the Chester Volcanoes and the Redding Christian Lions. They are scheduled to finish the regular season at 6 p.m. Friday against the Lions (12-10 overall, GIRLS BASKETBALL Lady Warriors edge out win to knock off Los Molinos BOYS PAGE 2 GIRLS PAGE 2 NASCAR PAGE 2 GOLF PAGE 2 SPORTS » redbluffdailynews.com Thursday, February 18, 2016 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B1