PINEHURST, N.C. -- Bubba Watson has one thing going for him: So far, nobody else has a better chance at winning a second major this year. "Ive already got one," he quipped Tuesday. The two-time Masters champion came to Pinehurst this week for the U.S. Open hoping to become the first player since Tiger Woods in 2002 to win the years first two majors. "Any time you have that chance, its been a good year, because that means youve done well early," Watson said. The worlds third-ranked player is trying to join that short list of players to win both the Masters and U.S. Open in the same year. Its only happened six times and before Woods, nobody had done it since Jack Nicklaus in 1972. Watson is certainly hoping this attempt goes better than the last one. Two years ago at The Olympic Club in San Francisco, he missed the cut after shooting an 8-over-par 78 in his opening round. Through the years, the U.S. Open has provided a particularly vexing test for Watson, who has missed the cut in three of his seven Opens. His only top-10 finish came in 2007 when he tied for fifth at Oakmont -- perhaps the toughest of the courses that have staged golfs national championship. "A U.S. Open brings out challenges that were not used to, challenges that we can only take once a year or we would all find new jobs if we had to do it every week," Watson said. And a different set of them awaits this week at the revamped Pinehurst No. 2 course that looks nothing like it did when Payne Stewart (1999) and Michael Campbell (2005) won Opens here. Watson it called "a second-shot golf course" and said it bears no resemblance to the Augusta National course hes twice conquered "except its 18 holes, thats about it." The multi-million-dollar restoration to Donald Ross original design, removed the rough and left only two cuts of grass -- fairway and green. Birdies figure to once again be rare at the U.S. Open, where bogeys arent necessarily bad and the winner is often the one who takes the smartest shots and makes the fewest mistakes. Hell find out over the next few days if his daring "Bubba golf" style will work on a course that has only two par-5s. Watson leads all PGA Tour players with an average driving distance of 314 yards -- a distinct advantage at the various courses on the tour. But maybe not at Pinehurst No. 2, where sandy hardpan, wiregrass and weeds make up what used to be the rough. "Its all about the tee shots. Im going to try to lay farther back than normal, because its still iffy hitting in that -- I dont know what they call it, rough, dirt, sand. ... But its going to be iffy. You dont know what kind of lies youre going to get." Get through that and out of the fairways, and those notoriously tricky turtleback greens -- which a smiling Watson repeatedly called "unfriendly" -- await. The "U.S. Open is challenging you at all levels. If you want to be a man and hit driver off that tee, you can," he said. "If you want to lay back and try to play smarter, you can. ... You have the ability to do it, now can you do it at that moment, is what the key is. "So I think the U.S. Open is doing that, its just thats what theyre trying to create," he added. "Theyre trying to create a challenge for everybody, and you can play it aggressively or you can play it smartly." Percy Miller Hornets Jersey .7 million, one-year contract, a raise of $2.2 million. Wieters had asked for $8.75 million and the Orioles had offered $6. Charlotte Hornets Jerseys . -- Keith Aulie has joined the Tampa Bay Lightning. http://www.hornetsteamproshop.com/Cheap-...Hornets-Jersey/. -- The Orlando Magic finally are showing the patience in critical moments that coach Jacque Vaughn has been waiting for all season. Muggsy Bogues Hornets Jersey .com) - Houston Texans interim head coach Wade Phillips confirmed Monday that starting quarterback Case Keenum sustained a sprained right thumb during Sundays 25-3 loss in Indianapolis. Larry Johnson Hornets Jersey . The 34-year-old averaged 10.1 points and 2.7 rebounds in 82 games played in 2013-14 with the Utah Jazz. Jefferson has averaged 14.5 points, 4.NEW YORK -- Deron Williams confidence is sky high and hes taking the Brooklyn Nets along for the ride. With the Nets winning streak in jeopardy, Williams scored 23 points, 11 in the final six minutes, to lead Brooklyn to a 104-99 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday night. The Nets were trailing 85-82 midway through the fourth quarter following Josh McRoberts dunk and free throw. Thats when Williams took over. He hit a driving layup with 6:00 left, then a 3-pointer on the next possession. He followed that with a steal and two free throws to give the Nets an 89-85 lead with 5:22 remaining. The home team never trailed again in registering its 10th straight win at the Barclays Center. "My confidence is getting back. Thats a good thing for me," said Williams, who also had eight assists. "I tend to play well when my confidence is high. I just have to keep it there." Joe Johnson had 20 points for the Nets. Shaun Livingston finished with 17 and Andray Blatche had 13. Thornton and Mason Plumlee each had 11. "He (Williams) has been clutch the last month or so," Plumlee said. "Hes made a lot of big plays in some of these wins. He has more bounce to his step." Al Jefferson led Charlotte with 18 points and 12 rebounds, and Gary Neal added 17 points. After Williams streak put the Nets ahead, the Bobcats managed to pull within 97-95 on Neals 3-pointer with 1:33 left. After Paul Pierce hit a free throw with 1:18 remaining, Kemba Walker missed on a 3-point attempt and Williams followed with a foul line jumper with 37 seconds left to give the Nets a 100-95 lead. "Deron took control of the game and made plays on both ends," coach Jason ;Kidd said.dddddddddddd"Hes making all the right basketball plays and not settling." After Shaun Livingston hit a free throw with 21 seconds, Neal hit another 3-pointer to bring the Bobcats to within 101-98 with 17 seconds left. Then Williams hit two more free throws with 16 seconds remaining to help clinch the win. "I took what the defence game me," Williams said. "They made their run and we needed to make one back. I just happened to be a big part of that, but it could have been any of us." The Nets took their biggest lead of the game at 38-25 on Marcus Thorntons 3-pointer with 8:19 left in the first half. The Bobcats began the game on a 6-0 run, their largest lead of the night. The Nets finished the game with only seven turnovers, tied for their lowest this season. The Bobcats committed 15, five in the fourth quarter. "Turnovers were the biggest difference in the game," Charlotte coach Steve Clifford said. "We had a couple of unforced ones late that were at key times." Chris Douglas-Roberts and Gerald Henderson scored 13 points each for the Bobcats. Cody Zeller had 10. "Thats the Deron were used to seeing," Blatche said. "His confidence is high. Hes playing great and carrying this team." NOTES: The Nets havent lost at home since Jan. 31 against Oklahoma City . Brooklyns home winning streak is longest current streak in the NBA and is the franchises longest since the New Jersey Nets won 12 straight Dec. 16, 2005-Feb. 8, 2006 . Brooklyn has beaten Charlotte nine of the last 10 meetings, with the Bobcats only victory during that span coming on Nov. 20, 2013. Before that, Charlotte hadnt won in the series since April 11, 2011. ' ' '