SYDNEY -- Royal Sydney was there for the taking on Thursday morning, yet star international attraction Jordan Spieth was more than content with his three-under round and place in the Australian Open field.Sunny skies and next to no wind made for a perfect scoring environment early on at Royal Sydney -- located just five minutes drive from the famed Bondi Beach -- with Australian amateur Curtis Luck taking advantage of the benign conditions to grab a share of the lead at five-under after the morning wave.Playing his first competitive round at Royal Sydney after winning at The Australian in 2014 and finishing runner-up to Matt Jones at The Lakes last year, Spieth struggled off the tee at times but also showed touches of the class that has taken him to two major triumphs and a stretch as world No. 1.After putting in the deep greenside bunker on the par-three 17th, Spieth dug himself out of trouble in sensational style by stiffing it to a foot to save par, a feat he repeated on 18, before he began the front nine with back-to-back birdies.A birdie on the par-five seventh following a superb second shot saw him momentarily grab a share of the lead, but the good work was undone a hole later when he duffed a flop shot having driven through the green, which resulted in a bogey.Still, the American was more than content with his efforts on day one and predicted conditions to toughen into Friday and across the weekend.I think if I can shoot three-under each day, given the course is going to play harder the next three, shoot three-under each day, then Ill be in good shape, Spieth said.I would certainly like to have gotten off and made a few more putts, but at the same time I was in trouble off the tee a few times and salvaged par. So I feel like Im in good shape to contend at this event, just would like to post the same score three more times.Spieths next assignment will be to negotiate a sticky afternoon tee time on Friday with the temperature in Sydney set to climb to 30 degrees Celsius.The hot conditions are unlikely to serve as a deterrent to the crowds, with Spieths gallery growing throughout the opening round -- culminating on the ninth green where there was next to no viewing spots when the American finished up.Kids were out on course early to watch Spieth in action, some making their way to lessons after just a few holes while others took the opportunity to watch the world No.5 cut his way through all 18.Those a little older would have enjoyed the performance of young Aussie amateur Luck who took the marquee pairing in his stride -- Geoff Ogilvy rounding out the trio -- the 20-year-old west Australian earning high praise from former Masters champion Spieth.Really, really impressive player, Curtis, real simple golf swing, Spieth said of Luck.Just kind of understands where hes at and how to play different shots, and then around the greens he was spectacular, which is something you certainly need to take with you up to the next level. So hes certainly got all the tools.He could have shot even par for the day, instead he turned that into five-under in the middle of the roundSo thats the kind of stuff that is unteachable, and he has that.Spieth, too, has proven he has those unteachable qualities and armed with a few local lessons from Thursday, its little wonder he was happy with his opening-round return. Youth Flames Jerseys . According the Toronto Star, a knee injury will keep Sundin out of the lineup, which includes former teammates Gary Roberts, Darcy Tucker, Tie Domi and Curtis Joseph. Brett Kulak Jersey . -- For the first time in two months, an opponent was standing up to Alabama. http://www.cheapflamesjerseyschina.com/ . - Goaltender Philippe Desrosiers of the Rimouski Oceanic has broken a shutout record that was only three months old in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Adidas Flames Jerseys . 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BOSTON -- Nicholls State players jumped up and down near center court at the final buzzer and their cheers could be heard from the locker room halfway down the hall.They had a reason to be feeling good.DeAndre Harris scored 28 points, Liam Thomas added 14 and coach Richie Riley won his debut as the Colonels stunned an Atlantic Conference Coast team on the road, beating Boston College 79-73 on Friday night in the opener for both schools.I dont think you can draw it up any better to be able to come up here and compete like our guys did, Riley said, breaking into a smile and standing in a lobby with his players cheers heard in the background.Nicholls State was just a combined 35-57 in the past three seasons, but a starting lineup of all seniors took control from the start.Im going to let them enjoy it tonight, especially in the locker room because Nicholls -- our seniors -- have had some rough seasons, Riley said.Boston College, which never led and was behind by 14 with just over nine minutes to play, went on a 19-5 run to tie it on A.J. Turners foul-line jumper with 2:26 to play. Harris had a driving basket on the next possession and Nicholls State went on a 6-0 run to take control.Ty Graves scored 15 points for the Eagles, while Jerome Robinson had 14 and Turner finished with 12.Boston College didnt get its first basket until nearly seven minutes in and was behind 16-1 before Jordan Chatman hit a driving basket. The Colonels led 42-33 at halftime.I think without question the most frustrating thing is weve practiced so much better than we played tonight, BC coach Jim Christian said. It was just really sad.Riley spent the past two seasons as Clemsons assistant before becoming the Colonels 11th coach in April.ddddddddddddIG PICTURENicholls State: Picked last in the preseason Southland Conference poll, the Colonels likely gained confidence playing well against an ACC team. The starting lineup of all seniors should help in early-season games as teams try to get the rust off.Boston College: Coming off a winless ACC season (0-18) in 2015-16 and 7-25 overall, the Eagles may be challenged to find many victories again this season. Judging by the light home crowd, itll take some exciting play to get folks to fill the arena -- except for strong conference foes coming into Conte Forum.THAT SUMS IT UPWe didnt translate anything we worked on into the game offensively or defensively -- it was ridiculous, Christian said.TOO EASYSeemingly every time Nicholls State needed a key basket, it was able to get to the paint for good looks. The Colonels outscored BC, 42-30, in the lane.Harris was 10 for 20 from the floor, driving past BC defenders a handful of times for easy baskets.UGLY STARTBC missed its first eight shots and committed five turnovers before getting its first basket.The first 10 minutes of the game, we probably didnt do one thing we practiced, Christian said.UP NEXTNicholls State: At Central Florida on Monday in a stretch of four of the first five on the road -- including the San Diego Classic.Boston College: Hosts Maryland Eastern Shore on Tuesday in the second of four consecutive home matchups. ' ' '