SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- Kelvin Benjamin made an impressive return to the football field Thursday night as the defending NFC champion Carolina Panthers opened training camp.In his first practice since tearing the ACL in his left knee last August, Benjamin made four tough catches, reminding the more than 22,445 fans at Gibbs Stadium of just how valuable the 6-foot-5, 245-pound wide receiver is to the Panthers offense.Coach Ron Rivera admitted he was impressed.I dont want to say he was in top form, but he was in pretty doggone good form, Rivera said.Benjamin had 73 receptions for 1,008 yards and nine touchdowns as a rookie in 2014, but tore his ACL last August at training camp and missed the teams run to the Super Bowl.Benjamin ran swift, sharp routes and showed no ill effects from last years surgery. He leaped in the air to snag two passes and reached behind to grab another.Im just happy for him, Panthers wide receivers coach Ricky Proehl said. Its a confidence builder. You go out and perform like he did, make catches over the middle, make contested catches with somebody draped on him, it was huge. Anytime you get that first catch out of the way, its huge, especially coming off an injury.Benjamin was not made available for interviews.The Panthers had the leagues top scoring offense last season and finished 17-2 despite losing Benjamin. The team is excited about adding him to the mix.Kelvins retention as far what were doing, he handled that really well by the way he ran the routes and attacked the football, Rivera said. There will be a lot of good things for us to see on tape.The 25-year-old Benjamin wasnt the only wide receiver to have a solid night following a return from an injury.Stephen Hill, who also tore an ACL in his knee last year in training camp, and Philly Brown, who is coming off shoulder surgery, also made big catches during practice.Im just so proud of those guys, Proehl said. Theyve worked so hard, and to see them go out there and do what they did tonight, it warms my heart. Theyre like my kids. To see them go out there and perform like they did, thats such a confidence builder for them.Rivera said that starting defensive tackle Star Lotulelei was held out of practice as a precautionary measure after his hamstring tightened up in conditioning tests on Wednesday.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFLFake Lakers Jerseys . - The Oakland Raiders re-signed offensive lineman Khalif Barnes on Friday. Lakers Jerseys 2020 .Y. -- Leading 3-0 with only 11:25 left, the Colorado Avalanche committed a seemingly meaningless penalty to give the New York Islanders a power play. https://www.lakersjerseycheap.com/ . There was no hesitation from the 40th-ranked Pospisil, from Vernon, B.C., who admitted that he cut back on his training sessions over the last few days to conserve energy as the long ATP season finishes next week at the Paris Masters. Wholesale Lakers Jerseys .C. -- Calgarys Kevin Koe did it the hard way again. Custom Los Angeles Lakers Jerseys . Peter Holland and Brad Staubitz were sent to Toronto on Saturday as the Maple Leafs traded defenceman Jesse Blacker and draft picks to the Anaheim Ducks. INVERNESS, Scotland -- Scott Hend of Australia and Felipe Aguilar of Chile made it through blustery conditions and shot 3-under 69 to share the lead Thursday after the first round of the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open.Phil Mickelson wasnt so fortunate.The five-time major champion, a winner the last time the Scottish Open was held at Castle Stuart, struggled to make putts and took three bogeys on the par 5s on his way to a 76. His next task will be making the cut.The greens werent overly fast to where balls were rolling when you were putting, Mickelson said. They were very fair. I thought it was a fair test. A score around par would have been a good score. I felt like I gave three or four shots away on the greens that could have put me at a score around par.Only 20 players managed to break par at Castle Stuart.Graeme McDowell and Padraig Harrington were among those at 70, while Branden Grace of South Africa and Andy Sullivan were in the group at 71.Hend already is in the British Open next week at Royal Troon. He learned last week at the French Open that he was in the Open, exempt to the PGA Championship and that Jason Day had withdrawn from the Olympics, meaning Hend was a lock to take one of the two spots for Australia.His first task is going after his third victory of the year.Obviously, conditions were quite tough and I was a little bit scrappy with some putts not quite getting to the hole, he said. But overall, very happy.Four spots in the British Open are available this week to the leading players among the top 12 not already eligible. Onne of those players is Aguilar, though Sunday is too far away for him to think about Royal Troon.dddddddddddd.Thats in the back of my mind, he said. Im just worried about whats going to happen tomorrow. I just finished the first round and still have 75 percent of the rounds to go. If that comes along, it will be great. It will be awesome, but its not even on my mind yet.Mickelson wasnt the only American to struggle among those who came over to prepare for links golf. J.B. Holmes finally got his clubs, which did not make it over on his flight, but he had three double bogeys on his way to an 80. Patrick Reed had to play one shot off a hillside and slipped on the way down. He opened with a 75.Russell Knox made a solid start in what amounts to a home tournament for the Scot who now lives in Florida. Knox opened with a 72 and was only three shots behind after the opening round.The atmosphere was amazing, Knox said. A lot of old friends and people Ive known for a lot of years showed up, which was great.He opened with a pair of birdies, but the wind picked up in the afternoon, and it was a battle, especially at the end. The long 18th played straight into the wind, and Knox wasnt the only player who dropped a shot on the last.Its a terrible setup in my opinion -- 600 yards, straight into a 30 mph wind, he said. They could have easily moved us up a tee. I disagree with that hole today. But I hit three good shots and three bad putts. ' ' '