Briefly

Sergio Garcia believes his putting is good enough to take him to new heights. The first step will be getting past Tiger Woods in the Buick Invitational at San Diego.

Garcia overcame a double bogey on the second hole that nearly wrecked his round Saturday, then hit an 8-iron into 5 feet for a birdie on the 18th hole and a 4-under-par 68, giving him a share of the lead with Rod Pampling of Australia.

They will be joined in today’s final group by Woods, a three-time winner at Torrey Pines who shot himself into contention by firing fearlessly at flags for a 67, the best round of the day on the tough South Course.

Garcia and Pampling, who also birdied the final hole for a 68, were at 11-under 205. Woods was at 206 with Australian rookie Nathan Green, who shot 69.

•Henrik Stenson shot a 1-under-71 to retain his one-stroke lead at 11-under 205 after the third round of the Qatar Masters in Doha, Qatar. Defending champion Ernie Els had a 69 to move within six shots of the leader.

•Loren Roberts moved a step closer to a Hawaiian sweep, shooting his second straight 6-under 66 to take a four-stroke lead over Scott Simpson in the Champions Tour Turtle Bay Championship in Kahuka, Hawaii.

Winter sports

Nyman earns best downhill finish

Hermann Maier led an Austrian sweep at the World Cup downhill event in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, marking his third victory of the season and first in a downhill. American Steven Nyman took advantage of an early start to place a career-best fourth, just 0.44 seconds behind Maier.

•Renate Goetschl won the women’s World Cup downhill in Cortina D’Ampezzo, Italy, for a record ninth time, covering a shortened course in 1 minute, 9.64 seconds. American Julia Mancuso finished second.

•Reigning Olympic champion Sylke Otto beat 1998 Olympic champion Silke Kraushaar in a World Cup luge race at Oberhof, Germany.

•Alexander Subkov and Alexei Voyevoda won the two-man race at a bobsled World Cup event in Altenberg, Germany, while Pierre Lueders of Canada captured the season title.

Football

Harrison, North win Senior Bowl

Washington State running back Jerome Harrison rushed for 51 yards on 11 carries, and his North team defeated the South 31-14 in the Senior Bowl at Mobile, Ala. Miami wide receiver Sinorice Moss earned MVP honors with 46 receiving yards and a touchdown, 27 rushing yards on a reverse and a fumble recovery.

Horse racing

Bailey finishes second in final race

Jockey Jerry Bailey’s feisty ride Silver Tree was three-quarters of a length short in a bid for a come-from-behind victory in Bailey’s final race, the $500,000 Cloverleaf Farms Turf Stakes at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla. He concluded his 31-year career with 5,893 victories.

•Lava Man returned to form following two lopsided losses, finishing powerfully to win the $1 million Sunshine Millions Classic at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif.

Sports people

Ellis re-signs with A’s for 2 years

The Oakland Athletics signed former Spokane Indian Mark Ellis to a two-year, $6 million contract, avoiding arbitration and rewarding its second baseman for his strong comeback season last year from a major shoulder injury. … Australia’s Craig “Buster” Mottram won the 2 mile at track’s Boston Indoor Games, finishing in 8 minutes, 26.54 seconds. … Olga Zaytseva upstaged reigning world and Olympic gold medalist Tonique Williams-Darling by winning the 400 meters at the Glasgow (Scotland) indoor track meet. … In Berlin, Markus Beyer stopped Alberto Colajanni of Italy in the 12th round to retain his WBC super middleweight boxing title for the fourth time.