Steady Donald holds Honda lead
Luke Donald’s nearest rivals spent Saturday alternating birdies and bogeys with regularity, an approach that let each taste a lead most couldn’t wind up sustaining.
Meanwhile, Donald kept escaping trouble and slowly crept into the top spot at the Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
Donald’s five-birdie, one-bogey round of 68 left him 9 under entering the tournament’s final round and sharing the top spot with Billy Mayfair – who eagled the 17th hole to highlight his even-par 72 and reclaim part of the lead.
“I played solidly and didn’t really have too many mistakes,” said Donald, the English player whose only tour win was at the 2002 Southern Farm Bureau Classic. “A lot of good driving, a lot of good iron playing, holed a few putts.”
Nationwide Tour graduate Jeff Gove (69) was one shot back, and Daniel Chopra and Match Play winner Geoff Ogilvy were 7 under after 71s.
“Two shots is nothing on this course,” Ogilvy said. “You can make up two shots in one hole.”
•Tom Kite matched the Valencia Country Club tournament record with an 8-under 64 to take a one-stroke lead in the Champions Tour’s AT&T Classic in Santa Clarita, Calif.
After eagling the ninth hole, Kite had a tournament-record 29 on the back nine. He birdied Nos. 10-13 and closed with three straight birdies.
Kite began the round by missing short birdie putts and bogeyed the fifth hole.
“There was nothing happening,” he said. “I had some opportunities on the first four holes. I just thought I had to get it going. From that point on I really played well.”
Kite ended his round with three consecutive birdies, including a 4-footer on the 18th hole. Kite missed a 5-foot birdie try on the 15th hole.
“No matter how you putt, these are tough greens,” Kite said. “You almost have to say, ‘I’m going to miss some putts.’ “
Andy Bean was second after a 65. He chipped in for an eagle on the first hole, the second consecutive day he has eagled the 521-yard hole.
•Defending champion Annika Sorenstam held a share of the lead in the MasterCard Classic in Huixquilucan, Mexico, shooting a 1-under 71 to match Paula Creamer and Mi Hyun Kim at 6 under.
Creamer had a 67 and Kim shot a 69.
Sorenstam is making her first official LPGA Tour start since winning the ADT Championship in November and her first competitive appearance since teaming with Liselotte Neumann in January to win the Women’s World Cup in South Africa.
Wendy Ward, of Edwall, Wash., and Tracy Hanson of Rathdrum, Idaho, are tied for 27th at 1 over par.
Track and field
Trammell triumphs
Terrence Trammell clipped so many hurdles, he found it difficult to believe he finally won gold. Three days of illness, frustration and anger ended with a 60-meter hurdles title, making him the first double medalist at the world indoor track and field championships in Moscow.
Trammell won in 7.43 seconds followed by Cuban rookie Dayron Robles 7.46, and fellow American Dominique Arnold 7.52.
“I get very close to gold a lot of times, finally it came now,” he said.
Figure skating
Kozuka wins gold
Takahiko Kozuka of Japan won gold in the men’s program at the World Junior Figure Skating Championship in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Sergei Voronov of Russia finished second, while Yannick Ponsero of France earned the bronze medal.
Kozuka, who previously won the junior Grand Prix Final, got a personal-best 180.05 points. The 17-year-old completed eight triple jumps including a triple axel-triple toe loop, a triple Lutz-double toe loop-double loop combination, and a double-axel-triple toe loop.
Miscellany
U.S. team rolls
Heather O’Reilly scored twice and the U.S. women’s soccer team beat Denmark 5-0 in the Algarve Cup in Faro, Portugal.
Captain Kristine Lilly, Abby Wambach and Natasha Kai also scored for the U.S. team, its largest margin of victory in the tournament’s 13-year history.
•Olympic skiing champion Anja Paerson of Sweden won a women’s World Cup slalom in Levi, Finland, finishing in 1 minute, 38.86 seconds.
Croatia’s Janica Kostelic clinched the season slalom title by finishing in second place, .29 seconds behind Paerson.
•Germany’s Felix Sturm (25-1) took away the WBA middleweight boxing title of Maselino Masoe (26-3) via unanimous decision in Hamburg, Germany.
•Cause to Believe moved a step closer to the Kentucky Derby, beating Sinister Minister with a strong stretch run in the $100,000 California Derby in Albany, Calif.
• James Blake overcame foul weather and a strong challenge from a high school senior to move into the third round of the Pacific Life Open tennis event at Indian Wells, Calif. The match was delayed by rain for more than an hour before Blake won 1-6, 6-1, 6-3 over Sam Querrey, 18, a wild-card entry into the $3.2 million men’s portion of the 12-day tournament. Elena Dementieva of Russia and Flavia Pennetta of Italy, the Nos. 4 and 6 seeds in the $2.1 million women’s event, both moved into the third round before play was halted by rain again late in the afternoon.