Woods leads in bid for fifth straight win
Tiger Woods got up-and-down from 90 feet for a birdie on the par-5 18th hole Friday, giving him a 5-under-par 66 and a one-shot lead in the first round of the Deutsche Bank Championship in Norton, Mass. It was the 10th time in his last 16 rounds he has been atop the leaderboard.
Woods is trying to win for the fifth straight time on the PGA Tour, a streak that began with his victory in the British Open.”I feel in control of my golf ball,” Woods said. “I’ve still got some things to work on. It could be better.”
•Cristie Kerr grabbed a share of the lead, and Annika Sorenstam stayed in contention at the State Farm Classic in Springfield, Ill.
Kerr shot an 8-under 64 and was tied with Maria Hjorth at 12 under, one stroke ahead of Il Mi Chung, who had a 66, after the second round at The Rail Golf Club.
Rathdrum, Idaho, native Tracy Hanson shot a 68 and is tied for 12th at 138. Wendy Ward of Edwall, Wash., shot a 69 and is tied for 27th at 140.
•D.A. Weibring shot an 8-under 64 and held a two-stroke lead over Tom Purtzer and Jay Haas after the opening round of the Champions Tour’s Wal-Mart First Tee Open at Pebble Beach, Calif.
Autos
Busch earns fifth pole
A relaxed Kurt Busch, no longer worrying about making NASCAR’s Chase for the Nextel Cup championship, earned his series-leading fifth pole of the season at California Speedway in Fontana.
A 37th-place finish last Saturday at Bristol ended Busch’s outside shot at making the 10-man Chase field in his first season with Penske Racing South. Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was on top before Busch’s run, wound up sixth, the fastest of the drivers battling for a spot in the Chase.
Softball
U.S. team tops China
Cat Osterman pitched a two-hit complete game, lifting the United States past China 2-0 at the world championships in Beijing.
Osterman struck out nine batters and Caitlin Lowe and Jessica Mendoza scored for the U.S. team (6-0).
Miscellany
Americans cruise
American leadoff man Skip Schumaker delivered a grand slam to propel the United States to a 12-2 win over the Dominican Republic on the first day of the second round of the Americas Baseball Olympic Qualifier.
•Seth Sulka stepped down as general manager of the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury. Sulka, the GM since 2001, chose Diana Taurasi with the first pick in the 2004 WNBA draft.
• Minnesota Wild hockey winger Derek Boogaard was charged with assault causing bodily harm in connection with a nightclub fight at Regina, Saskatchewan.
• A late crash by his top competitor helped David Zabriskie win the inaugural time trial at the USA Cycling Professional Championships at Travelers Rest, S.C.
•Lost in the Fog, the champion thoroughbred sprinter diagnosed with cancer this summer, might undergo chemotherapy next week at UC Davis in an attempt to prolong his life.