Woods Shoots 67, Takes NCAA Golf Lead

Tiger Woods shot a course-record five-under-par 67 Thursday to take a three-stroke lead after two rounds of the NCAA golf championships at Ooltewah, Tenn.

The Stanford sophomore birdied three consecutive holes on the back nine in bettering the course record of 68 tied on Wednesday by Arizona State’s Pat Perez. Woods has a two-day total of eight-under 136 on the 7,039-yard, par-72 Honors Course near Chattanooga.

“I’m feeling good with my game. I know where I’m missing it, which is nice,” said Woods, the two-time defending U.S. Amateur champion. “I’m playing extremely smart out there, which you have to do on this course.”

Brad Elder of Texas shot 68 and is three strokes behind Woods. Rory Sabbatini of Arizona shot a second consecutive 70 and is at four-under.

Arizona State ballooned to 12-over, 14 strokes over its score of Wednesday, but maintained a one-stroke lead over Nevada Las Vegas in the team competition. Florida and Stanford are tied for third, 10 strokes behind.

The field was cut to the low 15 teams after Thursday’s round, plus the nine low individuals not on any of those teams, for the final two rounds.

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Steve Lowery eagled the 15th hole and birdied the final hole to break a logjam with three other players and take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Memorial tournament at Dublin, Ohio.

Lowery’s 15-foot putt on the closing hole gave him a five-under 67 and allowed him to pass Payne Stewart, Larry Mize and Wayne Westner. Jim Furyk birdied the last two holes to finish at 69 along with Woody Austin and Allen Doyle.

“The course playing longer definitely favors my game,” Lowery said. “I hit my irons a long way, and I’m pretty long with my driver, so I tend to play better when the course is playing long.”

A downpour Tuesday night softened Muirfield’s greens and made them more accommodating. High and thick rough has put a premium on players who can fly the ball off the tee and keep it on the fairway.

British Open champion John Daly, using his new zero-iron six times off the tee, was among seven players at 70.

Defending champion Greg Norman, coming off a lengthy break after his final-round collapse in the Masters, three-putted two greens and shot a 73.

Hockey

The Ottawa Senators signed defenseman Wade Redden, the second overall pick in the 1995 draft, to a three-year contract. Redden is a 6-foot-2, 193-pounder who returned to Brandon of the Western Hockey League, where he had nine goals and 54 points in 51 games.

Detroit Red Wing center Kris Draper, who was smashed into the boards by Colorado’s Claude Lemieux in Game 6 of the conference finals, will have his broken jaw surgically repaired today. . . . The Mighty Ducks signed defenseman Byron Briske, a fourth-round selection (80th overall) in the 1994 draft, to a three-year deal.

Jurisprudence

Millionaire murder suspect John E. du Pont identified himself as the Dalai Lama during a court appearance in Media, Pa., and said he doesn’t understand the U.S. justice system.

Common Pleas Judge Patricia H. Jenkins entered a “not guilty” plea on Du Pont’s behalf during his arraignment, which was filled with accusations that lawyers were prompting Du Pont to act strangely.

The heir to the chemical company fortune, having grown a beard since his last court appearance, waved to reporters while being escorted to the courtroom. Du Pont, 57, faces first and third-degree murder charges in the Jan. 26 shooting death of Olympic wrestler David Schultz on his estate in Newtown Square.

College Football

In a decision that could hasten the end of the College Football Assn., the Southeastern Conference said the CFA has outlived its usefulness and wants it to disband. The Atlantic Coast Conference already has recommended ending the CFA, and the SEC vote could be the final blow.

The CFA was created to give big-time football powers a stronger voice in the NCAA. It also put together a television package but has gotten out of that business as conferences began to sign their own TV contracts.

The NCAA is moving toward realignment that would give Division I-A schools virtual autonomy, making a separate organization unnecessary, said Mark Womack, SEC executive associate commissioner.

Names in the News

Olympians Nancy Reno and Holly McPeak, who played with different partners for the last three Evian Women’s Pro Beach Volleyball Tour stops, will reunite for the tour stop this weekend in Austin, Texas. Reno and McPeak earned an automatic berth in the Olympics based on their finish as the top American team on the international FIVB tour last year.

UCLA’s Toby Bailey has been invited to the trials for the 1996 U.S. men’s 22-and-under world championship qualifying team. . . . As expected, California freshman forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim, saying he wants “to stay a kid,” announced he has withdrawn his name from next month’s NBA draft and will return to school.

Kris Benson, who went 14-0 with a 1.40 earned-run average for Clemson this season, has been named as Baseball America’s college player of the year.