Watson and Irwin Share Senior Lead

Tom Watson shot a four-under-par 67 on Thursday at Valhalla and was tied for the lead at the Senior PGA Championship with Hale Irwin, who birdied three of his last four holes.

The start of the tournament at Louisville, Ky., was delayed two hours after overnight rain drenched the course. Play was suspended because of lightning, and 72 players were due back today to finish their opening rounds.

Gil Morgan was three under through 15 holes and eight others were at two under.

Watson started his round on the par-five 10th and made a 12-foot birdie putt. He hit a fairway wood to the fringe on the par-five 18th and two-putted to make the turn in two under.

Watson reached the par-five seventh in two and two-putted to take the lead. He finished with a 16-foot birdie putt on No. 9.

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Vaughn Taylor needed only 24 putts for a five-under 66 that gave him a one-stroke lead over defending champion David Toms and Paul Stankowski after the first round of the St. Jude Classic at Memphis, Tenn.

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Annika Sorenstam returned from two weeks off to shoot a seven-under 65 and tie Liselotte Neumann for the first-round lead in the LPGA’s Corning Classic at Corning, N.Y .

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Ernie Els took the early lead at the Volvo PGA, shooting an eight-under 64 in the opening round at Wentworth in Virginia Water, England. Els was one stroke ahead of Miguel Angel Jimenez and Stephen Dodd. Vijay Singh was two back with a 66.

Soccer

Real Madrid sports director Jorge Valdano will resign June 11, the club said in a statement on its website.

Valdano will step down the day Madrid President Florentino Perez is obliged to end his four-year tenure as a prerequisite to the club’s presidential election a month later.

Germany tuned up for Euro 2004 by cruising to a 7-0 victory over Malta, with midfield star Michael Ballack scoring four goals at Freiburg, Germany. Three of Ballack’s goals came on headers.

Argentina will play Peru in an exhibition June 30 at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

Miscellany

Jimmie Johnson edged Ryan Newman for the pole in qualifying for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C.

Johnson’s lap of 187.052 mph was a track record, besting the mark Newman set earlier in the session.

Newman, Jeff Gordon, Elliott Sadler and rookie Brian Vickers rounded out the top five.

Jered Weaver lost for the first time this season, giving up seven runs in Long Beach State’s 8-5 defeat against Miami at Coral Gables, Fla. Weaver is 14-1.... Loyola Marymount sophomore Stephen Kahn and eighth-year Coach Frank Cruz earned top baseball honors in the West Coast Conference. Kahn, who is 7-2 with a 3.46 earned-run average, was named pitcher of the year after going 5-1 in conference play. Cruz was named coach of the year for the third time.

USC senior guard Roy Smiley, who injured his left knee in a pickup game almost a month ago, underwent reconstructive ligament surgery and is expected to be out a minimum of nine months. Because Smiley also sat out last season after breaking his left leg in the previous season’s final game, it is expected that his playing career at USC is finished and that he will be put on a medical scholarship.

The Michigan attorney general issued an arrest warrant for former NFL receiver Andre Rison for failing to pay nearly $95,000 in child support.

Former Carolina Panther player Anthony Bright has sued the team and standout wide receiver Steve Smith, claiming his NFL career was ruined after a film-room fight in 2002.

The San Francisco 49ers agreed to a one-year contract with former USC receiver Curtis Conway.