Marino one off pace after shooting 63

GOLF

Marino one off pace after shooting 63

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Former Virginia golfer Steve Marino shot the day's best round, a 7-under-par 63, and wound up in a group one shot off the pace in the rain-delayed third round of the Wyndham Championship.

Sergio Garcia and Chris Riley were 13 under par through 10 holes to share the clubhouse lead last night when play was stopped midway through the round.

Joining Marino at 12 under were Fred Couples, Kevin Stadler and Justin Rose. Brandt Snedeker and Bill Haas were 11 under when play was suspended because of darkness.

Tournament officials said the round was scheduled to resume today at 7:30 a.m., with a second cut and the final round to begin at roughly 11 a.m.

Marino, who started the round six strokes off the pace, had seven birdies to vault up the leader board - including one on the par-3 No. 16 in which his tee shot landed 7 inches from the flagstick.

Bryant leads Tradition by two

SUNRIVER, Ore. - Brad Bryant shot a 5-under 67 to take a two-stroke advantage over Mike Reid into the final round of the Jeld-Wen Tradition.

Bryant padded his lead to go 15 under after three rounds at Crosswater Golf Club in central Oregon. He has stayed atop the leader board after shooting a career-best 10-under 62 in the opening round, matching a tournament record.

Reid birdied the par-4 No. 18 to finish with a 66 and go to 13 under in the fourth of five majors on the Champions Tour.

Bryant had back-to-back birdies on the 15th and 16th holes. He came close to another one on the par-3 No. 17, but his putt came to rest on the lip of the hole.

John Cook had a 68, putting him at 12 under going into today's final round. Larry Mize was at 10 under after a third-round 70.

Europe, U.S. tied in Solheim Cup

SUGAR GROVE, Ill. - The Solheim Cup is coming down to the singles. Michelle Wie and Cristie Kerr overcame a dismal final two holes to win their match, giving the United States a split in the afternoon foursomes and sending the Americans into today's singles tied. Both teams have eight points; the United States needs 14 points to win the Cup for a third straight time, while Europe needs 14½ points to claim its first victory on U.S. soil.

Valentine suspended

Play was suspended in the second round of the Valentine Invitational at Hermitage Country Club because downpours soaked the Manakin course. The second round will resume this morning at 8:30 with a shotgun start. Following the conclusion of the second round, players will be re-paired, and the final round of the 54-hole tournament will begin with a shotgun start at noon.

AUTO RACING

Power breaks two vertebrae

SONOMA, Calif. - Team Penske No. 3 driver Will Power broke two vertebrae in his lower back and sustained a concussion after crashing into Nelson Philippe during a practice session for the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma.

Philippe also sustained a concussion along with an open fracture to his left foot that required surgery.

The 28-year-old Power, the former road course specialist who finished fifth in this year's Indianapolis 500, crashed into Philippe coming out of a blind corner at Infineon Raceway.

Power was airlifted to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital. Philippe was taken by ambulance to the same hospital, where he was undergoing surgery on his foot. IndyCar officials said both drivers were reported to be awake and alert and were to be hospitalized at least overnight.

Dario Franchitti turned a lap of 76.7987 seconds on the 2.303-mile course to take the pole for today's race. Ryan Briscoe qualified second.

Hamilton tops European GP trials

VALENCIA, Spain - Lewis Hamilton took the pole position for the European Grand Prix to lead a McLaren 1-2 in qualifying. Hamilton had a best lap of 1 minute, 39.498 seconds around the Valencia street circuit to give the defending Formula One champion his first pole of the season. Teammate Heikki Kovalainen will start today's race from second spot.

TENNIS

Dementieva ousts Serena Williams

TORONTO - Elena Dementieva advanced to the final of the Rogers Cup with a 7-6 (7-2), 6-1 win over Serena Williams. Dementieva, the tournament's fourth seed, will face either Maria Sharapova or Alisa Kleybanova in today's championship match.

Dementieva, who lost to Williams in a nearly three-hour seminfinal match at Wimbledon, overcame a 5-3 deficit in the first set.

Federer ends slide against Murray

MASON, Ohio - First Rafael Nadal. Now Andy Murray. Roger Federer had lost five consecutive matches to Nadal before a straight-sets win in the finals at Madrid in May. Yesterday, the world's No. 1 player snapped a four-match losing streak against the second-ranked Murray to reach the finals of the Cincinnati Masters.

The top-seeded Federer won 6-2, 7-6 (10-8) and will face the winner of the other semifinal between No. 3 Nadal and fourth-ranked Novak Djokovic.

HORSE RACING

Careless Jewell wins Alabama Stakes

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Canada-based Careless Jewel opened a clear lead on the stretch turn and drew away to a decisive 11-length victory in the $600,000 Alabama Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at Saratoga Race Course.

After being steadied in tight quarters in the run to the first turn, jockey Robert Landry rated the grey filly behind the early pace set by Be Fair and entering the stretch turn sent Careless Move to a lead that she extended with every stride in the stretch.

The daughter of Tapit ran 1¼ miles in 2:03.24 to win her fourth straight race and her second in the United States after a victory in the July 18 Delaware Oaks at Delaware Park.

In other horse racing news:

• Chirac scored a wire-to-wire win in the $300,000 Philip H. Iselin Stakes at Monmouth Park, beating You and I Forever by 6¾ lengths in Oceanport, N.J. Trained by Jane Cibelli and ridden by Elvis Trujillo, the 4-year-old gelding covered the 11/8 miles over a sloppy main track in 1:49 and paid $26.40, $8.20 and $5.40. You and I Forever returned $5.80 and $4.60, while Pampered Sir was another 4¼ lengths back in third and paid $8.40.

ELSEWHERE

• Former Indiana University Basketball coach Bob Knight will be inducted into the university's athletics Hall of Fame nearly a decade after he was fired for violating a zero-tolerance policy imposed by then-IU President Myles Brand. The announcement by Indiana is the first move to bring the two sides together since Knight was fired in 2000 for what school officials called a "pattern of unacceptable behavior." Whether Knight will attend the Nov. 6 induction ceremony in Indiana is unknown.

Britain's Mark Cavendish has won the second stage of the three-day Tour of Ireland in Killarney, with Lance Armstrong 26 seconds behind the overall leader. Armstrong also received Cavendish's time of 5 hours, 7 minutes, 33 seconds. The Texan finished 74th yesterday and is in 20th place overall. Russell Downing kept the race leader's yellow jersey by 5 seconds over Russia's Alexander Kolobnev. - From Wire Reports