Tiger Woods shot a 68 in the second round of the Australian Masters in Melbourne to build a three-shot lead going into the weekend at Kingston Heath, his fourth straight tournament with at least a share of the 36-hole lead.
Woods won only one of the previous three, at the BMW Championship outside Chicago.
He had the lead yesterday over an American — Jason Dufner — and two Australians in James Nitties and Greg Chalmers, who both dropped shots over the final few holes.
Before another enthusiastic gallery that topped 24,000 people, Woods opened with two birdies to take the lead. And while he lost his swing late in the round and missed two short birdie putts late, he was pleased with his position.
Woods was at 10-under 134 as he tries to win for the first time in Australia.
MORE GOLF
Justin Rose shot a 7-under 65 in the opening round of the Children’s Miracle Network Classic in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., edging upstart Rickie Fowler for the top spot on the leaderboard. Fowler, Greg Owen and Casey Wittenberg were one shot back at Disney World in the final PGA Tour event of the season. The 20-year-old Fowler is making only his third start since turning pro from Oklahoma State.
• Song-Hee Kim shot a 7-under 65 in the first round of the Lorena Ochoa Invitational in Guadalajara, Mexico, taking a two-stroke lead over Jiyai Shin, Paula Creamer and Mariajo Uribe. Ochoa shot a 1-under 71.
• Udorn Duangdecha shot an 8-under 62 behind 10 birdies to lead Robert-Jan Derksen by one stroke after the first round of the Hong Kong Open.
NBA
The New Orleans Hornets fired Byron Scott only nine games into the season and replaced him with General Manager Jeff Bower, hoping the man who put the current roster together can get more out of it on the court. Scott, who only two seasons ago was the NBA Coach of the Year, was fired one day after a 124-104 loss at Phoenix dropped New Orleans to 3-6.
Bower, who will remain general manager while in his first head coaching job, immediately moved to name Tim Floyd his top assistant and said other assistants will be retained as well. Floyd, a former Bulls and Hornets head coach, most recently coached at USC.
•All-Stars LeBron James and Dwyane Wade put on a show in their first showdown of the season, and James scored 34 points to help the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Miami Heat 111-104. Wade scored 36 points but couldn’t rally the Heat from an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter.
BASEBALL
Former New York Yankees closer John Wetteland checked into a Texas hospital yesterday after police departments from two towns came to his house amid alleged concerns that Wetteland might commit suicide, Newsday reported. But last night, Wetteland, who was the Seattle Mariners’ bullpen coach in 2009, said he was back home and suffered only from an increased heart rate.
• Tim Hudson agreed to a $28 million, three-year contract with the Atlanta Braves, giving the team a wealth of starting pitching and setting up a likely trade to bolster the offense. Hudson could have returned to the Braves under a $12 million option, but the sides focused on a longer deal after the right-hander showed he had overcome major elbow surgery.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Evan Turner followed up his triple-double Monday with 24 points and 17 rebounds as No. 16 Ohio State defeated James Madison 72-44 in the 2K Sports Classic in Columbus, Ohio. The Buckeyes (2-0) advanced to meet sixth-ranked defending national champion North Carolina in the semifinals Thursday night in Madison Square Garden.
SPORTS AND COURTS
Former Nebraska running back Thunder Collins was sentenced to life in prison for his role in a September 2008 shooting that killed one man and injured another. In sentencing yesterday, the Douglas County District Court also gave Collins a further 110 years on other counts, including attempted second-degree murder, assault and two weapons charges.
•Three freshman Tennessee football players are charged with an attempted armed robbery. Knoxville police said wide receiver Nu’Keese Richardson and defensive backs Janzen Jackson and Mike Edwards were arrested after the incident early yesterday.
•Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson, who was arrested in a scuffle with a photographer at Los Angeles International Airport on Wednesday, could be sent to jail if he’s found to have violated probation from a 2007 drug case, officials said.
•A not-guilty plea was entered for former Minnesota Vikings first-round draft pick Erasmus James, who is charged with disorderly conduct in a Madison, Wis., bar fight last weekend.
• Jonathan Powell, former NBA All-Star Antoine Walker’s lawyer, said he’s trying to resolve criminal charges stemming from more than $800,000 in gambling debts to three Las Vegas casinos.
SOCCER
Los Angeles Galaxy defender Omar Gonzalez has won Major League Soccer’s Rookie of the Year award. The 21-year-old Gonzalez played in all 30 regular-season games as Los Angeles cut its goals allowed from a league-high 62 in 2008 to 31.
•Chivas USA and coach Preki Radosavljevic are parting ways two years after he was chosen MLS Coach of the Year. His contract expires at year’s end.
• Robert Enke, the Germany goalkeeper who was killed after throwing himself in front of a train, will be buried Sunday in a small ceremony near his home following a memorial service at Hannover stadium.
LOCAL COLLEGES
The Cal State San Marcos men’s soccer team beat St. Thomas (Texas) 2-0 to advance to the A.I.I. national championship today.
NHL
Henry Samueli has been reinstated as owner of the Anaheim Ducks after serving a suspension handed down by the NHL more than a year ago, when he pleaded guilty to a felony count of lying to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
•The NHL suspended Vancouver forward Darcy Hordichuk for one game and fined Canucks coach Alain Vigneault $10,000. Hordichuk was assessed an instigator penalty after fighting Cam Janssen during Tuesday night’s 6-1 loss to St. Louis.
•Outgoing baseball union head Donald Fehr has agreed to assist the NHL Players’ Association in its search for an executive director.
• Niclas Bergfors had a goal and two assists and the New Jersey Devils closed within a victory of tying the NHL record of 10 consecutive road victories to start a season, beating the slumping Pittsburgh Penguins 4-1.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Tom Savage threw for two touchdowns and host Rutgers forced four turnovers, blocked a punt and recorded seven sacks in embarrassing No. 23 South Florida 31-0. The win was the fourth straight for Rutgers (7-2, 2-2 Big East) over South Florida (6-3, 2-3), and this one made the Scarlet Knights bowl eligible for the fifth straight season.
— COMPILED BY UNION-TRIBUNE FROM NEWS SERVICES
