Winds Die Down, Scores Go Down at Senior Golf

Hale Irwin’s golf game livened up when the winds died down during the second round of the 54-hole MasterCard Championship on Saturday at Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.

Irwin shot a 68 to share the lead with Gil Morgan at three-under-par 141. He had four birdies on the back nine, capping his run with an eight-foot putt on the final hole.

After a wind-blown opening round on Friday, the field of 24 players--all winners on the 1996 Senior PGA Tour--found playing conditions at the Hualalai Resort more to their liking.

“It took a while to get used to the new golf course again,” said Irwin, who shot a 73 in the first round. “Today, we were able to get the ball in the air, unlike yesterday.”

Morgan shot a 69 after struggling to a 72 on the first day.

*

Karrie Webb of Australia birdied three of the last five holes to shoot a two-under 70, giving her a share of the lead at 138 with Michelle McGann at the HealthSouth Inaugural at Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

Webb, 22, dominated the LPGA Tour last year, winning four times to become the first rookie to earn a $1 million. She won last year’s HealthSouth tournament in a three-way playoff.

“It was a lot different last year,” Webb said. “I was going out there to see how high I could finish. This year, I’ve been in the lead. Obviously, I know I can win.”

Winter Sports

Kristian Ghedina of Italy earned his third World Cup downhill victory of the season, racing down the 2.6-mile Lauberhorn at Wengen, Switzerland, in a record time of 2 minutes 24.23 seconds.

Luc Alphand of France, the reigning World Cup downhill champion, was second in 2:24.36, followed by Austria’s Fritz Strobl in 2:24.62.

Deborah Compagnoni of Italy, the Olympic and world champion, won her second race in 24 hours and her third this season, beating Anita Wachter of Austria in a World Cup giant slalom at Zwiesel, Germany.

Compagnoni was timed in 2:08.37 for two runs. Wachter finished at 2:09.27.

At Lahti, Finland, Marit Mikkelsplass of Norway won her first World Cup cross-country event, and Jelena Valbe of Russia overtook Stefania Belmondo of Italy in the overall standings.

Mario Stecher of Austria earned his third World Cup victory, beating Olympic bronze medalist Bjarte Engen Vik of Norway and standings leader Samppa Lajunen of Finland in Nordic combined at St. Moritz, Switzerland.

Thony Hemery of France won a men’s World Cup dual moguls event at Whistler, Canada, getting a big lift when Olympic champion Jean-Luc Brassard was disqualified for a false start.

Olympic bronze medalists Guenther Huber and Antonio Tartaglia of Italy won the two-man World Cup bobsled race at Koenigssee, Germany. They edged Sepp Dostthaler and Thomas Platzer of Germany by .01 of a second in a race that doubled as the European championship.

Austrian cousins Tobias and Markus Schiegl won their second consecutive world championship in luge doubles at Igls, Austria.

Keiji Shirahata of Japan skated a track record 1:52.32 to beat Jeroen Straathof of Holland in the 1,500-meter World Cup speedskating race at Miola Di Pine, Italy.

Five-time European women’s figure skating champion Surya Bonaly will return to the French team for the European championships. Bonaly ruptured an Achilles’ tendon on her right foot during an exhibition last May.

Miscellany

Mark Plaatjes, the 1991 Los Angeles Marathon winner and 1993 World Champion, heads the field for today’s San Diego Marathon, which begins at 7:30 a.m. in Carlsbad.

Joy Culverhouse, the widow of former Tampa Bay Buccaneers owner Hugh F. Culverhouse, will receive $25 million from her husband’s estate, a judge ordered in Tampa, Fla.

Art Schlichter, the former NFL quarterback, has agreed to a plea bargain to receive treatment for his gambling addiction at Baltimore’s Compulsive Gambling Center and then will serve at least eight years in prison. He pleaded guilty to two counts of forgery and one count of theft.

Mike Rymsha, former quarterback at Division II Bentley College, is among four men facing charges for their alleged involvement in a sports gambling ring at Boston College.

Rymsha was one of the off-campus operatives who coordinated student bookmakers on the Boston College campus, according to police. Last year, he was selected the most outstanding Division II player in New England.

The U.S. Olympic Committee will vote next month whether to pursue a bid for the Summer Games in 2008.