Rory McIlroy shares lead at BMW Championship

Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy seem to be spending a lot of time together lately. That includes the top of a busy leaderboard in the BMW Championship at Carmel, Ind.

The biggest star in golf and his heir apparent put on a dazzling show Thursday at Crooked Stick, where the gallery caught a glimpse of the best players in the world for the first time since the 1991 PGA Championship.

McIlroy, flawless with his irons, birdied his last two holes for an eight-under-par 64 and was part of a four-way tie for the lead with Indiana native Bo Van Pelt, U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson and Graham DeLaet, the Canadian who is quietly becoming the Cinderella of these FedEx Cup playoffs.

Woods isn’t going away quietly. He was only sharp when it came to scoring, making enough birdies to stay in the game, including a 30-foot chip-in on his last hole for a 65.

Jiyai Shin was in the middle of a solid round when a rain delay halted play in the LPGA Tour’s Kingsmill Championship for two hours.

When she returned to the course at Williamsburg, Va., she finished off a tournament-record nine-under 62 for a career-best performance.

With 33 players still on the course when play was halted by darkness, the 24-year-old Shin, from South Korea, was two shots ahead of the field.

ETC.

Oregon starts random testing

The University of Oregon is implementing random drug testing of all of its athletes, following a media report this year that estimated from 40% to 60% of the football team smoked marijuana.

Oregon’s previous drug policy allowed for testing when there was reasonable suspicion. A recent decision by the general counsel gives temporary permission for random testing effective this month. The policy still faces a public hearing in early October.

ESPN the Magazine’s April report was based on interviews with 19 current or former Oregon players and officials, and it accompanied a larger piece that looked at marijuana use among college football players nationwide.

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A Lubbock, Texas, hospital spokesman said Texas Tech basketball Coach Billy Gillispie was discharged after a six-day stay amid an investigation into alleged player mistreatment.

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Abner Mares will now defend his World Boxing Council super-bantamweight title against Anselmo Moreno at Staples Center on Nov. 10.

Hawaiian Gardens’ Mares (24-0-1, 13 knockouts) was supposed to fight Panama’s Moreno (33-1-1, 12 KOs) Oct. 27 at Honda Center, Golden Boy Promotions Chief Executive Richard Schaefer announced last week, but Schaefer said Manny Pacquiao’s decision not to fight Nov. 10 left open a more attractive date on the boxing calendar.

Schaefer said the change in date also will help free heavyweight Chris Arreola of Riverside and Mexico’s super-welterweight Alfredo Angulo to appear on the card in separate fights.

—Lance Pugmire

After a two-year hiatus, the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals is back.

Its first event was in Cincinnati over Labor Day weekend, and the final one of the year, the AVP Championships, is this weekend in Santa Barbara, running from Friday through Sunday.

There will be 12 men’s and 12 women’s teams competing for a prize purse of $225,000, the largest purse in U.S. pro beach volleyball in 2012 to date.

—Baxter Holmes