Kendall, Lowery Share First-Round Lead

Skip Kendall birdied four of his last six holes Thursday and finished with a five-under-par 66 that tied him with Steve Lowery for the first-round lead in the B.C. Open at Endicott, N.Y.

The leaders played in the morning, before winds kicked up at En-Joie Golf Course, and finished one stroke ahead of a group of a dozen golfers that included Brad Faxon.

Fourteen others were at three under, among them Faxon’s Ryder Cup teammates Fred Couples and Jay Haas. Davis Love III, another Ryder Cup player, and British Open champion John Daly were among 17 at 69.

Kendall has never finished higher than eighth in his two years on the tour.

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Mitzi Edge, who has yet to win in 11 years on the LPGA tour, shot a five-under-par 67 to take the first-round lead in the $500,000 Safeco Classic at Kent, Wash.

Seven players were one stroke back, including last week’s winner, Alison Nicholas, and two-time Safeco champion Patty Sheehan.

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Sandy Lyle of Scotland, Mats Hallberg of Sweden and Jean-Louis Guepy of France shot six-under-par 66s and tied for the first-round lead in the British Masters at Northampton, England. Nine European Ryder Cup players are using the tournament as a tuneup for next week’s competition.

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Brian Hull of USC won the men’s title and Kim Marshall of Wake Forest took the women’s in a sudden-death playoff in the U.S.-Japan Intercollegiate competition at Tanagura, Japan.

Basketball

NBA owners again adjusted their schedule and began voting by telex to ratify the pending collective bargaining agreement players have already approved.

The two-day process ends today. If at least 22 of the 29 teams vote for the deal, a good possibility, the lockout that began July 1 should be lifted Monday morning. If not, owners will have to travel to New York for an in-person ballot Monday, when only a simple majority will be required.

The agent for Anthony Mason, while acknowledging it is close to impossible for the Lakers to sign the free-agent forward because of salary-cap restrictions, said he still plans to make contact with the team next week.

“Things change sometimes,” Don Cronson said.

Cronson said he will call the Lakers, Houston Rockets, Chicago Bulls, Orlando Magic, New Jersey Nets, New York Knicks and Miami Heat, but that other teams could indicate interest. Mason and Pat Riley clashed last season in New York, but according to Cronson, Mason has said he would not have a problem playing for Riley again in Miami.

The NCAA notified New Mexico State officials of “specific alleged violations” that could warrant penalties for the men’s basketball program. The NCAA and the university have been investigating allegations of academic violations involving correspondence courses taken by junior college transfers.

Jurisprudence

A former officer of Bruce McNall’s coin company pleaded guilty to wire and bank fraud, becoming the eighth McNall associate to plead guilty to similar charges.

Norman Morand II, chief operating officer and corporate secretary when McNall, the former owner of the Kings, owned Superior Stamp and Coin Company Inc., admitted he assisted McNall in falsifying sales of coins, usually coins that did not exist.

Former lightweight boxing champion Bobby Chacon pleaded not guilty to a charge of selling narcotics at his Pacoima home. Van Nuys Municipal Court Commissioner Gerald Richardson released Chacon on his own recognizance and ordered him to return Sept. 26 for a preliminary hearing.

Tennis

Top-seeded Goran Ivanisevic of Croatia shook off a lack of concentration and beat Czech Radomir Vasek, 6-4, 6-3, in the Passing Shot tournament at Bordeaux, France. Ivanisevic had turned 24 Wednesday and organizers celebrated by rolling out a cake on court before his match Thursday. Ivanisevic was surprised and lost the first three games before rallying and advancing to the quarterfinals.

Third- and fourth-seeded Sergi Bruguera of Spain and Andrea Gaudenzi of Italy led the advance to the quarterfinals of the Romanian Open with victories at Bucharest.

U.S. Open champion Pete Sampras defeated John McEnroe, 6-4, 6-4, in an exhibition match before 7,753 at the Forum.

Miscellany

The New Jersey Devils and the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority agreed to extend the deadline for 30 days to complete an agreement that would keep the team from moving for at least a year. The team and the authority had set today as the deadline to complete a tentative agreement reached July 13.

Lennox Lewis has offered Frank Bruno $5.1 million for a fight to reclaim the World Boxing Council heavyweight title. Lewis’ backer, Panos Eliades, contends that his offer will be more than any money put up by promoter Don King to bring together Britain’s present and past heavyweight champions.