Els Leads With a 65, but Who Is That With the Group Tied at 67?

Ernie Els held the lead Thursday after one round of the Buick Classic golf tournament in Harrison, N.Y., with his six-under-par 65, and Mike Reid and Steve Elkington were tied for second at 66.

Who was that tied with Greg Norman, David Frost, Costantino Rocca and John Wilson at 67?

Arjun Atwal, a household name in golf, as long as the household is in Calcutta.

Atwal, 23, began playing at 14, held a two-handicap within a year and won two national junior college championships at Nassau Community College on Long Island. He is a veteran of the Omega tour in Asia and once won $11,500 at the Masters.

That’s the Gadjil Masters in India.

He also is realistic.

“I was just looking to shoot somewhere near par,” said Atwal, who made the field in local qualifying.

“I didn’t think about anything,” Atwal said. “I was just thinking about each shot. . . . I wasn’t thinking ahead of myself. I don’t know why. I should have been, I guess.”

Actually, he was thinking about something. His coach at Nassau, Larry DellAquila, was his caddie Thursday and said the main goal was keeping Atwal’s mind on the next shot and to ignore his improbably good round. DellAquila wouldn’t say what they talked about, but Atwal was less discreet.

“Girls,” he said. “We were talking about girls, mostly. It’s the best gallery I’ve ever seen.”

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Defending champion Dale Eggeling, the wire-to-wire leader last year, Gail Graham and Dana Dorman took advantage of rain-softened greens to shoot six-under-par 66s for a one-shot lead in the first round of the LPGA Oldsmobile Classic in East Lansing, Mich.

Melissa McNamara, Alison Nicholas and Kim Saiki were a shot behind in the event that was delayed by rain for more than 3 1/2 hours.

Five others were at four-under 67 when play was suspended for the day.

Basketball

Cleveland Cavalier center Brad Daugherty, a five-time all-star whose back problems had kept him sidelined for more than two years, has retired from professional basketball at 30.

The Collegiate Commissioners Assn. will decide whether Syracuse recruit Jason Hart, from Inglewood High, can break his commitment to attend the university.

Hart is a 6-foot-2 point guard who said he wants to attend UCLA, where he can be near his older brother, Jadifi, who suffers from a kidney disease.

Jake Crouthamel, Syracuse athletic director, and Coach Jim Boeheim dispute Hart’s motivation. Boeheim has said Jadifi Hart’s kidney disease was already at a serious stage when Jason Hart signed.

He also said he thinks Hart merely wants to attend UCLA, which showed no interest in him until its top point guard recruit, Olujimi Mann, failed to qualify academically.

Louisville and Louisiana State have been chosen to round out the field in the third John R. Wooden Classic, which will be held Dec. 7 at the Pond of Anaheim. Earlier, Arizona and Utah were chosen to play in the first game.

Long Island University said it is recruiting former all-New York City prospect Richie Parker, whose career was put on hold after he pleaded guilty to first-degree sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl.

Football

Veteran linebacker Rickey Jackson, 38, retired as a New Orleans Saint, the team with which he spent the first 13 of his 15 NFL seasons.

The Atlanta Falcons have swapped running back Robert Baldwin to the Green Bay Packers for cornerback Lenny McGill.

The Miami Dolphins have signed top 1996 draft choice Daryl Gardener and released fellow defensive linemen Chuck Klingbeil in a salary-cap move that helps make room for Gardener.

Oakland Raider owner Al Davis said the club has bought a building and land in Alameda for a practice facility and will be moving administrative personnel from El Segundo later this month.

The building, land and improvements are expected to cost $13.5-16 million.

The Jacksonville Jaguars signed offensive guard Ben Coleman. . . . Seattle Seahawk fullback Steve Smith, who played seven seasons with the Raiders in Los Angeles, said he is retiring because of a back injury.

Hockey

Al Sims, assistant coach of the Mighty Ducks, was named coach of the San Jose Sharks, as expected. . . . The Tampa Bay Lightning re-signed Coach Terry Crisp to a three-year contract worth more than $1.6 million. . . . Buffalo Sabre goaltender Dominik Hasek signed a three-year contract worth $10.5 million. . . . The Dallas Stars signed goaltender Roman Turek to a one-year contract with a one-year option.

Jurisprudence

Angus Charles Drogo Montagu, a British duke convicted of conspiracy and wire fraud for plotting to defraud the Tampa Bay Lightning, was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison and ordered to repay $51,000 to the Lightning.

Randy Moss, thrown off Florida State’s football team after violating his parole by smoking marijuana, was sentenced to up a year in jail in Charleston, W.Va.

Miscellany

Despite stinging criticism by Roger Bybee, coordinator of the Wisconsin Fair Trade Campaign, that Reebok International Ltd. employs overseas “shoe slaves” who work under “subhuman conditions,” the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents committee approved a five-year, $7.9-million marketing deal with the shoemaker.