After Time Off, Woods Says He Is Ready for Las Vegas

Mentally refreshed after a week of rest at his new Orlando, Fla., home, Tiger Woods, tees it up again today in the $1.6-million Las Vegas Invitational.

“I didn’t play or practice,” Woods said of his first time off since turning pro in August. “I just rested.”

Woods withdrew last week on the eve of the Buick Challenge, citing exhaustion after a frantic first four weeks as a pro that earned him $140,194 and unlimited sponsor exemptions for next year.

Though some fellow pros criticized his last-minute decision not to play, the 20-year-old said he had no other choice.

“My mind has been carrying me and you can only do that so long before your mind gets tired,” Woods said. “That’s what happened to me.”

Woods said he wasn’t upset by criticism from some tour members who said he should have played at the Buick Challenge last week.

Woods’ abrupt departure forced the cancellation of an awards dinner where Woods was going to be honored as the 1995-96 college player of the year.

“Actually, I got some messages from the guys who said they didn’t exactly say what was written,” Woods said. “Those guys have been very nice to me. Davis [Love III] has been great. Peter [Jacobsen] has been great. They told me they didn’t exactly say that.”

Woods also has signed up to play in the Australian Open next month in what will be his first overseas tournament as a professional. It will be held in Sydney from November 21-24.

Tennis

Playing her first match in Germany since her father went on trial for tax evasion, Steffi Graf was at the top of her game in routing Kimberly Po, 6-0, 6-1, in the Leipzig Open.

“Sometimes I do find it hard to concentrate, but somehow I always manage,” Graf said after dispatching the 35th-ranked American to reach the quarterfinals.

At her father’s trial in Mannheim, a former financial advisor to Peter Graf testified that he told Steffi Graf of the whereabouts of her money.

Horst Schmitt, who disassociated himself from the Grafs in 1991, said he did this so he wouldn’t be blamed later for Peter Graf’s failure to speak clearly about financial matters.

Steffi Graf, who has not been charged, has said she can’t recall Schmitt telling her about how her father managed her money, and said she was focusing on tennis.

Michael Chang started with an ace and won the first nine games in a 6-0, 6-3 first-round victory over Dutchman Dennis Van Scheppingen in the Singapore Open. He next plays Nicolas Pereira of Venezuela, a 6-1, 7-6 (7-2) winner over Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil.

Defending champion Wayne Ferreira was ousted from the Lyon (France) Grand Prix in his first match as Moroccan Youness El Aynaoui won, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. Second-seeded Yevgeny Kafelnikov struggled but advanced to the second round with a 7-6 (7-2), 6-7 (5-7), 6-4 victory over Daniel Vacek of the Czech Republic. . . . Bernd Karbacher upset top-seeded Alberto Costa of Spain, 6-4, 7-5, in the first round of the Marbella Open in Spain. Fifth-seeded Carlos Moya was upset, losing to Argentina’s Franco Squillari, 6-4, 6-4.

College Basketball

Deuce Ford, the leading returning scorer for Louisiana State’s basketball team, was suspended for the entire 1996-97 season, the school said. Coach Dale Brown said Ford was suspended for a violation of team rules and did not elaborate.

St. John’s junior center Zendon Hamilton will be out six weeks after arthroscopic surgery for inflammation of his left knee, the school said. . . . Cal State Northridge forward Damion Morbley, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder last season, has been declared academically ineligible and will sit out this season.

Miscellany

Julio Cesar Chavez emerged from self-imposed seclusion to say he will overcome tax and legal problems and return to his championship-winning form.

Chavez claimed former accountant Daniel Viesca Monsivais, who was charged with him in the tax case, was responsible for defrauding the government out of 10.5 million pesos--about $1.4 million. Chavez will fight Joey Gamache at the Pond of Anaheim Oct. 12.

The AC Delco Classic of the Professional Bowlers Assn. tour will return to Cal Bowl in Lakewood March 4-8, for the start of a three year run. . . . Women’s pole vault will be contested at the World Indoor Championships in 1989 and the World Outdoor Championships in 1999, and women’s hammer throw at the World Outdoor Championships in 1999.