Name’s Bland, Scoring Isn’t in Seniors’ Championship

John Bland took advantage of an early start and a wet golf course Thursday to shoot a five-under-par 67, which gave him a two-stroke lead after the opening round of the PGA Seniors’ Championship at Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

Bland holed out a 165-yard nine-iron approach from the rough at the par-four ninth for an eagle. He also made five birdies.

Defending champion Hale Irwin and Gibby Gilbert were at 69.

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Nick Price finished with five consecutive birdies in a six-under 65 and took a one-shot lead in the MCI Classic at Hilton Head Island, S.C.

Price was four strokes behind Brad Faxon, Tom Lehman and Rick Fehr through 13 holes. But then he got it going, with on-target irons that left him putts of 20 feet or shorter. Lennie Clements and Hal Sutton were two shots behind.

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Nanci Bowen shot a career-best, seven-under 65 in taking a one-stroke lead over Lisa Kiggens and Nancy Harvey in the inaugural Susan G. Komen International at Murrells Inlet, S.C.

Those three rounds kept some of the LPGA’s biggest names from leading on the first day. The group at 68 included Laura Davies and Annika Sorenstam.

Swimming and Diving

Chad Carvin of Laguna Hills recorded the second-fastest time in the preliminaries of the men’s 400-meter individual medley but was disqualified at the World Short-Course Championships at Gothenburg, Sweden. Judges ruled that his hands did not enter the water at the same time on the opening butterfly leg.

Stanford’s Carissa Zenorini moved from third place to first on her final dive to win the women’s 1-meter springboard title in the U.S. Spring National Diving Championships at Auburn, Ala.

Tennis

Boris Becker, cruising toward victory, pulled a thigh muscle in the second set and lost to Lionel Roux in the third round of the Japan Open at Tokyo, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1. . . . Thomas Muster, his game abandoning him on his favorite surface, lost, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4, to Cedric Pioline in the Open Seat Godo clay-court tournament at Barcelona, Spain. . . . Prize money at Wimbledon this summer will be a record $11.2 million, but the women’s prize money still will be less than the men’s. The men’s singles winner will receive $676,450, the women’s $608,805. . . . The fifth-ranked UCLA women will play host to No. 13 Cal today and No. 2 Stanford on Saturday at the L.A. Tennis Center on the UCLA campus.

Pro Football

The Washington Redskins traded restricted free-agent quarterback Heath Shuler to the New Orleans Saints for a fifth-round draft choice this year and third-round pick in 1998.

Frank Wall, 78, who played a major role in bringing the expansion Falcons to Atlanta and was club president from 1970-76, has died of apparent suicide. . . . New England Patriot owner Robert Kraft recently met with the chairman of the Mashantucket Pequots, and the Native American tribe is expected to make a formal proposal to lure the NFL team closer to its reservation. . . . Retired all-pro linebacker Lawrence Taylor has made a deal with federal authorities for a lighter sentence, agreeing to testify against his former business partner, according to the North Jersey Herald & News of Passaic, N.J.

Basketball

Al Skinner, who led Rhode Island to 20-win seasons the last two years, was hired as coach at Boston College. . . . Villanova freshman forward Tim Thomas announced he will give up his remaining college eligibility for the NBA draft. . . . Nick Knapp, barred from playing at Northwestern because of a heart condition, signed a letter of intent with Northeastern Illinois. . . . Seniors Stais Boseman and Jaha Wilson shared most-valuable-player honors for USC. . . . Members of the Idaho Board of Education were surprised to learn that University of Idaho officials had agreed to pay former coach Kermit Davis a $20,000 signing bonus.

Miscellany

UCLA’s Amy Smith won the vault and the Bruin women’s gymnastics team qualified for the NCAA Super Six finals tonight in Gainesville, Fla.

Ohio State’s Blaine Wilson led after every round at Iowa City, Iowa, and won the NCAA men’s gymnastics all-around championship for the second consecutive year.

UCLA’s Al Scates was named Mountain Pacific Sports Federation volleyball coach of the year and the Bruins’ Brandon Taliaferro was named freshman of the year.

Defending champion Taiwan will sit out this year’s Little League World Series, but may return if problems with team accreditation can be resolved.