Despite Bogey, Inkster Keeps Share of Lead

Juli Inkster, trying to win her second major championship in three weeks, bogeyed No. 18 for a two-under-par 69 that left her in a three-way tie Saturday at the LPGA Championship at Wilmington, Del.

Inkster, who won the U.S. Open, finished the round at the DuPont Country Club with her first bogey in 51 holes and ended tied for the lead with Cristie Kerr and Nancy Scranton.

Kerr, in contention for the first time in any tournament, birdied 18 for a 69. Scranton had a 66 to get to 10-under 203.

Nineteen players were within four shots of the leaders going into today’s final round, including Meg Mallon, who was one shot back after a course-record 63.

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Hale Irwin took command of the Senior Players Championship at Dearborn, Mich., with an eight-under 64, while an aching hip forced Jack Nicklaus to withdraw after nine holes.

Irwin, one of five players who started the day two strokes behind Graham Marsh, has a four-stroke lead over Marsh with a 202 total.

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Jim Carter and Duffy Waldorf shared the third-round lead in the Buick Classic at Harrison, N.Y., at eight-under 205. Five players--including two-time U.S. Open champion Lee Janzen and 1997 British Open winner Justin Leonard--were two strokes behind.

Auto Racing

Pole-sitter Ron Fellows outdueled Mike Wallace down the stretch, coming from 5.2 seconds behind in the final laps to win the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Bully Hill Vineyards 150 at Watkins Glen, N.Y. . . . Rookie Juan Montoya of Colombia won the pole position for today’s Medic Drug Grand Prix of Cleveland with a lap of 133.448 mph. . . . Greg Ray, maintaining a series of fast qualifying times, captured his second pole of the year for today’s Radisson 200 IRL race at Fountain, Colo. Ray, qualifying in the front row for the fourth time in five IRL races this season, turned a lap in 176.005 mph. . . . Brazilian Rubens Barrichello overcame heavy rain to take the pole for today’s French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours. . . . NASCAR Southwest Tour points leader Kurt Busch of Las Vegas led the final 31 laps to win the Snap On Tools 200 at Sears Point Raceway. Mark Reed of Bakersfield finished second.

Major League Soccer

Stern John had a goal and an assist and Mark Dougherty set a Major League Soccer record for victories by a goalkeeper with his 44th as the Columbus Crew defeated the New York-New Jersey MetroStars, 2-1, before a crowd of 18,632 at Columbus, Ohio. . . . Roy Lassiter scored twice in the final 17 minutes and Carey Talley registered a goal and an assist to help D.C. United defeat the Kansas City Wizards, 3-0, before 12,879 at Washington. . . . Raul Diaz Arce broke an 11-game scoring drought with a first-half header that lifted the San Jose Clash to a 2-1 victory over the Miami Fusion before 7,287 at Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. . . . Midfielder Jorge Rodriguez scored a goal in the first half and forward Jason Kreis added a free-kick goal in the 90th minute as the Dallas Burn improved to 7-1 at home by defeating the New England Revolution, 2-0, before 12,561. . . . Colorado’s Joey DiGiamartino and Jorge Dely Valdes scored in the last six minutes to give the Rapids a 2-0 victory over the Chicago Fire at Denver.

Boxing

Ukrainian Vitali Klitschko knocked out defending World Boxing Organization titlist Herbie Hide in the second round at London to become the first fighter from the former Soviet Union to win a version of the world heavyweight championship. . . . Polish heavyweight Andrew Golota used a stiff jab and sharp counter-punching to stop American Quinn Navarre in the sixth round at Warsaw.

Basketball

Seattle SuperSonic forward Vin Baker has decided to terminate the remainder of his contract by opting for free agency as of July 1. However, he says he prefers to remain with Seattle.

Sasha Obradovic scored 17 points to lead Yugoslavia to its fourth consecutive win at the European Championship, beating Slovenia, 71-66, at Pau, France.

Miscellany

Fifth-seeded Holly McPeak and Gabrielle Reece won three matches to advance to the final day of Round 2 of the 1999 Oldsmobile Alero Beach Volleyball Series, a U.S. Olympic challenge event, at Virginia Beach, Va. . . . John Kilroy, with North Sails president Gary Weisman calling tactics, kept Samba Pa Ti atop the Farr 40s at the Volvo Inshore Sailing Championships at Long Beach. . . . Rob Murphy, an All-American offensive lineman dismissed from Ohio State for poor grades, will make himself eligible for the NFL’s July supplemental draft. . . . Ivan Pedroso of Cuba got off the best long jump of the year with a leap of 28 feet, 2 3/4 inches at Padua, Italy. . . . Linebacker Anthony Simmons, the Seattle Seahawks’ first-round draft pick last year, has been accused of assault, battery and outrage and is being sought after failing to appear in court at Kent, Wash.