Woods, Duval on Roll

Tiger Woods and David Duval took full advantage of the best-ball format in the third round of the World Cup of Golf at Bella Vista, Argentina.

With Duval making up for Woods’ sluggish start and Woods closing strong, the U.S. duo combined for an eagle and 10 birdies Saturday to take a three-stroke lead.

“We kind of bailed each other out. And that’s what you need to do in this type of format,” Woods said.

“With the wind blowing as hard as it was today, you really had to hit the ball solid. And I felt like I was able to make some good, solid shots.”

Woods’ eagled the par-five 14th hole to give the team the lead in the 24-team tournament at the Buenos Aires Golf Club. Woods and Duval finished with a 12-under 60 for a 30-under total of 186.

New Zealand’s Frank Nobilo and Greg Turner and Argentina’s Angel Cabrera and Eduardo Romero were second after both tandems shot 65. The winning team will earn $1 million in the $3-million event that closes today with an alternate-shot round.

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Larry and Drew Nelson combined for a 13-under 59 to take a two-stroke lead after the first round of the Office Depot Father-Son Challenge at Paradise Island in the Bahamas.

Dave Stockton hit the pin with approach shots three times as he and his son, Ron, birdied three of the last four holes en route to a 61 in the scramble round on the Ocean Club at Atlantis Resort.

Winter Sports

Reigning World Cup champion Hermann Maier led an Austrian sweep of the top four places as he won his first downhill in five attempts at Val D’Isere, France.

The two-time world and Olympic champion reasserted his claim on the discipline with a second consecutive victory, clearly recovered from his disappointing 15th place in the season-opening downhill at Lake Louise, Canada.

Maier covered the 3,090-meter sun-drenched Oreiller Killy course in 1 minute 45.04 seconds.

Michaela Dorfmeister of Austria captured her second victory of the season, dominating the World Cup giant slalom race at Sestriere, Italy. Dorfmeister, the defending giant slalom champion, beat Sweden’s Anja Paerson by 0.83 second and third-place finisher Sonja Nef of Switzerland by 0.87.

U.S. Olympian Matt Chojnacki completed a triple-twist, four-somersault jump to win a freestyle aerials contest on his home hill at Winter Park, Colo. . . . German lugers took the top two places in men’s doubles and the top three places in the women’s singles races in a World Cup event at La Plagne, France. . . . Norway anchor Ole Einar Bjoerndalen brought his team back after a penalty in the third leg to edge the Czech Republic for the victory in the men’s 30-kilometer biathlon relay at Anterselva, Italy.

Defending champions Elena Leonova and Andrei Khvalko earned four perfect 10s for artistic impression as they captivated the MCI Center audience in winning the pairs competition in the World Professional Figure Skating Championship at Washington.

Philippe Candeloro of France won the men’s competition, and Yuka Sato tied the event’s record for longest gap between titles. Five years after winning the 1995 championship, the 27-year-old Japanese skater took the women’s competition.

Hockey

Martin Woods and Vashi Nedomansky each scored in the shootout period as Fresno missed four times as the Ice Dogs scored a 5-4 win in a West Coast Hockey League game before 7,219 at Long Beach Arena.

Tennis

Three-time champion John McEnroe defeated Henri Leconte of France, 6-2, 7-5, at London to reach his fourth consecutive Honda Challenge seniors final. In the other semifinal, Pat Cash of Australia defeated Bjorn Borg of Sweden, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (6).

Andy Roddick, the top-ranked junior player in the world, led the United States to a 2-0 victory over Spain in the final of the ITF Sunshine Cup at Key Biscayne, Fla. The American girls’ team beat Estonia, 2-1, in the final, giving the United States its third sweep and first since 1984.