Title Is Historic for Richardson

Kemp Richardson joined his father as a U.S. Senior Amateur golf champion Thursday, defeating Bill Ploeger, 2 and 1, at Norwood Hills Country Club in St. Louis.

Richardson’s father, John, won in 1987 at Saucon Valley (Pa.) Country Club at age 66. They are the first father-son winners in U.S. Golf Assn. history. John Richardson died a year after his victory.

Richardson, 55, of Laguna Niguel, also won the British Senior at Royal Portrush in Ireland. He and Bill Shean Jr. are the only players to hold the U.S. and British senior amateur titles at the same time.

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Carol Semple Thompson won her third consecutive U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur title, taking the final two holes on her home course for a 2-up victory over Anne Carr at Sewickley, Pa.

Olympic Sports

A Junior Grand Prix figure skating competition scheduled to begin next Wednesday in Scottsdale, Ariz., was postponed Thursday by the International Skating Union and the U.S. Figure Skating Assn. The event had drawn 75 competitors from 19 countries, including 13-year-old Beatrisa Liang of Granada Hills.

The ISU and USFSA cited concerns for the safety of athletes, coaches and officials traveling to the competition, which might be rescheduled in October.

However, a six-skater U.S. delegation sent to a Junior Grand Prix event in Sofia, Bulgaria, will compete as scheduled. The team had flown to Sofia Monday, before the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and before plane travel was suspended.

Meanwhile, four-time world figure skating champion Michelle Kwan, her parents and her coach, Frank Carroll, were stranded in Sydney, Australia, where they were vacationing after Kwan competed in the Goodwill Games in Brisbane. They had planned to return to Los Angeles Wednesday but remained in Sydney indefinitely.

USA Swimming will announce the site of the 2004 Olympic swim trials today. Long Beach, San Antonio and Indianapolis are finalists.