Norman’s 65 Puts Him in Lead at Kemper Open

Once Greg Norman got started, the rest was easy.

The 47-year-old Australian, coming off a five-week layoff in which he didn’t even practice, shot a bogey-free six-under-par 65 Friday to take a two-stroke lead at the midpoint of the Kemper Insurance Open at Potomac, Md.

“The hardest part about getting motivated is getting yourself there,” said Norman, who is winless on the PGA Tour since 1997 and played so few events last year that he lost his membership.

“Sometimes as of late the hardest part is getting to the starting gate. Once you get to the starting gate, everything else is natural, and that’s the way I’ve felt the last couple of days.”

Norman, whose enthusiasm for his golf career now shares equal billing with his many business interests, is trying to become the oldest player to win a PGA Tour event since Tom Watson took the Colonial three years ago at age 48.

Norman certainly had a spring in his step Friday, nearly sprinting at one point while sharing a smile with the scorekeeper after a great tee shot at No. 17. He birdied the hole, his second in a row, to keep the momentum from his first-round 67 to move to 10-under 132.

“I don’t feel 47, to tell you the truth,” said Norman, who cycles regularly and works out daily. “I probably feel better than I did when I was 35. I may have a few more aches and pains, yes, but I think when I was 35 I had those aches and pains, and you just didn’t pay attention to them.”

Bob Estes was 11 under after an eagle at No. 13, but lost three strokes on Nos. 16 and 17--the same holes Norman later birdied. Craig Barlow and Willie Wood both reached nine under before falling back one shot to tie Estes and Bob Burns at eight under.

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With visions of another 59 dancing through her mind, Annika Sorenstam settled for a 63 and the first-round lead in the inaugural Kellogg-Keebler Classic at Aurora, Ill.

Sorenstam, rested and ready to play again after taking last week off, finished at nine under on the Stonebridge Country Club course, one stroke better than Michele Redman.

Danielle Ammaccapane and Jackie Gallagher-Smith were another stroke back at 65, and Suzanne Strudwick and Carri Wood shot 66s.

Rookie Beth Bauer and veteran Jan Stephenson were in a group at 67.

Sorenstam, seeking her fourth tour victory of the year, birdied seven of the first eight holes and eight of the first 10.

Motor Racing

Ted Musgrave used lapped traffic to take the lead and hold off Robert Pressley in a battle of former Winston Cup drivers to win the NASCAR truck series race at Dover International Speedway in Delaware.

The victory in the MBNA America 200 was the second of the season for Musgrave and his ninth in Craftsman Truck Series competition.

After polesitter Rick Crawford used a fast pit stop to take the lead halfway through the race, Musgrave stalked him in a nose-to-tail battle around The Monster Mile. Musgrave got by Crawford--as did Travis Kvapil--as the trucks came up on lapped vehicles exiting the fourth turn on the 123rd lap at the high-banked concrete oval.

Musgrave, who had fallen out of the lead with a slow stop after Matt Crafton hit the wall on the 97th of 200 laps, held on to win by a half-second.

College Sports

Western Kentucky center Chris Marcus, a possible lottery pick in next month’s NBA draft, has decided to return to school for his last season.

“I’ve decided to pull my name out of the 2002 NBA draft because of my foot,” Marcus said. “I am physically unable to perform up to my capabilities right now.”

The 7-foot-1, 285-pound center averaged 16.4 points and 9.4 rebounds in the games he played but struggled to return to form after missing two months because of an injured ankle and a stress fracture in his left foot.

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Syracuse tailback Diamond Ferri is taking a one-year leave of absence from school. Ferri, a sophomore, was Syracuse’s No. 2 tailback last season, rushing 39 times for 155 yards. He was projected to start this fall.

Coach Paul Pasqualoni declined to give specific reasons for Ferri’s departure, but said Thursday it was a combination of things, including Ferri’s school work, missed spring practices and his commitment to the team.

Boxing

Evander Holyfield (37-5-2) takes on Hasim Rahman (35-2) tonight in a heavyweight bout scheduled for 12 rounds in Atlantic City, N.J.

Holyfield, 39, is in a non-title fight for the first time since he pulled one of the greatest upsets in boxing by beating Mike Tyson more than five years ago.

Rahman is coming off a knockout loss to Lennox Lewis on Nov. 17.

Rahman weighed in at 224 pounds. Holyfield was 216.