Furyk Leads by One Shot at Las Vegas

Jim Furyk made nothing but pars and birdies for a third straight round Friday and took the lead in the Invensys Classic at Las Vegas, continuing his domination of a tournament he has won three times.

Furyk, bidding for a fourth Las Vegas win in eight years, shot an eight-under-par 64 at the TPC at Summerlin to get to 20-under and take a one-stroke lead over Jeff Sluman. Furyk birdied four straight holes on his front nine, avoiding any bogeys for the third day in a row. Charles Howell III had a 66 and Stuart Appleby shot a 64 and were tied for third at 17-under 198.

John Daly completed his week early by shooting an 84 that left him at 16-over and in last place. Daly started the day with a triple bogey on the first hole and took a quadruple bogey eight on No. 11.

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Carin Koch chipped in for a birdie on the first hole and went on to a five-under 67 that gave her a 15-under total of 129 and a four-stroke lead over Cristie Kerr at Magnolia Grove Golf Club’s Crossings Course on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Mobile, Ala.

Catriona Matthew (66) and Emilee Klein (68) were at 10 under and defending champion Se Ri Pak had a 70 and was another stroke back. Annika Sorenstam is at seven-under for the tournament.

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Allen Doyle had a run of four straight birdies in an eight-under 64 and held a one-stroke lead over defending champion Sammy Rachels and Bruce Fleisher after the first round of the Napa Valley Championship at Napa, Calif. Tom Kite and Kermit Zarley, who made a hole-in-one on the 191-yard seventh, were tied at 66.

Tennis

Former No. 1 tennis player Martina Hingis of Switzerland, who will fall out of the top 10 next week for the first time in six years, will be out for at least the rest of the year, missing the season-ending WTA championships at Staples Center.

For Hingis, who returned in August after ankle surgery in May, it will be an indefinite break. In a news conference Friday in Zurich to make the announcement, Hingis was not even sure whether she would return for the Australian Open in January. Hingis, 22, has had mediocre results since coming back to the tour shortly before the U.S. Open.

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Hampered by a thigh strain, Lindsay Davenport lost to Kim Clijsters, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, in the quarterfinals of the Porsche Grand Prix at Filderstadt, Germany. Davenport, the defending champion, hurt her left leg in the second set and looked as though she had trouble moving. Clijsters’ semifinal opponent will be Amelie Mauresmo, who beat Tatiana Panova, 6-3, 6-4.

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U.S. Davis Cup player James Blake lost to fourth-seeded Carlos Moya, 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-1, in the quarterfinals of the CA Trophy indoor tournament at Vienna, Austria.... Top-seeded Marat Safin was upset by Gustavo Kuerten, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (3), in the quarterfinals of the Lyon Grand Prix at Lyon, France.

Miscellany

A convicted killer was sentenced to seven to 10 years in prison and another defendant was given one year for attacking Boston Celtic star Paul Pierce in a nightclub two years ago. Both men were acquitted Monday of trying to kill Pierce but were convicted of assault and battery charges.

William Ragland also was convicted of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, a knife, and received the longer sentence. He’ll serve it after completing 21 to 25 years he now is serving for unrelated convictions. Trevor Watson, given the one-year sentence, also had 1 1/2 years suspended.

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OneWorld of Seattle improved its record to 7-0 in challenger racing at the America’s Cup, defeating Italy’s Prada today by 1 minute, 11 seconds at Auckland, New Zealand. Alinghi of Switzerland remained in first place in the challenger standings after a 25-second win over Victory Challenge of Sweden. OneWorld, the only yacht without a loss, previously had a point deducted from its total.

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NASCAR Winston Cup points leader Tony Stewart was awarded the pole for the UAW-GM Quality 500 when rain washed out qualifying at Concord, N.C. The field for Sunday’s race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway was determined by car owner points. For the Busch Series race, Michael Waltrip won the pole for the Little Trees 300, barely beating Jeff Burton for the top spot.

Passings

Runner Benjamin Eastman, who once held world records in several middle distances and won a silver medal at the 1932 Olympics, has died of pneumonia at Hotchkiss, Colo. He was 91.

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Jim Martin, 78, a defensive lineman and kicker who won four NFL championships with Cleveland and Detroit, has died of throat cancer.