LPGA’s First Major of Year Is Moved Back One Week

The Kraft Nabisco Championship, the first major of the year on the LPGA Tour, is changing its dates in 2006 so the tournament will end the first weekend in April.

Since 1991, the event has been held the last week of March and has consistently run into television scheduling competition, not only against golf events such as the Players Championship on the PGA Tour, but also the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments.

The 2006 dates are March 30-April 2. The Masters begins April 6 in 2006, but the Players Championship will be played March 23-26. The NCAA men’s Final Four will be held April 1 and 3, the women’s Final Four April 2 and 4.

There has been speculation that the four-year-old Office Depot tournament, played at El Caballero Country Club the week that the Kraft Nabisco will take over in 2006, may be moved to San Diego, as early as next year.

Kraft Nabisco had been reluctant to change dates because the late-March period was held up as the best time frame for the corporation to entertain its vendors.

“We have been considering a date change for the past few years as a way to remove conflicts from other sporting events,” said tournament director Terry Wilcox.

The tournament has not fared well in the Nielsen ratings, compared with the Players Championship.

-- Thomas Bonk

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Stewart Cink made five birdies in his first 10 holes on soggy Firestone South to lead the NEC Invitational by one shot over Rod Pampling when the rain-delayed first round was suspended by darkness at Akron, Ohio.

After two rain delays totaling six hours, only 16 players in the 76-man field finished their round. The rest will return early today.

Tiger Woods finished with back-to-back bogeys to fall two shots off the lead.

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Kristi Albers had a hole-in-one on the 17th and shot a 5-under 67 for a share of the lead with defending champion Hee-Won Han in the rain-interrupted opening round of the Wendy’s Championship for Children at Dublin, Ohio. Sixty-six players, including Michelle Wie, must complete their rounds early today.

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Danny Green, at 47 the oldest player in the field, moved into the quarterfinals of the U.S. Amateur with a 2-up victory over Spencer Levin, and top-seeded Ryan Moore rallied to beat Aron Price, 1-up, at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, N.Y.

Jason Hartwick of Sacramento beat Tim Hogarth of Northridge, 3 and 2, and will face Moore today.

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Rookie Roland Thatcher shot a 6-under 66 to take a one-shot lead over Mark Wiebe and Mark Wilson at the rain-delayed Reno-Tahoe Open. Corey Pavin shot 68.

About half of the 132 players were still on the course.

Associated Press