Els Takes Two-Shot Lead at Memorial

Ernie Els came out firing and never let up Saturday until he had a six-under-par 66, giving him a two-shot lead at the Memorial in Dublin, Ohio.

Els had consecutive birdies late in the round, getting up-and-down on the par-five 15th and following with a tee shot to six feet on the 16th to give himself the lead over Fred Couples (68), K.J. Choi (68) and Justin Rose (69).

Despite missing an eight-foot birdie on the final hole, Els was at 12-under 204 and had a 54-hole lead on the PGA Tour for the first time since winning the season-opening Mercedes Championships last year.

Five players were within three shots of the lead, including three-time Memorial winner Tiger Woods, who moved into contention with a 67 that put him at nine-under 207.

Couples continued to make sensational shots. The latest was a wedge he holed from 70 yards on No. 17 for birdie that put him at 206.

Choi spent most of the day sharing top billing with Els on the leaderboard, but he had to recover from a couple of bogeys. He birdied the 17th to get to 10-under 206. Rose stumbled with a double bogey early in the round, but that was his only mistake.

Jack Nicklaus, the 64-year-old tournament host, played the final five holes in one-under but finished with a 77. He is at eight-over 224.

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Karrie Webb birdied four of the final five holes for an eight-under 64 and a two-stroke lead after two rounds of the Kellogg-Keebler Classic at Aurora, Ill. She is at 11-under 133. Jill McGill (67) and Seol-An Jeon (67) are tied for second.

Five players were within four shots of the lead, including two-time defending champion Annika Sorenstam. She had seven birdies -- including four in a row on the back nine -- and got to eight under before a costly three-putt for bogey on the 17th. She shot 66 and is at 137.

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Andy Bean shot a seven-under 65 and was tied for the lead with Bob Gilder after two rounds in a Champions Tour event, the Farmers Charity Classic in Ada, Mich.

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Motor Racing

Ryan Hunter-Reay started from the pole and led every lap of the Road Runner 250 at West Allis, Wis., the first Champ Car World Series driver to do that on an oval track since Bobby Rahal won a 200-lapper at Phoenix in 1992. The youngster lapped everyone else in the 18-car field except Patrick Carpentier and Michel Jourdain Jr. Bruno Junqueira, who was sixth, has a 76-75 lead over Carpentier in points. Hunter-Reay is third with 66.

Bobby Hamilton Jr. will have the lead when the rain-delayed NASCAR Busch Series race resumes Monday at Dover (Del.) International Speedway. Hamilton, in a Ford, took the lead from pole-sitter David Green on the 11th lap. The MNBA 200 was stopped after 28 of 200 laps.

Greg Pursley of Canyon Country swept the twin 50-lap Lucas Oil Super Later Model series feature races before about 5,000 at Irwindale Speedway. Jesse James’ car spun out during the second race, and James was tended to by paramedics. He was transported to Arcadia Methodist Hospital with an ankle injury. In the 50-lap NAPA Auto Parts Super Truck series feature, Eric Hardin, a 21-year-old rookie driver, went flag-to-flag to earn his first victory. Lee Ladd won the 40-lap Vista Paint Super Stock series feature.

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Pro Football

Mark Grieb threw four touchdown passes to help San Jose jump out to a big lead and the SaberCats held on for a 56-52 victory over the Tampa Bay Storm in the first round of the Arena Football League playoffs in front of 11,130 in San Jose.

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Beach Volleyball

For the third time in five FIVB World Tour events this season, Todd Rogers and Sean Scott placed ninth in an international event after twice losing at Espinho, Portugal.

After winning their opening two matches Friday in the $180,000 tournament, the 10th-seeded team lost to second-seeded Markus Dieckmann and Jonas Reckermann of Germany, 15-21, 21-15, 17-15.

Sascha Heyer and Markus Egger of Switzerland, seeded 13th in the 32-team main draw, denied Rogers and Scott a chance to improve their Olympic-qualifying point total with a 21-17, 21-9 victory.

Rogers and Scott are competing with Dax Holdren and Stein Metzger for the second U.S. men’s berth for the Athens Games. They lead Holdren and Metzger by 112 points. Dain Blanton and Jeff Nygaard are the top-ranked U.S. men’s team.

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Miscellany

Christian Cantwell put the shot 73 feet 11 1/2 inches at the Oregon Track Classic in Gresham, the best outdoor mark in the world this year. It also was his career best. Cantwell, the 2004 world indoor champion, held the world’s previous outdoor best this year, a throw of 73-4 at the Home Depot Invitational last month. Adam Nelson finished second with a throw of 71-1 1/2, and John Godina was third at 71-1 1/4.

Marla Runyan won the Freihofer’s Run for Women in Albany, N.Y., for the third year in a row, finishing two seconds off the course record in the five-kilometer race. Runyan of Eugene, Ore., who is legally blind, was timed in 15 minutes 26 seconds. The record was set in 1995 by Lynn Jennings.

Golfer Sara Huarte of California, lacrosse player Amy Appelt of Virginia and distance runner Kim Field of Providence have been named the most outstanding collegiate athletes in their sports by the Collegiate Women Sports Awards in balloting among NCAA member schools. They each will receive the Honda Award.