Sorenstam One Back at LPGA Championship

Annika Sorenstam turned her head and studied the large leaderboard behind the green on her last hole Thursday in the LPGA Championship, seeing her name in a familiar position at the top.

It didn’t stay there long, but it was never far away.

Natalie Gulbis rose to the occasion of playing with Sorenstam by closing with five consecutive birdies, including an 18-foot putt on the ninth hole, for a five-under-par 67 at Havre de Grace, Md. She shared the lead with Laura Diaz and big-hitting Laura Davies, who bullied the par fives at Bulle Rock and nearly reached the 596-yard 11th hole in two. Sorenstam is one shot back.

Bulle Rock delivered plenty of excitement with a celebration for Karrie Webb as the newest member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, and a celebration of youth. Eighteen-year-old Paula Creamer birdied four holes in a row late in her round for a 68, and 15-year-old Michelle Wie overcame a sick stomach for a 69.

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Matt Gogel shot a course-record eight-under 63 to take a three-stroke lead in the suspended first round of the Booz Allen Classic at Bethesda, Md.

Gogel birdied eight of his last 13 holes in a bogey-free round.

Lee Westwood, Brett Wetterich, Fredrik Jacobson and Kevin Stadler were tied for second. Stadler was the only one of the four yet to complete the round, having finished 14 holes when play was stopped for the day because of lightning.

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Roberto Castro and Jeff Overton teamed to win an alternate-shot match and had singles victories to lead the United States to a 14-10 victory over Europe in the Palmer Cup college matches at Haven, Wis.

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Darren Clarke withdrew from next week’s U.S. Open to be with his wife, who is undergoing cancer treatment. Clarke was replaced in the 156-man field by Stanford golf coach Conrad Ray.

Tennis

Andy Roddick beat Karol Beck, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, to reach the quarterfinals at the Queen’s Club tournament in London, where he is trying to become the third man to win three titles in a row at the Wimbledon tuneup.

Roddick’s next opponent is Sebastien Grosjean, who rallied to defeat James Blake, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (10).

Two-time defending champion Roger Federer beat Florian Mayer, 6-2, 6-4, to ease into the quarterfinals of the Gerry Weber Open at Halle, Germany.

Federer next plays Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber.

Defending champion Maria Sharapova struggled with the serve-and-volley game of Samantha Stosur but prevailed, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, to reach the quarterfinals of the DFS Classic at Birmingham, England.

Australian Open finalist Lleyton Hewitt will not play in next month’s Mercedes Benz Cup at UCLA, because of personal reasons, according to officials. It has been reported in Australia that Hewitt will be getting married to actress Bec Cartwright on July 21 in Sydney, and the UCLA tennis event starts July 25.

Additionally, organizers said Guillermo Canas of Argentina, Mario Ancic of Croatia, Nicolas Kiefer of Germany, Paradorn Srichaphan of Thailand, Joachim Johansson of Sweden and Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina have joined the field.

Olympics

With New York’s Olympic stadium rejected, the IOC says the city’s bid officials are free to submit an alternative plan before the vote next month that will decide the site of the 2012 Games.

New York has been considering its options after Monday’s rejection of the proposed $2 billion stadium on Manhattan’s West Side, the centerpiece of its Olympic bid.

The venue for the women’s super giant slalom at next year’s Olympics in Turin, Italy, will not be changed despite complaints from skiers that the course is too easy.

Motor Sports

Tomas Scheckter earned the pole for Saturday night’s IRL race at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth with a lap of 213.847 mph in his Chevrolet.

Indy 500 winner Dan Wheldon will start eighth and Danica Patrick will start third after her qualifying lap of 212.661.

Mike Skinner won the NASCAR trucks pole at Texas Motor Speedway with a fast lap of 182.902 mph in a Toyota.

Miscellany

The Nevada State Athletic Commission voted to not lift a medical suspension on heavyweight boxer Joe Mesi, a former World Boxing Council No. 1 contender. Mesi suffered bleeding on the brain during a fight against Vassiliy Jirov in March 2004.

Representatives from the NHL and NHL Players’ Assn. added a meeting for today in the New York, the fourth consecutive day the two sides will have met.

With the framework for a salary cap said to be in place, the negotiations are believed to be centered on a variety of issues, including free agency, qualifying offers and arbitration.

Neither side issued a statement after Thursday’s lengthy meeting.

Cleveland Brown left tackle Ross Verba paid back a $465,000 roster bonus and was released by the team to become a free agent.

Verba, 31, held out of the team’s “passing camp” in a contract dispute, saying he was willing to sit out the 2005 season if the club didn’t give him a new contract.

Olympic champion Jeremy Wariner of the United States won the 400 meters at the IAAF Super Grand Prix Golden Spike meet in 45.58 seconds. The competition at Ostrava, Czech Republic, was Wariner’s first pro meet on European soil.

Misty May and Kerri Walsh, winners of eight consecutive beach volleyball tournaments worldwide dating to last summer’s Olympics, are the top-seeded women’s team in the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals San Diego Open this weekend at Mariner’s Point.

Dax Holdren and Jeff Nygaard are the top-seeded men’s team, but the No. 1 seeded men’s team hasn’t won an open event since the start of 2003.