Sorenstam Shoots 67 and Leads by Two

Even after eight majors and 61 victories, Annika Sorenstam still feels that sensation of drawing up the perfect shot and pulling it off to near perfection.

When it happens three times over four holes, it’s even better.

Sorenstam birdied the 14th, 16th and 17th holes to seize control of the LPGA Championship with a five-under 67 and a two-shot lead over Laura Davies at nine-under 135 in Havre De Grace, Md.

“It’s a great rush,” said Sorenstam, two-time defending LPGA champion. “You picture something, it feels solid and you look up and it’s tap-ins.”

Natalie Gulbis missed three birdie chances inside six feet over the final five holes and is at six-under 138. Michelle Wie, 15, who settled for a one-under 71, is five shots back of Sorenstam.

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Despite a mysterious swelling of his right hand, Robert Allenby shot a six-under 65 to take a two-stroke second-round lead at nine-under 133 in the Booz Allen Classic in Bethesda, Md.

First-round leader Matt Gogel, Lee Westwood, Adam Scott and Steve Elkington were tied for second.

R.W. Eaks shot a season-best 65 to take a two-shot lead in the first round of the Champions Tour’s Bayer Advantage Classic in Overland Park, Kan.

Tiger Woods will begin his drive to win the second leg of the grand slam at Pinehurst No. 2 paired for the first two rounds of next week’s U.S. Open with Masters runner-up Chris DiMarco and Luke Donald of England.

Other key pairings include Vijay Singh with Bart Bryant and Padraig Harrington of Ireland; Ernie Els with Shigeki Maruyama of Japan and Justin Leonard; and Phil Mickelson with Stewart Cink and Adam Scott.

Defending champion Retief Goosen will play in the traditional pairing of Todd Hamilton, the British Open champion, and Ryan Moore, the U.S. Amateur champion.

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Tennis

Defending champion Andy Roddick reached the semifinals at the Queen’s Club tournament in London with a 6-4, 7-6 (5) victory over Sebastien Grosjean, but top-seeded Lleyton Hewitt was ousted by Ivo Karlovic, 7-6 (4), 6-3. Roddick will next play Radek Stepanek, who eliminated Richard Gasquet, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, and Karlovic, who upset Hewitt at the 2003 Wimbledon, will play Thomas Johansson, who upset Tim Henman, 6-4, 6-4.

Two-time defending champion Roger Federer extended his winning streak on grass to 27 matches, beating Philipp Kohlschreiber, 6-3, 6-4, to reach the semifinals of the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Germany.

In other quarterfinals, Marat Safin beat Olivier Rochus, 6-4, 7-6 (4), Guillermo Canas ousted Rainer Schuettler, 6-4, 6-4, and Tommy Haas defeated Juan Carlos Ferrero, 6-2, 7-5.

Defending champion Maria Sharapova struggled with a cold and a strained thigh but reached the semifinals at the DFS Classic, beating Eleni Daniilidou, 7-5, 2-6, 6-1, in Birmingham, England.

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Pro Hockey

Negotiations between NHL and NHL Players’ Assn. representatives appear to be picking up speed, as the two sides worked on several issues during four days of meetings this week and have scheduled another session for Monday.

A group of West Coast investors led by William Del Biaggio, a San Jose businessman and friend of Mario Lemieux, is set to become the majority owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins after negotiating a letter of intent to buy the team. Lemieux would retain a smaller stake in the team.

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Auto Racing

Scott Speed, a 22-year-old from Manteca, Calif., became the first American since Michael Andretti in 1993 to drive a Formula One car when he tested for the Red Bull Racing team at the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal.

Dover Motorsports announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Grand Prix Assn. of Long Beach, closed on the sale of its Grand Prix of Long Beach event for $15 million in cash to Aquarium Asset Management, an affiliate of Champ Car World Series.

The company previously announced entering into the asset purchase agreement on May 24.

Jack Sprague led the final nine laps and won the NASCAR Craftman Trucks-Chex 400K at Fort Worth. It was Sprague’s 25th career truck series victory, but first in more than a year. Sprague, who beat Johnny Benson by 1.3 seconds, hadn’t won since May 2004 in Mansfield, Ohio.

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Soccer

Five-time European champion Liverpool will be allowed to defend its Champions League title, but will have to begin play in the first qualifying round after failing to earn an automatic spot in next season’s tournament.

Tampa Bay Buccaneer owner Malcolm Glazer, who already owned 76% of Manchester United, bought additional shares from two senior club officials. Glazer is offering to buy out all remaining shareholders and hopes to take the club off the stock market by June 22.

The move came on the same day that The Times of London reported that Glazer planned to raise ticket prices by 54% over the next five years. The newspaper based its front-page report on “previously unseen documents” outlining Glazer’s plans to increase revenue at the club.

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Miscellany

Mike Tyson, who has lost two of the three times he has fought over 230 pounds, will be trying it again tonight against Kevin McBride in Washington after weighing in at 233 pounds.

Tyson will be paid $5 million for the scheduled 10-rounder. He is a heavy favorite in the fight, which is expected to draw a near capacity crowd to the MCI Center.

Tennessee receiver Bret Smith and former quarterback Brent Schaeffer pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault charges stemming from an April 10 campus fight and will pay restitution but avoid jail time.

The USC men’s basketball schedule for the 2005-06 season will be highlighted by a Nov. 23-26 trip to the Great Alaska Shootout and a Dec. 21 visit from national champion North Carolina in Coach Tim Floyd’s first year. It will also mark the last season the Trojans play home games in the Sports Arena as the Galen Center is scheduled to open in 2006. The Trojans open Nov. 20 against visiting Cal State Northridge.

Pepperdine senior Michael Putnam, runner-up at the 2005 Division I men’s golf championships, was named the West Coast Conference’s male scholar-athlete of the year.

Pitcher Trevor Bell of La Crescenta High, the Angels’ first selection in Major League Baseball’s amateur draft earlier this week, is among four Southland players named to the West team for the third All-American Baseball Game on Monday at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque.

Bell will be joined by shortstop Justin Sellers of Huntington Beach Marina, who has signed with Cal State Fullerton but was drafted by Oakland; Long Beach Poly center fielder DeSean Jackson, who has signed to play football at California, and Etiwanda catcher Ryan Babineau, who has signed with UCLA. The game will be televised live at 6 p.m. on Fox Sports Net West 2.

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Passings

Roy Engle, who was a member of USC’s 1939 national championship football team, died Tuesday of a heart attack at Poway. He was 87.