Montgomerie Stays Hot and in the Lead After 64

Coming off his first golf victory in 19 months, Colin Montgomerie appears hungry for more.

Montgomerie showed no effects from an emotional victory four days ago in Scotland, matching his career-low score in the United States with a six-under-par 64 that gave him a three-shot lead Thursday in the American Express Championship at San Francisco.

Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh and nine others were at 67 on a spectacular day at Harding Park, the municipal course along Lake Merced that got a $16-million makeover and held its own against the world’s best players.

“If I can hit fairways, I can hit greens,” Montgomerie said. “And then I can score.”

Woods, who played Harding Park in junior high school when it was covered with weeds, stayed close until he stopped giving himself good chances, dropping a shot on the par-three eighth and having to scramble for par at the end.

“If I shot something between two- and four-under par, I thought it would be pretty good,” Woods said. “They’ve done a wonderful job tucking the pins. The greens are firm, so you’ve got to be careful.”

Cristie Kerr had consecutive eagles in a career-best nine-under 62 to take a four-stroke lead in the first round of the LPGA’s Longs Drugs Challenge at Auburn, Calif.

Beth Daniel, Becky Iverson and Marilyn Lovander opened with 66s, and Lindsey Wright also was five under through 17 holes when play was suspended because of darkness. Dawn Coe-Jones, Kim Williams and Young Kim shot 67s.

Annika Sorenstam shot a 68 in her first appearance in the tournament since 2001.

BASEBALL

Devil Rays Make a Number of Changes

New York investor Stuart Sternberg took control of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays from founding owner Vince Naimoli, promising better days ahead for a franchise that has finished last in seven of its eight seasons.

The first move was to fire General Manager Chuck LaMar, who had been with the franchise since its inception. Assistant GM Scott Proefrock and player personnel director Cam Bonifay also were dismissed.

Sternberg, who becomes principal owner, appointed Matthew Silverman team president.

The moves follow the departure of Manager Lou Piniella, who sought a buyout with one season remaining on his contract after criticizing the ownership group led by Sternberg for being more concerned about the future than trying to win now.

Jason Giambi of the New York Yankees and Ken Griffey Jr. of the Cincinnati Reds were named Major League Baseball’s comeback players of the year. Each player sat out half his team’s games in 2004.

Giambi, 34, received the most votes in an Internet poll from fans among American League candidates after he hit 32 home runs and batted .271. Injuries last year limited Giambi to 12 home runs and a .208 batting average.

Fans picked the 35-year-old Griffey in the National League after the outfielder hit .301 with 35 home runs, his best season in five years. Last season he batted .264 with 16 home runs.

PRO BASKETBALL

Curry’s Status Unsettled After Trade to Knicks

Eddy Curry’s status with the New York Knicks remained unsettled, with the team waiting for medical tests on his irregular heartbeat.

Knick President Isiah Thomas said the team does not have all the information needed to evaluate whether Curry is healthy enough. The Bulls’ top scorer last season at 16.1 points a game, Curry sat out the last 13 games of the regular season and the playoffs after his condition was discovered.

The 6-foot-11 center was traded this week from Chicago with Antonio Davis for Tim Thomas, Michael Sweetney and Jermaine Jackson.

The club said it also was waiting for Curry’s medical records from Chicago. The deadline for the deal is today at 3 p.m. PDT.

The Seattle SuperSonics picked up the contract options on guard Luke Ridnour and forward Nick Collison for the 2006-07 season.

Collison averaged 5.4 points and 4.6 rebounds last season as a reserve. Ridnour averaged 10 points and 5.9 assists.

Golden State Warrior forwards Troy Murphy and rookie Chris Taft sat out practice because of injuries.

Murphy sprained his right ankle in practice Wednesday and Taft suffered a strained right groin Tuesday.

TENNIS

Top-Seeded Puerta Loses, Denies Doping

Top-seeded Mariano Puerta was upset by unseeded Marcos Baghdatis, 6-2, 6-7 (11), 7-5, in the third round of the Japan Open at Tokyo, a day after denying allegations of doping.

The French sports newspaper L’Equipe reported Wednesday that Puerta tested positive for the banned drug etilefrine after a four-set loss to Rafael Nadal in the French Open final and faces a possible life ban for a second doping offense.

“I have not taken any illegal substances as reported,” Puerta said after Thursday’s loss.

Elsewhere, Mario Ancic defeated Cyril Saulnier, 6-2, 6-1, in the third round. Third-seeded Robby Ginepri defeated Gilles Muller, 6-4, 6-4, to reach the quarterfinals.

In women’s play, top-seeded Vera Zvonareva defeated Shahar Peer, 6-3, 7-5, to advance to the quarterfinals. She will face Sania Mirza, who defeated Aiko Nakamura, 6-1, 6-1.

U.S. Open champion Kim Clijsters closed in on the top ranking after beating Karolina Sprem, 6-3, 6-2, to reach the quarterfinals at the Porsche Grand Prix in Filderstadt, Germany.

Clijsters can become No. 1 by winning this tournament. If Clijsters meets third-seeded Amelie Mauresmo in Saturday’s semifinals, she could unseat injured Maria Sharapova.

Mauresmo advanced when Jelena Jankovic retired because of illness after dropping the first set, 6-0.

Top-seeded Nikolay Davydenko beat Michael Llodra, 6-4, 6-4, to reach the quarterfinals at the Open de Moselle at Metz, France. Davydenko, a French Open semifinalist, advanced to play Andreas Seppi, a 7-5, 7-6 (2) winner over Andrei Pavel.

Stanford’s Anne Yelsey of Newport Beach upset top-seeded Jennifer Magley of Florida, 6-2, 6-2, in the first round Thursday at the Riviera/ITA Women’s All-American Championships at the Riviera Tennis Club.

SOCCER

Judge Releases Man Who Killed Escobar

A judge ordered the early release of the man who killed Colombian national-team player Andres Escobar days after scoring an own-goal in the 1994 World Cup loss to the United States.

Humberto Munoz was freed after serving 11 years of a 43-year sentence. The judge cited Munoz’s good behavior and study habits in prison.

“Frankly, there is no justice in Colombia,” Escobar’s father, Dario, told a local radio station.

The UCLA women’s team, ranked No. 4 in the country, will play host to USC tonight at Drake Stadium at 7. The Bruins (10-1) have defeated the Trojans (6-3-1) five times in a row.

MISCELLANY

Crew Chief Suspended for Substance Abuse

NASCAR suspended crew chief Glenn Darrow indefinitely for violating its substance abuse policy.

Darrow, crew chief for Tony Raines’ Nextel Cup car, was tested for banned substances last Saturday at Talladega Superspeedway. The results were positive, leading to an automatic suspension.

NASCAR did not identify the substance. Darrow becomes the second person suspended by NASCAR this season for failing a substance abuse test, following Busch Series regular Shane Hmiel.

Guard Rashaad Carruth, who averaged a team-leading 13.4 points for Southern Mississippi’s men’s basketball team last season, said he has left the squad for personal reasons.... Rhode Island suspended point guard Dawan Robinson from the basketball team last month after he was arrested after a bar fight. The suspension will last until at least Nov. 24.

The International Cycling Union has appointed a Dutch lawyer to conduct an independent investigation into allegations that Lance Armstrong tested positive for EPO during the 1999 Tour de France.

The seven-time Tour de France champion denied ever using banned drugs and said he was the victim of a “witch hunt.”

Olga Kapranova won the club event for her third gold medal, helping Russia sweep all the individual titles in the World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships at Baku, Azerbaijan.

A Grand Sumo Championship tournament begins tonight at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. A champion will be determined each day with a grand champion crowned Sunday among the 38 athletes expected to compete.