Woods back in contention after his record-tying 64

Tiger Woods needed only a day to return to form after a five-week layoff.

Woods had an eagle and seven birdies in a course record-tying eight-under-par 64 Friday to move within two shots of the lead at the HSBC Champions tournament in Shanghai.

After an opening-day 72, Woods closed to within two shots of Jyoti Randhawa and one of Retief Goosen after starting the second round seven shots back.

Woods shook off the rust of his first round and said his form was approaching what it had been at the WGC-American Express Championship, where he won by eight strokes on Oct. 1 for his sixth consecutive PGA Tour victory

“It’s close to what I was at Amex where I had it dialed in pretty good,” he said. “That was probably my best ball-striking week all year.”

Randhawa, the first-round leader, had six birdies and three bogeys for 69 and a two-round total of 10-under 134. Goosen birdied three of his first four holes and finished with three in a row for a 67.

Woods was tied for third with 2005 U.S. Open champion Michael Campbell, who had a 70, and one ahead of Marc Warren, Chawalit Plaphol and Padraig Harrington.

Woods said he was too “one-dimensional” Thursday -- his first competitive round since Oct. 1 -- but “felt like I was in control of the ball all day” Friday.

“Hopefully I can do it again on the weekend and hopefully make some birdies, because that’s what you’re going to have to do to win this tournament.”

His eagle at the 14th followed his only bogey of the round, when he three-putted from 15 feet on the par-four 13th.

He hit his drive down the right side next to water and had 224 yards to the pin and the water hazard in front of the green.

“I hit a four-iron as hard as I could and it came off perfect,” he said. “I had a 10-footer for eagle, left-to-right, and made it.”

Henrik Stenson had eight birdies in a bogey-free round to set the record for the Sheshan International Golf Club at 64 earlier Friday. He was tied for 17th at four-under 140.

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Hall of Famer Juli Inkster birdied two of her last three holes for a three-under 69 and a share of the second-round lead with Moira Dunn in the LPGA Tournament of Champions at Mobile, Ala. Inkster made a 25-foot birdie putt on the 17th and closed with a par to match Dunn (67) at eight-under 136 on Magnolia Grove’s Crossings Course.

Cristie Kerr had the best round of the day, a six-under 66 that left her at seven under.

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Former PGA Tour winner Matt Kuchar shot a seven-under 65 for a share of the second-round lead in the Nationwide Tour Championship at Richmond, Texas.

Kuchar, who won the 2002 Honda Classic for his lone PGA Tour title, joined Cliff Kresge (69), Andrew Buckle (69), Chris Baryla (67 ) and Brandt Snedecker (68) at eight-under 136.

Craig Kanada (64), Johnson Wagner (67) and Jim O’Neal (68) were a shot back.

Kanada’s eight-under round was the second-best in tournament history, behind only Jay Delsing’s 63 sin 2002.

MOTOR RACING

Benson earns fifth Craftsman Trucks win

Johnny Benson spun his Toyota on the first lap, then came from the back of the field to win the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Casino Arizona 150 at Phoenix International Raceway.

Benson’s fifth victory of the season allowed him to keep points leader Todd Bodine in sight with one race to go before the championship is decided.

Bodine, who finished fourth, has a 112-point lead over Benson heading into next week’s finale in Homestead, Fla.

“We are in a position where we don’t have to win the race, we just have to have a decent finish,” Bodine said. “That’s not the way we like to race, but that’s the reality. We’re going to go to Homestead and try to win, but if we can’t, we’ll keep the big picture in mind.”

He needs to finish 28th or better in the finale to clinch the title.

Benson started from the pole and was racing Mike Skinner on the first lap when he lost control of his Toyota Tundra and spun across the track to bring out the first caution before the lap was even complete.

“That was my fault,” Benson said. “Just being stupid.”

The spin put Benson at the back of the field, and even though he clearly had the fastest truck in the race, a record 11 cautions slowed his progress. He finally passed Mark Martin for the lead with 30 laps to go and pulled away for the victory.

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Sebastien Bourdais won the provisional pole for Sunday’s Champ Car World Series Mexico City Grand Prix with a fast lap of 1 minute 25.449 seconds. Bourdais, who clinched the series title last month, is assured a spot on the first row.

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Police were investigating whether NASCAR’s chairman got special treatment from authorities after crashing his car into a tree in a parking lot this week in Daytona Beach, Fla.

A police report said Brian France, 44, told an officer later called to his home that he was drinking a soda and “bumped into something” after entering the restaurant parking lot.

A woman who had called 911 from her car to report a wild driver told police in a statement that she saw France’s car travel at a “very reckless speed,” and that it hit a parked car before running into the tree.

TENNIS

Sharapova, Mauresmo advance to semifinals

U.S. Open champion Maria Sharapova will play French Open champion Justine Henin-Hardenne in the semifinals of the WTA Tour Championships after defeating Svetlana Kuznetsova, 6-1, 6-4, on Friday.

Defending champion Amelie Mauresmo reached the semifinals when she defeated Henin-Hardenne, 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-2. She will play two-time winner Kim Clijsters, who beat Elena Dementieva, 6-4, 6-0.

The Sharapova-Henin-Hardenne clash may also decide who finishes at No. 1. Henin-Hardenne would clinch the top ranking if she defeats Sharapova.

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Texas women’s Coach Patty Fendick-McCain announced the signing of Mission Viejo High star Maggie Mello to a national letter of intent.

Mello recently won the 2006 Interscholastic Championships West, a tournament featuring the top junior players on the west coast. She will join the Longhorns in the fall of 2007.

BOXING

Holyfield gets unanimous decision over Oquendo

Former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield, 44, unanimously outpointed Fres Oquendo in a tough fight at San Antonio.

Holyfield had a couple of chances to take Oquendo out early, but the 33-year-old Puerto Rican stayed in and although he lost, probably raised new questions about Holyfield’s return to the ring. The judges scored it 116-111, 114-113 and 114-113 for Holyfield, who pushed his record to 40-8-2 with 26 knockouts. Oquendo thought he had won and stormed out of the ring.

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Steve Molitor knocked out Michael Hunter in the fifth round at London to win the vacant International Boxing Federation super-bantamweight title. Molitor improved to 23-0 with his ninth knockout.

FIGURE SKATING

Belbin and Agosto lead at Cup of China

Olympic ice dance silver medalists Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto turned in a sultry tango to take the lead at the Cup of China in Nanjing.

In their first major competition since the March world championships, the Americans scored 58.90 points for the original dance to edge Russians Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin by .48.

Belbin and Agosto have 95.65 points heading into today’s free dance. Domnina and Shabalin have 95.28.

COLLEGE SOCCER

UCLA, Fullerton win first-round matches

Danesha Adams scored two goals to lead UCLA to a 6-1 victory over Nevada Las Vegas at Drake Stadium in the first round of the NCAA Division I women’s tournament.

The Bruins (18-3) will play Cal State Fullerton in the second round on Sunday. The Titans (12-7-2) advance with a 3-0 victory over Loyola Marymount (10-3-6).

MISCELLANY

Olympic skier Nyberg will sit out season

Five-time Olympian Fredrik Nyberg will be out for the season after injuring his knee in a crash during a training run in Austria. The 37-year-old tore ligaments in his knee and will sit out the season, Swedish national team Coach Matias Eriksson told Swedish news agency TT. Nyberg had previously said this would be his last season.