Donald is solid as Wie’s woes persist

Luke Donald didn’t have much of a following Thursday, so he barely heard any applause even as he made birdies on half his holes for a seven-under-par 63 and the first-round lead in the Sony Open at Honolulu.

The crowds were with Michelle Wie. And there wasn’t much cheering there either.

Playing the Sony Open for the fourth consecutive year, Wie hit into the water twice, the bunker twice, clipped two palm trees and didn’t hit a fairway until the 15th.

Eight over par after nine holes and headed for her worst score ever, the 17-year-old played the back nine in even par for a 78. That’s one stroke better than her opening round a year ago at Waialae.

“Even though I was playing bad, I knew I could always come back if I get the ball in the fairway,” said Wie, who managed that only one time on a breezy day along the shores of Oahu. “At the end, I actually felt like I was playing golf.”

She was in next-to-last place, five shots clear of Hawaii club pro Abe Mariano (83).

Donald played superbly and drove the ball well at the end of the round, setting up a wedge to 15 feet for birdie on No. 8 and a two-iron into 25 feet for a two-putt birdie on the ninth. He tied for seventh last week at wind-blown Kapalua.

K.J. Choi made the turn in 30 and settled for a 64. Jim Furyk and Will MacKenzie were at 65.

TENNIS

Federer and Sharapova top seedings in Australia

Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova topped the lists of seeded players at the Australian Open, with organizers sticking to the world rankings.

Federer, the defending champion, is aiming for his 10th Grand Slam singles title and has been atop the men’s rankings since February 2004.

Sharapova moved to the top of the women’s seedings list at Melbourne Park after No. 1-ranked Justine Henin-Hardenne withdrew from the tournament for personal reasons.

Defending Australian Open and Wimbledon champion Amelie Mauresmo was seeded second.

On the men’s side, French Open champion Rafael Nadal was seeded No. 2 and is expected to recover from a groin strain that forced him out of a warmup tournament this week.

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Andy Roddick set up a championship match against Federer in the Kooyong Classic exhibition tournament at Melbourne, beating Andy Murray, 6-4, 6-4.

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Defending champion James Blake defeated qualifier Evgeny Korolev, 6-1, 6-4, to reach the semifinals of the Sydney International, and Blake advanced to the final when Jurgen Melzer defaulted because of illness. Blake will face Carlos Moya, a 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 winner over Richard Gasquet.

Kim Clijsters advanced to the final with a 6-1, 1-6, 7-5 win over Li Na. Clijsters, ranked No. 5, will play Jelena Jankovic, who upset Nicole Vaidisova, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.

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Top-seeded Tommy Robredo won two matches en route to the semifinals of the Heineken Open at Auckland, New Zealand.

Robredo beat Alberto Martin, 6-4, 6-2, and defeated Philipp Kohlschreiber, 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, after organizers scheduled consecutive second-round and quarterfinal matches to clear a backlog caused by rain.

American Mardy Fish defeated Mario Ancic, 6-4, 6-4, and later defeated Juan Ignacio Chela, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (8), in a quarterfinal.

Russians Anna Chakvetadze and Vasilisa Bardina will meet in the final of the Hobart International in Australia after winning semifinals in straight sets.

Top-seeded Chakvetadze beat Sania Mirza, 6-4, 6-0, and Bardina, a qualifier ranked No. 70 in the world, reached her first WTA Tour final with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Sybille Bammer.

HORSE RACING

After latest setbacks, Barbaro is feeling better

Barbaro showed a promising first step after suffering a significant setback from laminitis when X-rays showed no additional complications in either hind leg.

“He is getting up and down on his own and continues to eat and have stable vital signs,” said Dean Richardson, chief surgeon at the New Bolton Center in Kennett Square. “We are considering several additional therapeutic options at this time. He is stable and acceptably comfortable.”

Barbaro co-owner Gretchen Jackson said Barbaro was not in pain, feeling better and had a “decent night.” Barbaro suffered a significant setback because of laminitis -- a painful, often fatal disease -- in his left hind foot.

MISCELLANY

Minority athletic directors increasing in NCAA

There are only 17 minority athletic directors among the NCAA’s 119 Division I-A schools, but that number is an all-time high, according to a study released.

“The overwhelming majority of the most powerful people in college sport is still white,” said researcher Richard Lapchick, a University of Central Florida professor who examines diversity in sports.

As of Jan. 1, Lapchick counted 12 black and four Latino athletic directors, along with one American Indian. Last year, there were 13 minority ADs.

Lapchick determined that whites hold 91% of the 358 campus leadership positions, 48 held by women.

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Olympic swim stars Michael Phelps, Natalie Coughlin, Brendan Hansen, Aaron Peirsol, Ian Crocker and Kaitlin Sandeno are scheduled to compete at the Toyota Southern California Grand Prix of Swimming in Long Beach.

The short-course meet will be at the Belmont Plaza Olympic Pool, starting today and continuing through Monday. There is only one final today, at 5 p.m., in the 1,000-yard freestyle. Pulling out of the meet because of a sore shoulder was four-time Olympic gold medalist Lenny Krayzelburg, who is on the comeback trail following shoulder surgery after the Athens Olympics in 2004.

-- Lisa Dillman

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UC Irvine has been selected as the host school for the 2008 NCAA men’s volleyball championships. The national semifinals and championship matches will be played at the 5,000-seat Bren Events Center.

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NASCAR driver Robby Gordon of Orange won the sixth stage of the Dakar Rally.

The Hummer driver completed the 245-mile stage in 2 hours 58 minutes 57 seconds, going from Tan-Tan, Morocco, to Zouerat, Mauritania.

Jean-Louis Schlesser trailed Gordon by 17 seconds. Gordon is in 18th place overall.

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Nate Roberts and Shannon Bahrke opened the Freestyle World Cup ski stop at Park City, Utah, with an American sweep in the moguls.