Furyk has lead after long day

Jim Furyk only wanted to give himself a chance in the BMW Championship, and it took 36 holes to do it on a marathon Saturday in St. Louis that put him atop the leaderboard for the first time all year.

Whether he stays there when everyone finishes the third round is still to be determined.

Furyk finished with five consecutive birdies to set the course record at Bellerive with an eight-under-par 62 in the second round, then followed with a 66 that put him at 12-under 198 and gave him the clubhouse lead.

Camilo Villegas, who shot 66 in the morning for a one-shot lead through 36 holes, also was 12 under and had five holes left in the third round when play was suspended by darkness.

He will have to return this morning to finish his round in a tournament twice interrupted by weather. Rain kept the BMW Championship from starting until Friday, and the plan for everyone to play 36 holes on Saturday was disrupted by a 90-minute fog delay in the morning.

But it was packed with all sorts of drama.

Sergio Garcia made the first hole in one of his professional career, a five-iron from 205 yards on the third hole in the morning that put him into the mix. Bart Bryant made an ace in the afternoon, on No. 13, four holes after learning he had been docked a two-shot penalty simply for opening his mouth.

Martin Laird fixed his own pitch mark on the fringe of the 16th green during the second round, which he was not supposed to do because it was in the line of Bryant’s ball in the rough. The fact Bryant said, “Yes” when Laird asked if it was in his line meant Bryant was penalized because he allowed his line to be improved.

Laird was not disqualified because it was not his intent to help Bryant, who chipped well over the mark.

Annika Sorenstam shot a five-under-par 68 to trail Melissa Reid by six shots after the second round of the Nykredit Masters in Helsingoer, Denmark. Reid, a rookie from England, eagled the last two holes for a 66. Sorenstam, in her final tournament in Europe, shared second place with Martina Eberl of Germany (73).

Reid was at 13-under 133 in the 54-hole tournament.

Teenager Rory McIlroy shot a five-under 66 to take a four-stroke lead after the third round of the European Masters in Crans-Sur-Sierre, Switzerland.

The 19-year-old from Northern Ireland had a 54-hole total of 13-under 200 to lead a group of six players bunched on 204. That group included Robert Dinwiddie, who shot the low round of 64.

MISCELLANY

NHL, Russian league are headed to court

The dispute between the NHL and a newly formed Russian hockey league over forward Alexander Radulov appears headed for court.

The Continental Hockey League (KHL) withdrew its appeal on five other player transfers at a meeting in Zurich, Switzerland, between the International Ice Hockey Federation and nine member countries but couldn’t resolve the Radulov case, the IIHF said in a statement.

The NHL and KHL will now go to court or arbitration to decide who owns his rights. Radulov had one year remaining on his contract with the Nashville Predators when he signed a deal with Ufa.

He believes the deal with the Russian team is valid because it was signed before the NHL and KHL agreed on July 10 to honor each other’s contracts.

The KHL contested the transfers of three other players: Kings prospects Andrei Loktionov and Vyacheslav Voinov, and Columbus prospect Andrei Mayorov.

The Cleveland Cavaliers signed Kansas forward Darnell Jackson, 22, whose rights were acquired from Miami during the NBA draft in exchange for one of Cleveland’s two second-round picks in 2009.