Luke Donald leads Heritage, could take No. 1 ranking with win

Luke Donald moved a step closer to the No. 1 ranking Friday, shooting a six-under 65 on Friday to take the lead halfway through the Heritage at Hilton Head Island, S.C.

Donald is ranked third now, behind No. 1 Martin Kaymer and No. 2 Lee Westwood. Donald would jump to the top with a win at Harbour Town, no matter how Westwood fares this weekend at the Indonesian Masters. Kaymer is not playing this week.

Masters runner-up Jason Day (65), defending champion Jim Furyk (66), Camilo Villegas (68) and Chad Campbell (69) were one stroke back at eight under. Ben Crane (66) and Ian Poulter (66) were three strokes behind Donald.

English star Lee Westwood birdied the final hole for a six-under 66 and a one-stroke lead Saturday after the completion of the suspended second round of the Indonesian Masters at Jakarta. He could claim the No. 1 world ranking if he wins and Luke Donald fails to win the Heritage.

Tom Kite and Gil Morgan shot a 10-under 62 in better-ball play for a share of the first-round lead with Ted Schulz and Gary Hallberg in the Champions Tour’s Legends of Golf at Savannah, Ga.

Wales’ Jamie Donaldson shot an 11-under 61 to take a one-stroke lead in the China Open. Donaldson had a 12-under 131 total on the Luxehills International course at Chengdu.

NFL hasn’t set a date when games would be canceled

The NFL hasn’t set a deadline for when games would be canceled without a collective bargaining agreement.

“We don’t have a date by which the season is lost, or a date by which we have to move from 16 games to some other” number,” Eric Grubman, the league’s executive vice president for business operations, said Friday at a meeting with Associated Press Sports Editors. “Our intentions are to play a full season, and we will pull every lever that we can within the flexibility we have or can identify to make that happen.”

Even during the lockout, Grubman said, the NFL and teams are working so they will be ready to start the season quickly once a deal is reached.

The 2011 schedule released Tuesday has games beginning Sept. 8, but includes some room to maneuver. The NFL could still squeeze in 16 games with a delayed start by eliminating bye weeks and the week between the conference championships and the Super Bowl. The league also has a deal with host Indianapolis to potentially hold the Super Bowl a week later than planned.

Wake Forest forward to transfer to USC

Ari Stewart, a 6-foot-7 forward who played two seasons at Wake Forest, is transferring to USC, Trojans basketball Coach Kevin O’Neill said.

Stewart averaged 8.5 points and 4.9 rebounds last season as a sophomore. He started 16 games and scored a career-best 18 points and had seven rebounds in a 90-69 loss against Virginia Commonwealth, which eliminated USC from the NCAA tournament to start its run to the Final Four.

Under NCAA transfer rules, Stewart must sit out the 2011-12 season. He will be eligible in 2012-13 and have two seasons of eligibility remaining.

“He is going to have a great year of development during his redshirt year and is going to be a great contributor to our success once he becomes available,” O’Neill said in a statement. “He has a tremendous upside as a player and I’m convinced he can raise us to another level.”

— Gary Klein

Three Texas players declare for NBA draft

Texas players Tristan Thompson, Jordan Hamilton and Cory Joseph have all declared for the NBA draft.

Hamilton, a 6-foot-7 sophomore forward who led the Longhorns in scoring last season, plans to sign with an agent, which would immediately end his college eligibility.

Thompson, a 6-8 forward and Joseph, a 6-3 guard, both were freshmen last season. They plan to submit their names but will hold off on signing with an agent, according to Texas officials. That will allow them to return to Texas if they choose to.

George Mason’s Larranaga to coach Miami

Jim Larranaga will be the Miami Hurricanes’ basketball coach after 14 years at George Mason, including an improbable run to the Final Four in 2006. He replaces Frank Haith.

Larranaga, 61, led the Patriots to five NCAA tournament berths and went 273-164, setting a school record for victories. This season his team went 27-7 and reached the third round of the tournament before losing to Ohio State.

Haith left for Missouri after going 129-101 at Miami, including 21-15 last season.

Nadal advances at Barcelona

Rafael Nadal cruised into the Barcelona Open semifinals after dispatching Gael Monfils, 6-2, 6-2.

David Ferrer defeated Jurgen Melzer, 6-3, 6-3. Ferrer will play Nicolas Almagro, who defeated Juan Carlos Ferrero, 6-3, 6-3.

Ferrer will play the winner of the match between Juan Carlos Ferrero and Nicolas Almagro.

Safina wins, Oudin loses in Morocco

In a match featuring 18 breaks of serve, Dinara Safina edged fellow Russian Anastasia Pivovarova 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 to reach the semifinals of the Grand Prix SAR, at Fez, Morocco.

Safina will play Alberta Brianti of Italy, who defeated Melanie Oudin of the United States, 7-5, 5-7, 6-0.

Yonnhy Perez bout will be main event at Nokia

Former world champions Yonnhy Perez of Santa Fe Springs and Vic Darchinyan of Australia will battle Saturday at Nokia Theatre as the consolation round of Showtime’s bantamweight boxing tournament has become its main event.

International Boxing Federation champion Joseph “King Kong” Agbeko was forced to withdraw Wednesday from his planned title unification bout against Hawaiian Gardens’ Abner Mares. Agbeko suffered a sciatic nerve injury upon arrival from New York at LAX this week, and he’ll be reexamined Monday to establish whether he can return to fight Mares in a timely manner.

If not, Perez and Darchinyan’s promoter, Gary Shaw, has said he’ll petition the IBF after 60 days to strip Agbeko of his belt and urge Showtime to give Saturday’s winner the shot at Mares.

— Lance Pugmire