Woods holds onto lead
FARMINGDALE, N.Y., June 16 (UPI) -- An all-star cast of international golf did its best to put the heat on Tiger Woods during the third round of the U.S. Open Saturday only to find his lead at the end of a noisy and dramatic afternoon was larger than at the start of it.
Sergio Garcia, Phil Mickelson, Jeff Maggert and even 44-year-old Nick Faldo made up ground on the world's best player, but the distance between first and second place grew from three shots to four.
Woods shot an even-par 70 at the Bethpage Black course and did not make a birdie until the 15th hole. Nevertheless, he did little to slow down a charge to what would be his second consecutive major championship and the eighth of his already historic career. Not since Jack Nicklaus did so in 1972 has a player won the Masters and U.S. Open in the same year and only three others -- Craig Wood in 1941, Ben Hogan in 1951 and 1953 and Arnold Palmer in 1960 -- have ever done so.
The third round took place in an atmosphere more suited to a World Series game than a golf tournament and in the late stages of another gloomy day on Long Island, Woods saw his lead cut to two shots. But he rolled in a 15-foot birdie putt at the 15th and a 12-footer at the 17th to stretch his advantage.
He finished 54 holes at 5-under 205 and the only other player under par was Garcia, who endured catcalls and jeers throughout the day to earn the opportunity to be paired with Woods in the final group on Sunday.
Garcia shot 3-under 67, one of 13 sub-par rounds fired Saturday on the longest course in U.S. Open history, for a 1-under total of 209.
Another shot back were Phil Mickelson, who shot 67, and Jeff Maggert, who had a 68. Early in the third round, Mickelson found himself 10 shots behind Woods. But Mickelson played an 11-hole stretch in 6-under and as he walked off the 17th green, having just made a 20-foot, downhill, curling birdie putt to the almost deafening roar of the crowd, he was just two strokes off the lead.
Mickelson, however, bogeyed the final hole and Woods made his two late birdies to increase the margin.
Tied for fifth place at 1-over 211 were Robert Allenby, Billy Mayfair and Padraig Harrington, who was paired with Woods Saturday and started out three shots behind but who did well to shoot a 73 while missing fairway after fairway.
Faldo, playing in his 60th consecutive major championship on a special exemption from the United States Golf Association, shot the low round of the tournament -- a 4-under 66. A winner of six major titles, but never a U.S. Open, Faldo was tied at 212 with Justin Leonard, Tom Byrum, Scott McCarron and Davis Love III.
Germany, England advance in World Cup
SEGOWIPO, South Korea, June 16 (UPI) -- The World Cup got down to serious business Saturday and two countries used to serious soccer moved into the quarterfinals.
Germany and England advanced in the first two of the eight second-round matches that will played over the course of four days -- the Germans doing so thanks to a single shot near game's end in a 1-0 victory over Paraguay and the English putting on a dominating performance in the rain to oust Denmark, 3-0.
American coach Bruce Arena, meanwhile, issued another round of thanks to South Korea for producing the result that allowed the United States to make it through to the second round. A 3-1 loss to Poland appeared to have knocked Team USA out of the World Cup Friday, but a late goal by South Korea's Ji-Sung Park gave his side a 1-0 victory over Portugal and sent the Portuguese home instead of the Americans.
"I spent the morning shopping for the Korean team and coaching staff," Arena said Saturday. "We thank them for doing so well."
After 15 days and 48 matches in group play, the second round began Saturday in Seogwipo, located on the island of Jeju-do at the southern tip of the Korean Peninsula. In that setting, however, the Germany-Paraguay match attracted only enough of a crowd to fill barely half of the 42,256-seat stadium.
Those who were there waited through 88 minutes of soccer before seeing the lone goal of the day, one coming from Oliver Neuville. From eight yards out, Neuville finished a cross from club teammate Bernd Schneider.
Since 1978, when West Germany failed to make it out of its second-round group in a much different tournament format, the Germans have reached the quarterfinals in every World Cup.
They played for the championship three straight times and, after falling in the title game to Italy in 1982 and Argentina in 1986, finally defeated Argentina in 1990.
But in the last two World Cups, Germany has lost in the quarterfinals to Bulgaria and Croatia. Its quarterfinal match this time will be against either Mexico or the United States.
England's win over Denmark came in Niigata, Japan, where rain came down in buckets during much of the first half. That was also when the English put the game away, scoring three times before intermission.
Senegal and Sweden will meet Sunday in one of the second-round games, that taking place in Oita. The evening contest will find Spain and Ireland meeting in Suwon.
Mets take it out on Clemens
NEW YORK, June 16 (UPI) -- On a day when the New York Mets were seeking payback against Roger Clemens, Shawn Estes pitched seven scoreless innings, matched a career high with 11 strikeouts and hit a two-run homer off the six-time Cy Young Award winner Saturday in an 8-0 rout of the New York Yankees.
Clemens (8-3) was branded as public enemy No. 1 by the Mets for beaning Piazza in a game two years ago at Yankee Stadium and then throwing the jagged edge of a broken bat at Piazza in Game 2 of the 2000 World Series.
The Mets' fans were clamoring for redemption, but had to wait nearly two years for the opportunity. Last season, Yankees manager Joe Torre altered the rotation and did not allow Clemens to pitch at Shea Stadium where he would have been forced to bat.
When Clemens stepped to the plate in the third inning, the sellout crowd stood on its feet in anticipation. Estes (3-5), who is in his first season with the Mets, attempted to appease the crowd with a fastball aimed at Clemens' hip, but threw the ball behind him.
Home plate umpire Wally Bell immediately issued a warning to both teams and Clemens stood at the plate and stared at Estes with a wry smile. Although Estes misfired, he would more than make up for it.
Along with mesmerizing the Yankees' hitters, Estes struck the most stunning blow of the day with a two-run homer off Clemens in the fifth inning.
Piazza increased the lead to 4-0 with a solo shot in the fourth, his fourth home run in 15 regular season at-bats against Clemens.
To make the day sweeter for the Mets, Clemens was forced to leave the game in the sixth inning with a bruised right foot.
In Atlanta, Chris Hammond pitched out of a huge jam in the seventh inning, allowing Cy Young Award winners Greg Maddux and John Smoltz to pad their stattistics and the Atlanta Braves to escape with a 4-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox.
Maddux (7-2) retired 12 straight batters during one stretch and took a 3-0 lead into seventh. But he surrendered four straight hits and left with a strained left calf as the Red Sox closed to 3-2 with runners at first and third.
Hammond, who won Friday night's game, came on and struck out pinch-hitter Jose Offerman.
The lefthander then got the speedy Johnny Damon to bounce into a 4-6-3 double play, preserving the lead. Shortstop Rafael Furcal appeared to miss the bag on the pivot at second base.
Kevin Gryboski pitched a 1-2-3 eighth and the Braves added a run in the bottom half before Smoltz worked around a hit and walk in the ninth for his 21st save, nailing down Atlanta's 22nd win in its last 28 games.
Other interleague results: Chicago Cubs 7, Chicago White Sox 3; St. Louis 5, Kansas City 2; San Francisco 6, Oakland 2; Houston 4, Texas 0; Philadelphia 4, Baltimore 3 in 10 innings; Minnesota 5, Milwaukee 2; Florida 3, Tampa Bay 0; Montreal 9, Toronto 3; Colorado 7, Cleveland 4.
In the National League, it was Cincinnati 4, Pittsburgh.
Sorenstam wins for fifth time this year
EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France, June 16 (UPI) -- In a tournament matching the top players from the LPGA Tour and the European Tour, Annika Sorenstam continues to prove that she is the world's best female golfer.
Sorenstam fired her fourth straight round in the 60s on Saturday to finish at 19-under-par 269 and cruised to a four-stroke victory in the $2.1 million Evian Masters.
The 31-year-old Swede has a tour-high five titles this season, 18 over the past 2 1/2 years and 36 overall, which is 11th all-time.
Sorenstam was once again the model of consistency, shooting 68, 67 and 65 before closing Saturday with a 3-under 69 to earn the first prize of $315,000.
Sorenstam's win Saturday gave her enough points to automically qualify for the 2002 European Solheim Cup team.
Team Penske sweeps front row
FOUNTAIN, Colo., June 16 (UPI) -- For the second time this season, Marlboro Team Penske swept the front row for and Indy Racing League event.
Gil de Ferran won the pole Saturday for Sunday's Radisson 225 at Pikes Peak International Raceway, knocking teammate Helio Castroneves out of the top spot.
De Ferran clocked 177.998 miles per hour in a Dallara/Chevrolet to bump two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Castroneves, who ran a lap at 177.950 mph around the one-mile oval.
It was de Ferran's second IRL pole this year. He also won the pole at Nazareth in April.
In Portland, Ore., Cristiano da Matta of Brazil held onto the pole for the CART G.I. Joe's 200 at Portland International Raceway.
Da Matta won the provisional pole Friday and was fastest again Saturday in his Toyota/Lola, earning his second bonus point in as many days.
He covered the 1.96-mile permanent road course in 58.679 seconds, averaging 120.800 miles per hour -- more than one mile per hour faster than he was Friday. It was the second pole of the season for da Matta, who has a seven-point lead over Michael Jourdain Jr.
Chris McCarron to retire
INGLEWOOD, Calif., June 16 (UPI) -- Chris McCarron, whose mounts have earned more money than any jockey in history, announced Saturday he was on the verge of retirement.
The Hall of Famer made his announcement at Hollywood Park, where he will race for the final time on June 23.
Through Thursday, McCarron had won 7,137 races from 34,219 mounts that had earned $264,031,267.
McCarron has won each of the Triple Crown races on two occasions as well as nine Breeders' Cup races. He won the Breeders' Cup Classic with Tiznow in 2000 and 2001.
Sparks rally past Monarchs
SACRAMENTO, Calif., June 16 (UPI) -- Mwadi Mabika had season highs of 19 points and eight rebounds and DeLisha Milton scored a season-high 17 points off the bench Saturday as the Los Angeles Sparks rallied for their fourth straight win, a 72-66 overtime victory over the Sacramento Monarchs.
Sacramento reached the Western Conference finals in 2001 but opened the season with four straight losses, the worst start in franchise history. The Monarchs were in prime position to avenge last season's playoff loss to the Sparks but squandered a sizeable lead in the final minutes of regulation.
Sacramento scored nine straight points to take a 44-35 cushion with 8:46 remaining and led by as many as 12 less than three minutes later. Tangela Smith buried a jumper with 3:45 left to give the Monarchs a 55-45 advantage before the Sparks scored 12 of the final 14 points in the second half.
Tamecka Dixon scored eight points during the spurt and buried a three-pointer from the top of the key with 31 seconds to go to forge a 57-57 tie. Neither team could score on its final possession and Los Angeles dominated overtime.
Other WNBA results:Miami 69, Orlando 65; Cleveland 79, Indiana 68; Houston 57, Minnesota 56; Utah 61, Seattle 54; Portland 67, Detroit 60.
Diallo scores four goals
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., June 16 (UPI) -- Mamadou Diallo matched a career high with four goals as he once again left his mark on the Los Angeles Galaxy Saturday, leading the MetroStars to a 5-0 victory.
Diallo captured his fourth hat trick and 10th multi-goal game of his three-year MLS career. He had a four-goal outing on May 9, 2001 in a 4-4 tie with Los Angeles.
Metros (4-5-2, 14 points) goalkeeper Tim Howard posted his first shutout of the season and ninth career as the Galaxy (5-5-2, 17 points) suffered the worst loss in franchise history.
Other MLS results: Columbus 2, San Jose 1; Kansas City 2, D.C. United 0; Dallas 3, Chicago 1; New England 2, Colorado 1.
Texas, Stanford win at College World Series
OMAHA, Neb., June 16 (UPI) -- Justin Simmons pitched effectively into the eighth inning Saturday night and Dustin Majewski had a run-scoring double in the eighth as Texas overcame four errors to edge Rice, 2-1, in the College World Series.
In the day's first game, Jeremy Guthrie scattered 10 hits and Stanford built an early lead before holding on for a 4-3 victory over Notre Dame.
Simmons (15-1) allowed one run and five hits in 7 1/3 innings, with his only costly mistake being a solo homer to Eric Arnold in the eighth.
Huston Street recorded the final five outs for his 11th save and was helped third baseman Omar Quintanilla.
Rice nearly tied the game in the eighth after two Texas errors. With runners on first and second and two outs, Quintanilla misplayed a ground ball by Paul Janish that went into foul territory. Vincent Sinisi rounded third and headed for home, but Quintanilla scooped up the ball and threw him out at the plate.
Guthrie improved to 13-1 with his win over Notre Dame. A junior righthander, he walked one and struck out five. He did give up a three-run homer to Javier Sanchez that cut Stanford's lead to 4-3.
