Langham Leads by Two After Course-Record 63

Franklin Langham came within a putt of setting a course record Thursday in the Kemper Open at Potomac, Md.

After his birdie putt rolled past the hole by an inch or two, Langham tapped in and settled for tying the course mark with an eight-under-par 63 that gave him a two-stroke lead after the opening round.

“It was one of those days you dream about,” said Langham, who is seeking to become the Kemper’s fourth consecutive first-time PGA Tour winner. “I drove it good, as good as I’ve ever driven it. My iron game complemented my driving the ball, and I made enough putts to shoot eight under.”

Bob Estes shot a 65. Chris DiMarco, Brian Watts, Jay Williamson, Willie Wood and Brian Gay were another shot back. Greg Norman was four off the pace.

Langham fits the typical Kemper winner’s profile. Not only has he never won on the tour, but he had to play the first part of this year on a medical exemption after major elbow surgery that had him in rehab from October through February.

Langham said his elbow muscles got so small during his layoff that he “could see all the bones” sticking out.

“There were times I was scared,” Langham said. “I never got to the point where I said, ‘I’m not playing again,’ but I was definitely scared. It hurt so bad from the stuff I did, like, ‘How am I ever going to grip a club again?’ But I was real determined to do it.”

DiMarco, the only player in the field ranked in the world’s top 10, had an efficient but unspectacular round. He made four of his five birdies on the easiest holes on the course.

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Colin Montgomerie, playing despite a back injury, shot a two-under 70 in windy conditions and was five shots off the lead after the first round of the British Masters at Woburn, England.

Santiago Luna of Spain and Robert-Jan Derksen of the Netherlands shared the first-round lead at five-under 67.

Phillip Price, defending champion Thomas Levet, Raymond Russell, Ian Poulter and Soren Hansen were one off the lead.

Pro Football

With a Los Angeles group making a bid for an NFL team, Louisiana Gov. Mike Foster said that a new deal to keep the Saints in New Orleans is dependent only on paperwork from “some lawyers who are dragging their feet.”

On his statewide radio program, Foster said he expected the agreement, approved by the legislature earlier this year, to be signed soon.

“This has been lawyered too much,” the governor said. “Sometimes, you have to explain to lawyers that they just have to get it done.”

Saints’ owner Tom Benson, who threatened to move the team out of New Orleans last year, said his office was swamped with calls Thursday, asking whether the team still had a deal with the state.

“I spoke with the governor today and he and I both agree that we have a deal in place,” Benson said in a prepared statement. “A deal is a deal and I eagerly anticipate signing our new lease with the state and only wish we could have signed it sooner.”

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Uhuru Hamiter, a defensive end who spent last season with the Philadelphia Eagles, signed with the expansion Houston Texans.... The New England Patriots signed former Pittsburgh Steeler guard Rich Tylski to a one-year contract for $525,000 and waived former University of Texas quarterback Major Applewhite, an undrafted rookie who signed with New England last month.

Miscellany

Former Michigan basketball guard Jalen Rose, now with the Chicago Bulls, said he took some money from a former school booster who pleaded guilty earlier this week to a federal conspiracy charge.

Rose, who was drafted in 1994, told Fox Sports Net that Ed Martin had given him pocket money.

On Tuesday, Martin, 68, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder monetary instruments. As part of his plea, he agreed to cooperate with the government and the university in their investigations of improper benefits to basketball players.

“He gave me money before, but it wasn’t in excess of--you know--trying to allow me to be rich,” Rose said. “You know, it was allowing me to have a couple of dollars in my pocket.”

Martin was accused of illegally lending $600,000 to four former Wolverine players. Martin said he paid $280,000 to Chris Webber, $160,000 to Robert Traylor, $105,000 to Maurice Taylor and $71,000 to Louis Bullock.

Rose didn’t say how much he was given.

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The Southern Conference voted to grant Virginia Military Institute’s request for an early departure from the 12-team league, and agreed to invite Elon to replace it. VMI, which is joining the Big South Conference, will leave the Southern Conference in June, 2003.

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Rick Crawford took the pole position for the first time in 132 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races, turning a lap at 150.414 mph at Dover International Speedway at Dover, Del.

Crawford, who scored his only series victory in March 1998 at Miami-Homestead Speedway, edged Ted Musgrave and Jason Leffler for the top spot in the MBNA America 200.

Musgrave qualified second at 149.483, and Leffler took the No. 3 spot at 149.099.

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Cliff Levingston, the former NBA player who coaches the United States Basketball League’s Dodge City Legend, was arrested for owing more than $100,000 in child support, the FBI said.

Levingston, who played on two NBA championship teams with the Chicago Bulls, was arrested in Dodge City, Kan., on a warrant issued by a federal judge in San Diego, where the support is owed to a woman who has custody of Levingston’s daughter.

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World Boxing Organization heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko will defend his title against Ray Mercer June 29 at Atlantic City. It will be the third defense for Klitschko, who stopped Frans Botha in the eighth round March 16.