Woods Maintains Command With 65

For someone who thinks a World Golf Championship is more meaningful than the Ryder Cup, Tiger Woods is sure making this look like an exhibition.

Woods took another step toward the $1-million payoff Friday with his second consecutive seven-under-par 65, giving him a two-stroke lead over Jerry Kelly heading into the weekend at the American Express Championship at Thomastown, Ireland.

Mount Juliet was a pushover again in cool, relatively calm conditions. Or maybe Woods is simply making it look that way.

He hasn’t made a bogey in 36 holes, finished his two rounds at 14-under 130 and then gave the elite, 64-player field something else to consider.

“Can I play better? Yes,” he said.

British Open champion Ernie Els had a 67 to finish at 135 and said he was in contention, although “It all depends on what Tiger does.”

Woods has won his last 14 events on the PGA Tour when leading after 36 holes, dating to the 1999 Byron Nelson Classic.

David Toms recovered from back-to-back bogeys with five birdies on the back nine to salvage a 67 and finish at 11-under 133, along with Steve Lowery.

Retief Goosen had his second consecutive 67 and was at 134. Even David Duval got in on the action, making eight birdies in a round of 65 that put him at eight-under 136.

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Meg Mallon and Michele Redman made consecutive birdies en route to a surprising 3 and 1 best-ball match victory over Maria Hjorth and Annika Sorenstam in the opening day of the Solheim Cup at Edina, Minn., helping the Americans to a 4-4 tie after they fell behind, 3-1, following the morning alternate-shot matches.

Rosie Jones and Cristie Kerr thwarted an remarkable comeback led by Laura Davies to earn another key point in an afternoon match for the Americans. Davies and Paula Marti rallied from a 4-down deficit before Jones and Kerr won their best-ball match, 1-up. Jones made a three-foot birdie putt on No. 18 to halve the hole after Davies made birdie, although she had hit her tee shot in the water on the par-five.

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K.J. Choi shot a three-under 68 to maintain a two-stroke lead in the Tampa Bay Classic at Palm Harbor, Fla. Choi was at 11-under 131.... Jim Thorpe, using a new putter, shot an eight-under 64 to grab a two-shot lead over Dana Quigley in the first round of the SAS Championship at Cary, N.C.

Tennis

Serena Williams routed Australia’s Nicole Pratt, 6-1, 6-0, winning in 39 minutes to reach the semifinals of the Toyota Princess Cup at Tokyo. Williams next faces Amy Frazier, a 2-6, 6-1, 6-4 winner over sixth-seeded Tatiana Panova.

Jelena Dokic, seeded second and the defending champion, cruised to a 6-3, 6-1, victory over seventh-seeded Tamarine Tanasugarn. Her semifinal opponent will be third-seeded Kim Clijsters, who beat Elena Likhovtseva, 6-2, 6-2.

Miscellany

Toe Nash, a high school dropout the Tampa Bay Devil Rays once compared to Babe Ruth, was released from jail in New Orleans after pleading guilty to having sex with a 15-year-old girl.

Nash, 20, was facing life in prison on three counts of aggravated rape, according to Arthur Lemann IV, Nash’s lawyer. Last season, Nash played for the Princeton Devil Rays of the Appalachian League in West Virginia, batting .240 in 47 games.

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After a year away from the NBA, Arvydas Sabonis is returning to the Portland Trail Blazers. The 7-foot-3 center agreed to a multiyear contract.... The Dallas Mavericks agreed to terms on a free-agent contract with forward Popeye Jones.

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Chris Klein scored a first-half goal as the Kansas City Wizards tied the Colorado Rapids, 1-1, at Denver to clinch a playoff berth in Major League Soccer.

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Katie Smith and Sheryl Swoopes scored 19 points each to lead the United States to a 101-68 victory over France in the World Basketball Championship at Changzhou, China. Lisa Leslie had 13 points and 14 rebounds for the U.S., which faces Spain on Monday in the quarterfinals.

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Marion Jones shrugged off a false start and a wet track to win the 100 meters in the World Cup at Madrid, finishing in 10.90 seconds, fractions slower than her season-best time of 10.84. Jamaica’s Tanya Lawrence was second in 11.06.

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Stock-car driver Rusty Wallace won the pole for NASCAR’s Winston Cup race at Dover, Del., posting a lap of 156.822 mph. Dale Jarrett was second with a lap 156.767, and defending race champion Dale Earnhardt Jr. took the third spot at 156.610. Hideo Fukuyama of Japan became the first Asian driver to qualify for a Winston Cup event. He will start last on the 43-car grid for Sunday’s MBNA All-American Heroes 400.