Barlow Shoots 11-Under-Par 61 for First-Round Las Vegas Lead

Craig Barlow, who grew up in the shadow of the Strip, shot a career-best 11-under-par 61 Wednesday to take a two-shot lead in the first round of the five-day Las Vegas Invitational.

“This is the tournament I think about all year long,” Barlow said. “Just to play here is a dream come true. To have a chance to win would be unbelievable.”

Playing late in the day at the Las Vegas Country Club, Barlow started his round with an eagle and added nine birdies. He could have shot a 60, but left a 15-footer for eagle short on the final hole.

The 61 gave him a two-shot lead over Fred Couples and seven other golfers, who all shot 63s on the three user-friendly courses used on the first three days of the tournament.

Also at 63 were Billy Mayfair, Brian Henninger, Andrew Magee, Brian Watts, Joe Ogilvie, Jonathan Kaye and Bob May.

Tennis

Fifth-seeded Greg Rusedski of Britain defeated Andrei Medvedev of Ukraine, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, to advance to the third round of the $800,0000 CA Trophy ATP Tour tournament at Vienna, Austria.

Also moving into the third round was top-seeded Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia, who advanced when Jan Siemerink of the Netherlands withdrew because of a knee injury.

In a first-round match, Marat Safin of Russia upset fourth-seeded Tim Henman of Britain, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3.

Serena Williams said she never said she wanted to play in a men’s tournament because “women’s tennis is boring.”

“I never made that quote,” the U.S. Open women’s singles champion said when asked about a story out of Germany last week. “I never said anything like that.”

In New York on Wednesday to promote next month’s Chase Championships, Williams said it was a joke that got out of hand.

“I was sitting with the tournament director and asked him for a wild card,” she said. “He said, ‘I’m going to announce it.’ It was all done in fun.”

She said it would be no contest if she played in a men’s tournament.

Michael Chang defeated Leander Paes of India, 6-1, 6-3, to make it past the first round of the Heineken Open in Singapore for the first time in three years. . . . U.S. qualifier Corina Morariu posted her first victory over a top-10 player, upsetting fifth-seeded Barbara Schett, 7-6 (8-6) 0-6, 6-4, in the second round of the Swisscom Challenge at Zurich, Switzerland.

Jurisprudence

Former Philadelphia Phillie center fielder Lenny Dykstra has been charged with fondling and making a sexual comment to a 17-year-old girl who worked at his Simi Valley car wash, police said. Dykstra, 36, surrendered at the Simi Valley Police station Wednesday and was freed about an hour later after posting $5,000 bail, police said.

Dykstra, a Thousand Oaks resident, will be arraigned in two weeks on misdemeanor counts of sexual battery and child annoyance, police said.

“She is alleging that physical contact was initiated by Mr. Dykstra,” said Simi Valley Police Lt. Ken Tacke.

According to authorities, the incident occurred Oct. 1.

Lawyers for Coach Butch Carter of the Toronto Raptors said in a Cincinnati court that his ex-wife, Jill Carter, is reading and then distributing her ex-husband’s e-mail messages from an account he has with a personal advertising service. She and his lawyers are at odds over whether she has a right to see his e-mail.

Miscellany

It turns out that the New York Knicks actually suspended Latrell Sprewell for their first exhibition game, and the NBA players’ union has threatened to file a grievance over the matter.

On another day of fallout from Sprewell’s unexcused absence from training camp, the latest revelation left the Knicks being called liars.

The team explicitly said Sunday that Sprewell had been fined but not suspended, but the union--which must be notified of all player discipline penalties--later disclosed that Sprewell had indeed been suspended.

Atlanta’s Olympic bid will be under the microscope today as the House Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations begins hearings on bid practices.

Big West Conference officials are exploring moving their conference basketball tournaments back to the Anaheim Convention Center, which was site of the tournament from 1977 to 1982. The tournament will be played in Reno this season but will move after that because Nevada, the host school, is moving to the Western Athletic Conference.

Former USC standout Lenny Krayzelburg of Studio City has been selected by USA Swimming as swimmer of the year. Krayzelburg, 24, is a Soviet Union native who became a U.S. citizen in 1995. He broke three world records in the backstroke at the Pan Pacific Championships in Sydney, Australia, in August.

Led by Kristee Porter’s 20 kills and Tamika Johnson’s .500 hitting percentage, the UCLA women’s volleyball team defeated USC, 15-10, 15-10, 15-5, at Pauley Pavilion to remain undefeated in the Pacific 10 Conference at 7-0.

Necrology

Venezuelan boxer Carlos Barreto died from head injuries received during a bout last Saturday, his mother said in Caracas, Venezuela. Barreto, 23, was fighting fellow Venezuelan Jose Luis Valbuena in a match for the Latin American super-bantamweight title.

Marvin Wood, coach of the Milan High basketball team that won the 1954 state championship and inspired the movie “Hoosiers,” has died of bone cancer in Mishawaka, Ind. He was 71.