Levi Moves Into Senior Lead

Wayne Levi made four birdies before the second round was suspended because of darkness and held a one-shot lead in the rain-delayed Senior PGA Championship at Louisville, Ky.

The 52-year-old Levi was one of 72 players who completed his first round late at Valhalla Golf Club on Friday afternoon. He shot an opening-round 69, then made the four birdies through the first 11 holes of his second round to move to six-under.

Gil Morgan was five-under through nine holes on his second round when a horn signaled the end of play at 8:44 p.m. EDT. Hale Irwin and Tom Watson, among 78 players who did not begin their second rounds Friday, were another stroke back.

First-round co-leader Jay Haas bogeyed two of his last four holes Friday and was one of three players at three-under.

The second round is scheduled to resume today. PGA officials were hoping to complete the third round as well today.

Heavy rain has hampered the tournament since Wednesday, when a thunderstorm postponed practice rounds.

A powerful storm struck Thursday and Floyd’s Fork, the creek that runs through the course, spilled over its banks.

Kerry Haigh, the PGA’s managing director of tournaments, said the PGA wanted to avoid cutting the tournament to 54 holes and would finish it Monday, if necessary.

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David Toms turned in his best round this year with an eight-under 63 that helped the defending champion take a one-stroke lead over Vaughn Taylor after the second round of the St. Jude Classic in Memphis, Tenn. Toms carded six birdies and an eagle and is at 12-under 130. Taylor shot a bogey-free 65.

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Annika Sorenstam seemed assured of the second-round lead at the LPGA’s Corning Classic in Corning, N.Y., after a five-under 67, but Michelle Estill shot a 64 and was one stroke in front of the Swedish player. Estill was at 13-under 131, one stroke better than the 36-hole record set last year by Lorie Kane and Catriona Matthew.

Motor Racing

Greg Biffle earned his second NASCAR Busch Series pole of the season, edging Kyle Busch in qualifying for today’s Carquest Auto Parts 300 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C. Biffle had a fast lap of 183.545 mph in his Ford, about 0.015 seconds better than Busch, in a Chevrolet.

Miscellany

A decision on Jerome Young’s five-year-old drug case will be reached by the Court of Arbitration for Sport no later than July 10. The Lausanne, Switzerland-based tribunal must decide whether Young was improperly cleared by USA Track & Field after a positive test for steroids in 1999.

Young went on to win a gold medal as part of the 1,600-meter relay team at the 2000 Olympics. If the court rules against him, Young and his teammates could be stripped of their gold medals.

The other members of the U.S. team were Michael Johnson, Alvin Harrison, Calvin Harrison, Antonio Pettigrew and Angelo Taylor.

Young tested positive for steroids five years ago but was cleared on appeal before an American panel, avoiding a two-year ban that would have kept him out of the Olympics.

USC is nearing an agreement to change the date of its football game at Brigham Young from Sept. 4 to Sept. 18, a USC athletic department official said.

Daryl Gross, a senior associate athletic director who handles scheduling, said there was a “significant chance” the change would be made and that it could be finalized as soon as Tuesday.

BYU requested the switch to accommodate Notre Dame, which is scheduled to play at Provo, Utah, on Oct. 30. Notre Dame wants the change to Sept. 4 so that it will have played a game before meeting Michigan on Sept. 11.

Gross said USC was open to the idea because it would result in a favorable academic situation for the Trojans and would better balance their schedule.

USC opens the season Aug. 28 against Virginia Tech in the Black Coaches Assn. Classic at FedEx Field in Landover, Md. The Trojans, who will begin school when they return, were to play BYU the following weekend and Colorado State in their home opener on Sept. 11. They have an open date on Sept. 18 before opening Pacific 10 Conference play at Stanford Sept. 25. They have a bye Oct. 2, and play host to California the following week.

Gross said the switch would allow Trojan players to start school without a game the same week.

Quarterback Jeff Blake signed a one-year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles. Blake gives the Eagles insurance should starter Donovan McNabb or backup Koy Detmer get injured.