Rookie Johnson Is Tied for Lead

PGA Tour rookie Zach Johnson shot a four-under-par 68 Friday to move into a three-way tie for the lead when the second round of the Houston Open was suspended by darkness.

Johnson, who earlier this month won the BellSouth Classic at Duluth, Ga., overcame a second day of gusty conditions and a nearly two-hour weather-related delay at the Redstone Golf Club in suburban Houston.

With 36 players scheduled to finish their second rounds this morning, Johnson, Steve Stricker and Steve Lowery were at five-under 139.

Among those who didn’t finish was Neal Lancaster, who was one shot behind the leaders with three holes remaining. John Riegger was at four under with one hole to play.

*

Gil Morgan shot a seven-under 65 for a one-stroke lead over Hale Irwin and Dave Barr after the first round of the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf in Savannah, Ga. Craig Stadler, seeking his second win of the Champions Tour season, was another shot back after a second-round 67.

Tennis

Marat Safin of Russia defeated Alberto Martin of Spain, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, to advance to a semifinal matchup with Guillermo Coria of Argentina in the Monte Carlo Masters at Monaco.

Third-seeded Coria defeated seventh-seeded David Nalbandian of Argentina, 6-4, 6-3. In the other semifinal, fourth-seeded Rainer Schuettler of Germany will play fifth-seeded Carlos Moya of Spain. Schuettler beat sixth-seeded Tim Henman of Britain, 6-3, 6-1. Moya beat Nikolay Davydenko of Russia, 6-4, 7-6 (4).

*

The U.S. will have one prominent absentee today when it begins its bid to regain the Fed Cup against host Slovenia in Portoroz. Serena Williams is out because of a knee injury, leaving her sister, Venus, to lead the team in the first round of World Group play. She is joined by Lisa Raymond, Martina Navratilova and Laura Granville.

“It’s unfortunate Serena stepped down,� Raymond said. “But for me, it’s cool I get a chance here.�

Motor Racing

Ricky Rudd gave the Wood Brothers’ team its first pole in 20 years, taking the top spot for Sunday’s NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Talladega, Ala., Superspeedway.

To do so, he had to beat the Dale Earnhardt Inc. tandem of Michael Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Rudd turned a fast lap of 191.180 mph in his Ford.

Then he waited for the Chevrolets of Waltrip and Earnhardt to take their turns. Waltrip, who had a lap of 190.974, will start second. Earnhardt had a lap of 190.336 and will start third.

*

Robbie Buhl, one of the Indy Racing League’s original drivers, has competed in his last race behind the wheel. Buhl, 40, said he was retiring as a driver and would focus his efforts on being co-owner of Dreyer & Reinbold Racing.

Miscellany

Colorado’s John Dutton threw seven touchdown passes and the Crush set a franchise scoring record with a 69-30 Arena Football League victory over the Grand Rapids Rampage in front of 15,930 at Denver. The mark had been 62, set against Detroit earlier this year.

*

St. Louis Blues’ forward Mike Danton will plead not guilty to federal charges that he tried to hire a hit man to kill an acquaintance, his lawyer said. Danton, arrested in San Jose on Sunday, remains in federal custody.

*

The Postal Service is ending its sponsorship of cyclist Lance Armstrong’s pro team after this season. Armstrong has won five consecutive Tours de France for the USPS team.

*

Dan Kellner rallied from a huge deficit in the semifinals and dominated the final bout to win the men’s foil title at the U.S. Fencing National Championships in Atlanta. Kellner, from Warren, N.J., trailed, 0-6 and 1-7, in his semifinal against Jed Dupree in a bout in which 15 points wins. Kellner countered with seven consecutive points to take the lead at 8-7 and won, 15-13.

In the championship bout, Kellner defeated Jon Tiomkin of Hewlett, N.Y., 15-6. Kellner, Tiomkin and Dupree finished in the top three in the standings and will represent the United States at the Athens Olympics in August. Kelley Hurley, 16, of San Antonio became the youngest to win the women’s national epee championship by defeating Alexie Rubin of Los Angeles, 15-5.

*

Marc Bulger, Mark Brunell, Jake Delhomme, Trent Green, Joey Harrington, Matt Hasselbeck, Byron Leftwich, Josh McCown and Carson Palmer will compete in a series of skill competitions today at 10 a.m. at Santa Monica Beach in the NFL Quarterback Challenge, a made-for-television event to be shown July 17 and 18 on CBS.

*

Chattanooga promoted John Shulman from interim men’s basketball coach to head coach. Shulman, who became the Moccasins’ interim coach after Jeff Lebo left for Auburn on April 8, was on Lebo’s staff the last two seasons and at Tennessee Tech the previous four years.