Clark takes lead, seeks first PGA Tour win

Tim Clark birdied the final hole for a four-under-par 66 and a two-stroke lead Saturday in the PGA Tour’s Crowne Plaza Invitational at Fort Worth.

Clark moved ahead of playing partner Steve Stricker with a birdie on the 11th hole, then strung together pars until No. 18.

The South African was at 17-under 193 as he chased his first PGA Tour victory. He has finished second six times, including last year at Colonial when Phil Mickelson birdied the final hole for a one-stroke win.

Stricker (69), Steve Marino (62) and Jason Day (65) were 15 under, Vijay Singh (69) followed at 13 under, and Justin Leonard (64) and Woody Austin (67) were 12 under.

Nick Price shot a four-under 67 to take a one-stroke lead into the final round of the Principal Charity Classic at West Des Moines, Iowa.

Price, the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am winner in April for his first Champions Tour title, had a one-shot lead after two rounds last year en route to a third-place finish. The three-time major champion had a seven-under 135 total on the Glen Oaks course.

Joey Sindelar (67) and Mark Wiebe (68) were six under, and Fred Funk (69) and Mark McNulty (69) were five under.

Texas A&M;’s Bronson Burgoon hit a gap wedge from the rough to three inches on the 18th hole at Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio, to win his match and clinch the Aggies’ first NCAA Division I men’s golf title.

Burgoon, a senior and the team’s No. 1 player, had lost the previous four holes to Arkansas’ Andrew Landry before hitting from the deep rough far to the right of the 18th fairway. Landry conceded the tap-in for birdie, then missed a 35-footer that would have sent the match to extra holes. A&M; won, 3-and-2.

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TRACK AND FIELD

Gay runs his best 200 meters time

Tyson Gay, the reigning world champion, ran the third-fastest time ever in the 200 meters in winning in 19.58 seconds at the Reebok Grand Prix in New York.

The only faster times are Usain Bolt’s world record last year of 19.30 and Michael Johnson’s 19.32 in 1996.

It was in the 200 at last year’s U.S. Olympic trials that Gay hurt his hamstring. He didn’t win a medal at the Beijing Games after coming in as the world champion in the 100 and 200.

Gay’s previous best was 19.62 seconds in 2007. He blew away a strong field, beating second-place finisher Wallace Spearmon by 0.4 of a second.

British sprinter Dwain Chambers clocked a season-best 10.06 seconds to win the 100 meters at the Papaflesia meet in Kalamata, Greece. His time was the fastest of the year for a European and the ninth-best in the world this season.

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CYCLING

Menchov closes in on Giro win

Denis Menchov of Russia moved closer to victory in the Giro d’Italia, keeping the leader’s pink jersey with only one stage left in the cycling classic.

Menchov increased his overall lead by two seconds, and Philippe Gilbert of Belgium won the 20th stage in a two-way sprint after a late breakaway at Anagni, Italy. Gilbert finished in 4 hours 30 minutes 7 seconds over the 126-mile leg.

Menchov finished ahead of Danilo Di Luca in a mid-race sprint and holds a 20-second lead over the Italian entering today’s final time trial in Rome.

Franco Pellizotti of Italy remained third overall, trailing Menchov by 1 minute 43 seconds.

Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong dropped back shortly before the finish as riders completed a circuit around Anagni twice. The Texan crossed 1:38 behind and remained 12th overall, 15:04 behind Menchov.

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COLLEGE SOFTBALL

Arizona schools are eliminated

Pinch-hitter Jazlyn Lunceford hit her first career grand slam during Alabama’s second surprising outburst of the day, lifting the Crimson Tide past defending champion Arizona State, 6-2, and into the Women’s College World Series semifinals at Oklahoma City.

Alabama also beat Arizona, 14-0, setting records for the most runs and biggest margin of victory. Next up is a semifinal matchup today against top-seeded Florida. Alabama needs two wins to reach the finals.

Georgia also won twice to reach the semifinals, beating Michigan, 7-5, and Missouri, 5-2, and will have to duplicate the feat today against Washington to advance again.