The Tennessean from Nashville, Tennessee • Page 34

www.teoneswan.com THE TENNESSEAN Sunday, August 25, 2002 3C SPORTS Woods two behind in pursuit of fourth straight title at NEC Tennessean Sews Services Robert Allenby ticked off the names of players that he let back into the hunt yesterday in the NEC Invitational. One of them stood out in particular. "You've got a guy like Tiger Woods sitting right up behind you," Allenby said after an even-par 71 that left him in a A LJklL ALLEN BY AP Cory and Lone Martin of Muncie, kiss the pavement after their wedding ceremony was held at the startfinish line of Bristol Motor Speedway. Seven couples were married at the track. Second from left is NASCAR driver Jerry Nadeau, who stood up as best man for all the couples.

Bristol increasing capacity to 160,000 seats breaking the tournament record for 54 holes set last year by Heather Daly-Donofrio en route to her victory. Australian star Karrie Webb was two strokes back after a 67, and South Korea's Se Ri Pak (66), Kelly Robbins (65) and Angela Stanford (66) followed at 12 under. Three share Reno lead: Craig Stadler shot a 7-under 65 yesterday to pull within a stroke of leaders Chiis Riley, Steve Flesch and Jonathan Kaye after the third round of the PGA Reno-Tahoe Open. Riley opened with five straight birdies but mixed three birdies with three bogeys the rest the way for a 67 and a share of the lead at 12-under 204. Kaye shot a 69, and Flesch followed his second-round 64 with a 70 in sometimes windy conditions on the mountain layout The three leaders are all seeking their first PGA win.

Barnes, Mahan advance to final: Ricky Barnes and Hunter Mahan advanced to the championship of the U.S. Amateur with semifinal victories in Bloomfield Hills, Mich, yesterday, keeping alive their hopes for a berth in next year's US. Open and a probable invitation to the Masters. Barnes, of Stocktoa Calif, used a spectacular short game to defeat Wake Forest junior Bill Haas 1-up in one semifinal match. Mahan, of McKinney, Texas, earned his way into today's 36-hole final at Oakland Hills Country Club with a 1-up victory over North Carolina junior Dustin Bray, the ACC champion from Asheboro, N.C.

Jacobs seizes lead: John Jacobs scored 24 points with seven birdies and two eagles yesterday for a share of the second-round lead with Morris Hatalsky in the Uniting Fore Care Classic in Park City, Utah. Jacobs and Hatalsky each had 30 points under the modified Stable-ford scoring format Eight points are awarded for a double eagle, five for an eagle and two for a birdie. No points are given for par, while a bogey is minus-1 and a double bogey or worse is minus-3. Several others remained within striking distance. car won thp inau share of the lead, which was about the best thing that came out of the third round at Sahalee Country Club.

"You've got the top three or four players in the world right on your heels. You know one of them is going to have a good day. And I can put a pretty good bet on one of them" The NEC Invitational moved across the country this year, from Firestone Country Club in Ohio to tree-lined Sahalee west of Seattle. No matter. Woods is where he usually is at this tournament, right in the thick of it going into the final round of the $5 million World Golf Championship event.

"I got myself back in the tournament with a chance to win tomorrow," said Woods, who had a 4-under 67 despite bogeys on the last two holes that dropped him out of the lead. He is in good position to become the first player in 75 years to win the same tournament four straight years, and he owes a small debt of gratitude to Allenby. Allenby looked as though he might run away from the field after making birdies on the first two holes. Instead, he caught a bad break that led to double bogey and needed a birdie on the last hole to share the lead with fellow Aussie Craig Parry. Els leads Betsy King Classic: Australia's Michelle Ellis, coming off consecutive runner-up finishes as she seeks her first LPGA Tour victory, shot a 7-under 65 yesterday to take a two-stroke lead after the third round of the Betsy King Classic in Kutztown, Pa.

Ellis birdied eight of the final 11 holes to finish at 15-under 20L gural race at Bristol Motor Speedway in 1961 with Joe Weatherly at the wheel, will be inducted into the National Motor-sports Press Asso MOORE By LARRY WOODY Staff Writer BRISTOL Starting tomorrow, the state's largest sports facility is going to get bigger. Bristol Motor Speedway will begin construction on additional seats that will increase capacity from 147,000 to 160,000. The expansion, which will be completed in time for next spring's race, is the latest in a series of additions as track officials try to meet growing ticket demands. Based on current demands, 160,000 seats won't be sufficient to fill requests. Last night's Sharpie 500 was a sellout, as was the March 24 Winston Cup race.

A crowd of approximately 130,000 was on hand for Friday night's Busch Series race. Bristol's two annual weekends of NASCAR racing draw more than 500,000 fans and are worth an estimated $200 million to the area economy. He returned home to Spartanburg, S.C, after the war and opened a garage. He progressed from repairing automobiles to building race cars and over the years provided rides for some of the sport's greatest drivers: Fireball Roberts, Dale Earnhardt, Darrell Waltrip, David Pearson, Buck and Buddy Baker, Donnie and Bobby Allisoa Cale Yarborough, LeeRoy Yarbrough, Benny Parsons, Cotton Owens, Tiny Lund and Ricky Rudd. Geoffrey Bodine earned Moore his final NASCAR victory in 1993 at Sonoma, Calif.

Moore was seventh in all-time wins when he sold his team in 1998. Pit stops: Canadian NASCAR fan Daniel Ferneyhough was matched with driver Steve Park in a $1 million promotion by race sponsor Sharpie going into last night's race. A Park win would earn Ferneyhough a $1 million prize. Ferneyhough, an auto mechanic, was one of 10 semifinalists out of more than 245,000 fans who entered the contest The 10 were brought here for the race, and Ferneyhough was randomly selected as the finalist He drew Park as his $1 million driver. Starting position is important at Bristol; 47 of 83 Winston Cup races have been won from the first four starting places.

Only 13 races have been won from a starting position outside the top 10. Ricky Rudd carried the most dismal Bristol streak into last night's race. Rudd has never won here in 49 starts. Five drivers went into last night's race separated by 150 points in the standings, making this the closest championship race in NASCAR history with 13 races to go. Sterling Marlin has led the standings since the second race of the season, but Mark Martin, Jim-mie Johnson, Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon all are within striking distance.

ciation Stock Car Racing Hall of Fame next week. "It's a big honor," says Moore, 77, a highly-decorated veteran of World War II "Being inducted into the Hall of Fame will be one of my biggest thrills." Moore fought in the 90th Infantry Division and landed on Utah Beach on June 6, 1944. He fought in five major battles, some alongside Gen. George S. Patton, and was wounded five times.

In addition to his five Purple Hearts, Moore was awarded two Bronze Stars for valor. in Han Bud Moore, whose Sparks reach finals, score record 103 Off! Cfl Qfr QD VOttR, 0RQ0 3 Associated Press The Los Angeles Sparks were so dominating, they needed just one half to put the game away. Lisa Leslie scored 25 points, and the Sparks overpowered the Utah Starzz 103-77 in Los Angeles yesterday to sweep the Western Conference finals and advance to the WNBA championship. "We ran into a team that is clicking on all cylinders and just shooting the ball as well as just about any team I've ever seen," Utah Coach Candi Harvey said. The Sparks' 103 points was a WNBA playoff record, topping the league title begins Thursday.

Liberty 96, Mystics 79: On the brink of eliminatioa the New York Liberty used torrid offense to force a decisive Game 3 in the WNBA Eastern Conference finals. The Liberty shot 71 in the first half and contained the league's leading scorer, former Tennessee star Chamique Holdsclaw, as they defeated the Washington Mystics before a crowd of 13,851 in Madison Square Gardea The Liberty returns to the Garden today, hoping to advance to their fourth WNBA Finals in the league's six-year history. 101 points they scored vs. Phoenix in the first round Aug 13, 2000. After jumping out to a 15-point halftime lead, the Sparks continued the rout in the second half and opened a 30-point lead.

Besides Leslie, DeLisha Milton had 19 points, Mwadi Mabika had 15 points and nine rebounds, Tamecka Dixon had 15 points and rookie Nikki Teasley added 11 points and nine assists. The Sparks shot 51, had 31 assists and outscored the Starzz 14-0 on fast-break points. Defense of their JEfinwwfinfinM (mm tiVvy ii i i i 1 "irf Saturday, August ol, 1M ikM ni Tlii Tnli'spum Niislivillfi riie University of Tennessee opens the 002 college football season against lie University of yoming Cowboys and here are plenty of creat seats available. pk 17 Enjoy the action of BIG ORANGE i ml1 in rJ ii ii FOOTBALL as UT looks Ipl forward to capturing another SEC Championship crown. Tickets are now on sale tlirough ticHotmaster at 615-255-9600 or online at www.ticketmaster.com Upper Level: $40.00 1 from $36,599 yr A bmwuu.com Tkt URhnik "0O-3M-4BMW Driving Mains' Mill J1 IN NOW Of Nashville 850-4040 4040 Armory Oaks Dr.

(100 Oik irai) wvm.bmtMifnashville.com The TENNESSEAN Every day matters, vwvw.tennessean.com.