Moodie shoots 64 for Navistar lead

Scotland's Janice Moodie shot a bogey-free 8-under 64 on Thursday to take a one-stroke lead over 14-year-old Alexis Thompson in the Navistar LPGA Classic at Prattville, Ala., with Michelle Wie and top-ranked Lorena Ochoa two strokes back.

Moodie, a two-time winner on the LPGA Tour, played her final nine holes -- the front nine on The Senator course at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail's Capitol Hill complex -- in 6-under 30. She birdied her final four holes and six of her last seven.

"All of a sudden I'm hitting driver, wedge, wedge, wedge," Moodie said. "I thought, you know, I better capitalize on this one, and I did. I think I was more thinking about how the golf course has dried out compared to making the birdies."

Thompson had eight birdies and a bogey. She tied for 34th in July in the U.S. Women's Open.

Wie eagled the par-5 fifth and had five birdies and a bogey.

Karine Icher also opened with a 66.

Turning Stone Resort Championship: At Verona, N.Y., rookie Leif Olson and Tim Petrovic shot 6-under 66s in rainy and cold conditions to share the first-round lead in the first event of the five-tournament Fall Series.

Matt Kuchar, John Senden and Vaughn Taylor were a stroke back, and Adam Scott headed a group of seven at 68.

The round was stopped because of darkness with a handful of players still on the soggy Atunyote Golf Club course.

Senior Players Championship: At Timonium, Md., Lonnie Nielson shot a 5-under 65 to take a one-stroke lead over Tom Watson and Jay Haas in the the last of the Champions Tour's five majors.

Sandy Lyle opened with a 67, and Bob Tway, Dan Forsman, Eduardo Romero and Mike Reid shot 68s on the Baltimore Country Club/Five Farms' East Course.

Alfred Dunhill Links Championship: At St. Andrews, Scotland, Denmark's Thomas Bjorn shot an 8-under 64 at Kingsbarns to take a two-stroke lead.

Sharapova moves into semis

Maria Sharapova advanced to the semifinals of the Toray Pan Pacific Open tennis tournament on Thursday in Tokyo with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Iveta Benesova.

Former No. 1 Sharapova served to go up 6-5 in the final set and then broke Benesova to close out the match in 1 hour, 39 minutes and set up a semifinal against Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, who defeated Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia, 6-3, 6-1.

Sharapova has struggled since returning from a 10-month injury layoff but said after Wednesday's win she is starting to feel more comfortable on the court.

Earlier, Jelena Jankovic of Serbia, the highest remaining seed, advanced with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Marion Bartoli.

Thailand Open: Defending champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga won a three-tiebreaker match against Ernests Gulbis 6-7 (3), 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2) Thursday to advance to the quarterfinals at Bangkok.

Gulbis, ranked 99th, staved off a set point at 4-5 to take the opener and had 5-4 and 6-5 leads in the second set. But the Frenchman held on to force the tiebreaker. In the third set, players held serve to set up another tiebreaker, when Tsonga forced Gulbis into errors.

John Isner of Greensboro also advanced to the quarterfinals by defeating Mischa Zverev of Germany 7-6 (5), 6-4. Isner, ranked 48th, will face fourth-seeded Viktor Troicki of Serbia.

Japan Open: Third-ranked Andy Murray of Britain has withdrawn because of a wrist injury that also bothered him at the U.S. Open.

Fifth-ranked Juan Martin del Potro, the U.S. Open champion, is the highest-ranked player in the draw.

Raikkonen unsure of F1 future

Kimi Raikkonen, the 2007 world champion, is unsure if he will continue in Formula One after being ousted as a Ferrari driver, saying Thursday that it would require an offer from a top team to keep him in the sport.

Raikkonen will leave Ferrari at the end of the current season after agreeing to a buyout of the remaining year on his contract, making way for the arrival of Fernando Alonso in 2010 -- a move that was confirmed Thursday.

Beckham confident he'll play

Los Angeles Galaxy star David Beckham is confident that an inflamed right Achilles tendon will not keep him from playing tonight in a home game against the Chicago Fire (11 p.m., ESPN2) with Major League Soccer playoff implications.

"I'll be ready," Beckham said after Thursday's practice. "I don't see why not."

Los Angeles is on the verge of qualifying for the playoffs for the first time since 2005, when it won the MLS Cup. It would also be the team's first time in the playoffs since Beckham arrived in 2007.

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