Sports Briefs: Lehman has a lot at stake in Tulsa

Monday, Oct. 28, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

Tom Lehman knows about playing in the final group at important tournaments. He's not used to doing it with a nine-stroke lead, however.

"Not even in high school or junior golf," Lehman said as he prepared to protect his huge margin over Brad Faxon and Vijay Singh in today's rain-delayed final round of the Tour Championship at Tulsa, Okla.

The 37-year-old Lehman, who played in the final group twice at the U.S. Open and twice at the Masters without winning, has emerged as one of the most feared players on the PGA Tour.

That reputation got a big boost when Lehman faced down Nick Faldo in the final round to win this year's British Open.

And it's getting another lift at Southern Hills Country Club, where Lehman was 13-under-par 197 after 54 holes and running away from the elite field restricted to the top-30 money winners.

With a victory, Lehman would have a chance to sweep the money title, the scoring title and both player-of-the-year awards.

"I have a good opportunity to make a really big statement with one more good round," Lehman said Sunday when the final round of the Tour Championship was rained out and rescheduled for today.

In another pro golf tournament:

* New Zealander Bob Charles successfully defended his title and won his third Kaanapali Classic in Hawaii. His closing 2-under 69 on Sunday gave him a one-stroke margin over Hale Irwin. Jim Colbert of Las Vegas closed with a 66 to tie for 27th. He opened with a 77 and shot a 68 on Saturday.

UNLV golfers go for title

The UNLV golf team took on the University Arizona today in the finals of the Rolex National Intercollegiate Match Play Team Championships at La Quinta, Calif. The Rebels, who hold the No. 1 national ranking, defeated Clemson 5-0 and Texas Christian 3 1/2-1 1/2 in Sunday's first two rounds.

In other UNLV sports:

* The Rebel soccer team is still winless in the Western Athletic Conference after dropping a 3-1 match at San Diego State. UNLV is 0-3-2 in the WAC and 4-8-4 overall. The Rebels won at Cal State, San Bernardino 2-1 in overtime on Friday.

* The UNLV women's volleyball team lost 15-5, 15-12, 15-7 at Colorado State. The Rebels were paced by Meri-de Boyer, who had 14 kills, 13 assists and 9 digs. Now 2-6 in the WAC, UNLV is 4-14 in all games.

Breedlove ready

Craig Breedlove is two fast dashes across a Nevada desert from regaining the world land speed record he held a generation ago and from returning it to the United States. Breedlove completed his second successful qualifying run on Sunday with just a few hitches. He plans to make a final test today before pitting his jet-powered "Spirit of America" against the record held by Briton Richard Noble. With winter closing in on northern Nevada's Black Rock Desert 100 miles north of Reno, Breedlove and his crew said that if all goes well, he would challenge the speed record today. On Sunday, he completed the second of two required qualifying runs with an average speed of 563 mph. He clocked 448 in his first qualifying run on Wednesday before a storm front delayed further runs.

Stokes' season over

The season is over for San Francisco 49ers wide receiver J.J. Stokes, who was put on the team's injured reserve after having wrist surgery. 49ers coach George Seifert announced the move, which makes Stokes ineligible until the 1997 season. Stokes dislocated his right wrist over a week ago, when he stumbled while jumping to catch a pass and put his hand down to keep from falling. He had surgery on Friday.

In other pro football news:

* The Astrodome will likely be home to the Houston Oilers for another year, with the team moving to Nashville, Tenn., in 1998 although a stadium there won't be completed then, owner Bud Adams said. Adams said the team probably would remain in Houston through 1997 as he would not try to buy out the last year of his Astrodome lease.

Alabama, West Virginia fall

Alabama and West Virginia tumbled after losing for the first time, while Florida retained its No. 1 ranking for the sixth straight week in The Associated Press' Top 25 college football poll. The Crimson Tide (7-1), who lost to Tennessee 20-13, fell from No. 7 to No. 10 in Sunday's balloting by the 67 sports writers and broadcasters who vote in the poll. The Mountaineers (7-1) were beaten by Miami 10-7 and dropped from No. 12 to No. 18. The Gators (7-0), who had Saturday off, remained on top with 59 first-place votes and 1,666 points. Last week, Florida had 57 first-place votes. The top six positions were unchanged from last week. Ohio State (7-0), with a 38-26 win over Iowa, was second, followed by Florida State, Arizona State, Nebraska and Tennessee.

D.C. United in finals

Major League Soccer champion D.C. United advanced to the U.S. Open Cup finals Sunday night, defeating host Dallas Burn, 2-0, on a pair of goals by Jaime Moreno. Marco Etcheverry assisted on the first, in the 12th minute. The other, in the 82nd minute, was unassisted. Washington will host the U.S. Cup final at 8 p.m. Wednesday in RFK Stadium against the Rochester (N.Y.) Rhinos of the A-League.

Becker defeats Sampras

Boris Becker fired 29 aces to top Pete Sampras, 3-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the Eurocard Open final at Stuttgart, Germany, ending the 21-match winning streak of the world's No. 1 player. Becker's 48th title, 29th indoors will move him to No. 3 when new rankings are released.

Morgan back with Packers

The injury-prone Green Bay Packers lured receiver Anthony Morgan back to the team today. The Packers desperately needed Morgan back to shore up their depleted receiving corps after losing their top two receivers in the past three weeks. Antonio Freeman broke his left forearm Sunday in his first start in place of injured Robert Brooks.

In other pro football news:

* The season is over for San Francisco 49ers wide receiver J.J. Stokes, who was put on the team's injured reserve after having wrist surgery.

* The Astrodome will likely be home to the Houston Oilers for another year, with the team moving to Nashville, Tenn., in 1998 although a stadium there won't be completed then, owner Bud Adams said.