in brief

GOLF

Thatcher takes four-shot lead
in season-ending PGA event

Roland Thatcher, needing at least a solo second-place finish to secure full PGA Tour playing status for next year, shot a 9-under-par 63 Friday to take a four-shot lead over Chris Stroud and Brian Gay in the season-ending Children's Miracle Network Classic at Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

Thatcher, 179th on the money list, played the longer, more difficult Magnolia course, the site of the final two rounds. He had a 16-under 128 total. Stroud, 119th on the money list, shot a 70, and Gay, safe at 59th, had a 65.

Also: Two-time winner Adam Scott, a former UNLV standout, shot his second straight 6-under 65 to take a two-stroke lead over defending champion Ian Poulter in the Singapore Open, while Masters champion Phil Mickelsen was six behind after a 69 in the rain-delayed tournament. Poulter followed his opening 69 with a 63 to reach 10 under, two shots off Scott's 12-under 130.

Paula Creamer shot a 6-under 66 to take a one-stroke lead over Norway's Suzann Pettersen in the Lorena Ochoa Invitational at Guadalajara, Mexico. Creamer, the U.S. Women's Open champion, birdied two of the final three holes to reach 10-under 134. Pettersen had a 65, matching Meena Lee for the best round of the day.

MOTOR SPORTS

Force picks up bonus point in
pursuit of Hagan in Funny Car

John Force picked up a critical bonus point in qualifying in the Auto Club NHRA Finals in Pomona, Calif., to move back within two rounds of points leader Matt Hagan in the Funny Car title chase.

The bonus point Force earned for the third-quickest pass in the second qualifying session drew him within 39 points of Hagan, who was shut out of the bonus points after earning three on Thursday.

Three of the four categories had new provisional No. 1 qualifiers, with Ashley Force Hood topping the Funny Car order, V Gaines taking the lead in Pro Stock and Eddie Krawiec topping the Pro Stock Motorcycle field. Larry Dixon remained atop the Top Fuel order.

Also: Carl Edwards claimed the pole for Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Ariz., with a track-record lap.

Edwards ran a lap of 136.389 mph in qualifying to earn the top starting spot for Roush-Fenway Racing. He broke the record of 135.854 set by Ryan Newman in 2004.

AJ Allmendinger qualified second for beleaguered Richard Petty Motorsports with a lap of 136.250, and Kurt Busch was third for Penske Racing with a 136.240. The top three drivers broke the track record.

Denny Hamlin was the top qualifier of the three championship contenders, coming in 17th. Four-time Phoenix winner Jimmie Johnson qualified 21st, and Kevin Harvick qualified 29th.

Todd Bodine earned his second NASCAR Trucks season title, finishing well behind race winner Clint Bowyer at Phoenix International Speedway.

Bodine entered the race with a 230-point lead over Aric Almirola, needing only to avoid a catastrophe to win the title. Bodine did just that, finishing 12th to wrap up the title with one race remaining.

Kyle Busch, who led 25 laps, held on for second to push his owner's points lead to 120 over Bodine's owner, Steve Germain, with one race left.

Chevrolet will return to the IndyCar Series in 2012 with a twin-turbocharged V-6 racing engine. The engine will be developed by General Motors in conjunction with Ilmor Engineering for Team Penske.

MISCELLANEOUS

Smith's double-double powers
UNLV women to opening rout

Jamie Smith recorded her 23rd career double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds as the UNLV women's basketball team opened its season with a 76-42 victory over Southern Utah at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Junior college transfer Lenita Sanford added 12 points as the Lady Rebels beat the Thunderbirds in their season opener for the second straight year and posted their largest margin of victory since a 73-39 win over Jackson State in December 2005.

The much taller Lady Rebels outrebounded Southern Utah 58-36, which accounted for their 34-18 scoring edge in the paint.

Also: The NBA's board of governors unanimously approved the sale of the Golden State Warriors to a group led by Joe Lacob and movie producer Peter Guber. The long-expected announcement allowed the Warriors' new owners to assume formal control of the franchise long owned by Chris Cohan.

In other Warriors news, forward David Lee underwent surgery after an infection developed in a cut on his left elbow.

Former NBA All-Star Allen Iverson's debut with Turkish basketball league team Besiktas was postponed. Team manager Murat Murtezaoglu said the 11-time NBA All-Star "did not feel ready" to play and instead watched from the stands as his new team beat Oyak Renault 87-81 in Ankara.

Top-seeded Roger Federer reached the semifinals of the Paris Masters for the first time by defeating Jurgen Melzer of Austria, 6-1, 7-6 (4).

Federer, who this week called the Parisian indoor tournament his "worst" Masters, had lost three times in the quarterfinals.

American Andy Roddick lost a serving contest with Robin Soderling, who had 18 aces in a 7-5, 6-4 quarterfinal win.

Federer, who fired 18 aces and had 33 winners overall, will next play last year's runner-up and local favorite Gael Monfils, who beat third-seeded Andy Murray, 6-2, 2-6, 6-3. Soderling will play Michael Llodra after the Frenchman defeated Nikolay Davydenko of Russia, 7-5, 6-1.

The Oakland Athletics acquired third baseman Edwin Encarnacion from the Toronto Blue Jays on a waiver claim. Encarnacion, 27, hit 21 home runs with 51 RBIs while batting .244 for Toronto last season.