Goosen shoots 63 to take lead in Scottish Open

Retief Goosen came close to matching his course record at Loch Lomond, settling for an 8-under 63 Friday to build a two-shot lead over Adam Scott midway through the second round of the Scottish Open.

Goosen set the course record of 62 in 1997, although he would be far more interested in matching his performance from 2001, when he followed his first U.S. Open title with a victory at Loch Lomond.

He was at 11-under 131 as the late starters made their way along the shores of Loch Lomond on a spectacular summer day.

"The first nine holes, you felt like you could do something, but for six holes, I didn't do much," Goosen said.

He built momentum with birdies on the 16th and 18th, a pair of par 4s protected by water, then took off on the front nine, including an eagle on the par-5 third with a 4-iron into 20 feet.

Scott continued his resurgence, and even more pleasant than the weather was the sight of his name on a leaderboard. The 29-year-old Australian has been in miserable form this year until going off by himself to Queenwood Golf Club in London to sort out his game.

After opening with a 66, Scott didn't let a bad break that led to double bogey get in his way.

He was in the lead at 8 under until hitting into a bunker on the par-3 fifth, unaware that a small rock was behind his ball. The shot tumbled over the green and into deep rough, and he failed to get up-and-down.

Scott answered with three birdies over his final four holes for a 67.

"Two rounds in the 60s in a row, pretty good for me," Scott said. "It feels really good the way my game is at the moment. Coming back well after that fifth hole to finish strong was important in the scheme of the tournament. I'm very happy with the day."

Martin Kaymer (65) and Marcus Fraser (66) were at 8-under 134, followed by Nick Watney, one of several Americans who have come to Loch Lomond a week before the British Open at Turnberry. Watney had a 68.

"From what I hear, we have lucked out with the weather," said Watney, making his first trip to this course north of Glasgow.

Not so lucky was John Daly, who missed another cut in Europe. Daly opened with a 69 and was holding on until he took double bogey on both par 5s on the front nine, shot 75 and finished at 2-over 144.

Daly said the rib injury he suffered in France was not a big issue, and actually is feeling better.

"I play better when I'm hurt," he said.

What hurt him was landing in a divot on the third, and another on the 12th.

"Nothing is going right," he said. "I'm used to it."

Camilo Villegas had a bogey-free 67 and got within five shots of the lead, while Ernie Els didn't take full advantage of the pristine conditions, posting only a 69 that left him seven behind.

For all his birdies — and eagle — Goosen might not be in the lead without a few pars.

He topped his 3-wood so badly off the 10th tee when he began his round that he couldn't clear the creek and had a 7-iron for his third shot. Goosen saved par with a 25-foot putt, then missed his target on the par-3 11th by some 40 yards, hitting a beautiful pitch-and-run to 4 feet to escape with par again.

"A bit of a weird start," he said.

As always, he kept a quiet sense of humor about it.

Asked the last time he hit a tee shot that went only 180 yards, Goosen said, "When I hit a 6-iron off the tee."

He hit his 3-wood again on his next full tee shot, the par-4 12th, and hit this one clean. Turning to Geoff Ogilvy and Oliver Wilson, he explained why he that one so well.

"That was a better lie I had on the tee," he said.

Among the late starters were Rory McIlroy, the 20-year-old from Northern Ireland who opened with a 68; and Lee Westwood, who said it was "stupid" to play on Thursday with such a severe chest infection. He must have recovered nicely, because he opened with three straight birdies.

Aussie Klein tennis ban for racial slur

Former junior Australian Open champion Brydan Klein said on Friday he accepted a six-month ban and will undergo a racial sensitivity course after making a racial slur against another player.

Klein, 19, was handed the ban by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and fined 10,000 US dollars for calling black South African Raven Klaasen a "kaffir" during the Eastbourne International in England last month.

"I sincerely regret my error in judgment in using the language I did and I am deeply sorry for the offence caused," Klein said in a statement.

"I am accepting of the ATP's ruling and am now looking to put the whole incident behind me.

The 186th-ranked Australian has been suspended from the ATP World Tour and Challenger events for six months from July 20, although two months of that will be probationary should he successfully complete the racial sensitivity course.

"I will undergo a racial sensitivity course and am determined to learn from this mistake," Klein said.

"I plan to do everything I can to grow as a person and later as a tennis player by improving myself both off and on the court over the next four months.

"My aim is now to return to tournament play at the end of 2009 and focus on a strong Australian summer on the court."

Klein has had a chequered past because of his temperamental behaviour and was previously suspended from the Australian Institute of Sport after repeated on-court misbehaviour.

Tennis West (Australia) president Dean Williams said tennis authorities were "fed up" with Klein's history of poor behaviour.

"Tennis Australia is fed up. They are pouring a lot of money into these kids, hundreds of thousands of dollars," Williams told the West Australian newspaper.

"People around Australia are also fed up with this sort of behaviour and Tennis Australia has now thrown the book at him to show young kids (that) it's not acceptable."

Tennis Australia director of tennis Craig Tiley said Klein's behaviour was "unacceptable".

"Tennis Australia completely supports the sanction and is heartened by the fact that Brydan will undergo the racial sensitivity course," Tiley said late Friday.

"We hope that at the very least he can learn something from this."

Browns WR Stallworth released from Miami jail

Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte' Stallworth has been released from a Miami jail after serving 24 days for DUI manslaughter.

His attorney, Christopher Lyons, says Stallworth was released from the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center early Friday.

The 28-year-old Stallworth served 24 days of the 30-day jail sentence after pleading guilty to DUI manslaughter. Stallworth struck and killed a pedestrian in an early morning crash March 14. Police said he had spent the night drinking at a swank Miami Beach nightclub.

Stallworth has been suspended indefinitely by the NFL. He signed a seven-year, $35 million contract with the Browns before last season but was injured much of the year, finishing with 17 catches for 170 yards and a touchdown.

Paula Creamer wants another shot at Women's Open

Paula Creamer has taken two anti-inflammatory injections in her ailing left thumb. Now, she wants another shot — at a U.S. Women's Open title.

One year after stumbling at the start of the final round of the women's national championship and finishing sixth, Creamer is back on course to chase her first Open title.

But Creamer's been through a tough couple of weeks after pulling out of an LPGA event in Pittsford, N.Y., two weeks ago because of a thumb injury. Last week, she withdrew from a tournament in Ohio when her thumb swelled up after she hit balls on the range before the first round.

She doesn't claim to be pain free, just feeling better.

"I've played a lot of golf the last couple days ... A lot of ice and Advil are my two favorite things right now," the eight-time LPGA Tour winner said Wednesday on the eve of the first round.

Creamer will be paired with top-ranked Lorena Ochoa and South Korea's In-Kyung Kim in the opening round at Saucon Valley Country Club in a Women's Open that threatens to be overshadowed by a lingering dispute among a faction of key LPGA players who are calling for the resignation of tour commissioner Carolyn Bivens.

Golfweek Magazine first reported Monday that a group of key players sent a letter to the LPGA board saying the tour's woes can't be blamed on a poor economy and that the LPGA needs a new leader to rebuild relationships with sponsors.

The tour has lost seven tournaments since 2007.

Most players are declining to talk about the issue, but Ochoa participated in the players' meeting that spawned the letter and addressed the controversy Wednesday.

Ochoa said the players are looking for a more active role in moving the LPGA Tour ahead.

"We as players, we want to be more involved in what is happening and we want to see the tour going in a better direction," said Ochoa, whose best finish in a Women's Open was a tie for second in 2007.

"There's not much we can do. I believe they will do the best for us, and hopefully things will start, you know, moving in a good direction, because we are worried that we're losing tournaments and we want to get back on a good track."

Creamer sidestepped the issue, saying she's concerned only about tour events. She refused to comment further, saying it is "out of my control."

Control is something Creamer struggled with in the final round last year but hopes to maintain at Saucon Valley.

Last year, she entered the last round in second place but had two double bogeys in a front-nine 41. She went on to shoot 78 and finished five places back of eventual winner Inbee Park.

Saucon Valley will be a tough test with its narrow fairways and undulating greens, playing more than 6,700 yards to a par 71.

Creamer is gaining confidence with every ball she strikes.

"Obviously, I wish I was a little bit more prepared to come into the U.S. Open, but it's what I've been given," she said. "I feel Monday and Tuesday I was a little rusty; I hit some shots that I haven't really hit before.

"But I feel good now. I've hit some balls and got that out of my system."

She's also feeling very comfortable with the pristine Lehigh Valley layout.

"When I think of U.S. Open, definitely this course defines that," she said. "It's tight; there's not many birdie opportunities that you can make out there."

Creamer expects to feel some nervousness and will lean on the lessons she learned last year from her first top-10 finish in a major.

"I've learned a lot from that round," she said. "It's going to be difficult, I've learned that. ... Hopefully I can take what happened at the Open last year into this one.

The Women's Open field includes 28 amateurs and players from 22 countries. The youngest player is 13-year-old Yueer-Cindy-Feng of Orlando, and reigning U.S. Girls Junior champ Alexis Thompson, 14, who in 2007 was the youngest Women's Open qualifier in history, is back for her third open.

French tennis player died of 'natural causes'

French tennis player Mathieu Montcourt, found dead outside his apartment in the Paris suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt early Tuesday, died of natural causes, police said Wednesday, citing early autopsy findings.

"First indications lead us to conclude this was a natural death. But one must await the result of toxicological analyses, which should be forthcoming next week, in order to be completely certain," a police source told AFP following the autopsy at the Paris Medico-Legal Institute (IML).

The body of the 24-year-old sportsman, currently 119th in the ATP rankings, was found by his girlfriend outside their ground floor apartment. She alerted police, who said there were no indications that Montcourt had been attacked.

A tennis professional since 2002, Montcourt reached a career best world ranking of 104th in June after qualifying for the main draw at the French Open and reaching the second round where he lost in four sets to Radek Stepanek.

His last tournament was in the Croatian town of Rijeka late June where he reached the semi-final of a Challenger Tour event.

His career was badly hit in August last year when he was banned for eight weeks and fined 12,000 dollars for betting on the Internet on the outcome of tennis matches.

Montcourt appealed against the ban and the Lausanne-based Court of Arbritation for Sports reduced the sanction by two weeks citing the small sums of money involved - 192 dollars on 36 games - and the fact that he did not bet on games in which he was playing.