Els Sharp, Azinger Blunts Own Bid

Ernie Els and Paul Azinger continued to play well Friday at the Buick Classic, but only one of them will be around for the weekend at Westchester Country Club in Harrison, N.Y.

Els, the newly crowned U.S. Open champion, shot a three-under-par 68 for a 131 total and extended his midway lead to three strokes.

Azinger, meanwhile, shot a 69 for a 136 total and a share of third place, only to be disqualified for failing to sign his scorecard before leaving the scorer’s tent after his last hole Friday, according to PGA Tour spokesman Lee Patterson.

Tiger Woods birdied his last hole to shoot a 72 and was at two-over 144, one stroke under the cut. He has made all 22 cuts since he turned pro in 1996.

*

Jason Gore, a recent graduate of Pepperdine who led the Waves to the NCAA championship last month, today will meet Scott Watson, 25, of Walnut Creek in the 36-hole, match-play final of the 86th California Amateur at Pebble Beach Golf Links.

Watson won five consecutive holes on the back nine to oust medalist Tim Hogarth of Chatsworth, 4 and 3; Gore won three consecutive holes late and then held on to beat Ed Cuff Jr. of Temecula, 1-up.

Meanwhile, at nearby Poppy Hills Golf Course, Cliff Davis of Suisun nearly holed a bunker shot on the final hole and the subsequent tap-in birdie gave him a one-stroke victory in the 54-hole California Golf Assn. (State) Senior Amateur championship.

*

Bob Murphy, coming off a two-week break, shot a bogey-free, eight-under 64 to take a two-stroke lead after the first round of the Nationwide Championship senior tournament at Alpharetta, Ga.

*

Nanci Bowen, whose sole victory on tour came in a major championship--the Nabisco Dinah Shore--in 1995, posted a five-under 67 to vault into a tie with Nancy Scranton at nine-under 131 midway through the LPGA Rochester International at Pittsford, N.Y.