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Verplank Leads At Disney

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The Associated Press

Published: November 3, 2007

LAKE BUENA VISTA - Scott Verplank and Tag Ridings are separated by one shot atop the leaderboard at Disney and by more than $2.76 million in season earnings. One is playing out the season and enjoying time with his family, the other is fighting for a job.

That could be one difference that separates a bunched leaderboard of haves and have-nots going into the weekend at the Children's Miracle Network Classic.

Verplank made enough birdies on his first nine holes Friday on the Magnolia Course that he wasn't too bothered by closing with nine straight pars, giving him a second straight 6-under 66 and a one-shot lead over Ridings, Stephen Ames and Ryan Armour.

Verplank, who was at 12-under 132, already has won this year at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship. He is 15th on the money list, played in the Presidents Cup, has qualified for the four majors next year and has few worries.

Not so for Ridings, who also had a 66 at Magnolia. He has split time playing the PGA Tour and Nationwide Tour this year and came into the final event of the season at No. 210 on the money list. The only way to keep his card is to win, something he has never done. If he were to finish in second alone, all that would do is allow him to skip the second stage of Q-school.

Ames, who captured The Players Championship last year, is playing because it's cold in Calgary and the courses have been closed for the past month. He ran off seven straight birdies on the Palm Course before a three-putt bogey at the end put him at 63.

LPGA: Laura Davies shot a 7-under 65 in windy conditions to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Mizuno Classic at Shima, Japan.

The 44-year-old English player, coming off a final-hole loss to Suzann Pettersen last week in the Honda LPGA Thailand, had seven birdies in her bogey-free round on the Kintetsu Kashikojima Country Club course.

American Reilley Rankin and Japan's Chie Arimura were tied for second. Defending champion Karrie Webb had a 73, and struggling Japanese star Ai Miyazato shot a 77.

PGA EUROPEAN: Justin Rose shot a 3-under 68 to take a four-stroke lead over European Order of Merit rival Padraig Harrington in the Volvo Masters at Sotogrande, Spain.

Rose was at 4-under 138, the only player in the 55-man field under par.

Harrington, who won the Order of Merit money title here last year, shot a 71.

Harrington leads Rose by $948 in the European tour standings. With the winner of the Volvo Masters earning $960,488, both are in position to overtake Order of Merit leader Ernie Els, who holds a $313,892 advantage over Harrington, but opted to play in Singapore on the Asia Tour this week.

PGA ASIAN: U.S. Open champion Angel Cabrera shot an 8-under 63 to take a two-stroke lead in the suspended second round of the Singapore Open, while Ernie Els shot a 5-over 76 that put him in position to miss the cut.

Play was suspended for an hour because of lightning and ended before 37 players could finish. The second round will be completed this morning.

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