Thorpe says he expects to fail in Olympic bid

SYDNEY (AP) -- Five-time gold medalist Ian Thorpe expects to fail in his attempt to make the Australian Olympic team for London 2012, saying he may have made his return to competitive swimming too late.


A week before the Australian trials that will determine whether he qualifies for London, Thorpe told Australia's Network Ten that he doesn't have high expectations of making the team after modest results in lead-up events.


"The most realistic outcome of this is that I will most likely fail," he said in the television interview.


The 29-year-old Thorpe, who retired in November 2006 after setting 13 world records and winning 11 world championships gold medals, announced a comeback to competitive swimming nearly a year ago.

Romney wins Ohio, 5 other Super Tuesday states

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Mitt Romney squeezed out a win in pivotal Ohio, captured five other states with ease and padded his delegate lead in the race for the Republican presidential nomination but was forced to share the Super Tuesday spotlight with a resurgent Rick Santorum.


"I'm going to get this nomination," Romney told cheering supporters in Massachusetts," pointing particularly to delegate support that was greater than the combined totals of his three rivals.


On the busiest night of the campaign, he scored a home-state win in Massachusetts to go with primary victories in Vermont and in Virginia - where neither Santorum nor Newt Gingrich was on the ballot. He added the Idaho and Alaska caucuses to his column.


Ohio was the big win, though, and the closest contest of all as the Republican rivals battled for the chance to face Democratic President Barack Obama in November.


Santorum countered crisply, winning primaries in Oklahoma and Tennessee and the North Dakota caucuses - raising fresh doubts about Romney's ability to corral the votes of conservatives in some of the most Republican states in the country.

Woods wins point, US in control at Presidents Cup

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -- Tiger Woods finally won a point, then couldn't buy a putt.


The Americans were assured of leading the Presidents Cup after a 4-1 decision in foursomes Saturday morning, when Woods and Dustin Johnson won a match and two American teams remained perfect.


Hopeful of building the lead in the fourball matches in the afternoon, the International team fought back.


K.T. Kim holed a 6-foot par putt on the 18th hole to give him and Y.E. Yang a 1-up win over Woods and Johnson. Woods missed nine putts from about the 15-foot range or closer, including one on the last hole that would have earned a halve. Woods was assured of his first losing record in the Presidents Cup since 1998, which also was at Royal Melbourne.


The International team picked up two more wins, meaning it can at least put up a fair fight in the 12 singles matches Sunday. It also ended the Americans' streak of not losing a session for the first time since 2007.


Retief Goosen and Charl Schwartzel handed Webb Simpson and Bubba Watson their first loss of the week. The Americans made only one birdie, a poor effort in fourballs even in a cold, steady rain as the wind picked up.


Geoff Ogilvy and K.J. Choi hung on for a 1-up win over Steve Stricker and Matt Kuchar.


Even as the temperatures cool, emotions started to heat up. Jason Day celebrated a 30-foot birdie putt on the 17th to seemingly stay in the match, only for Mahan to bury his birdie putt from just outside 20 feet for a 2-and-1 win over Day and Aaron Baddeley.


Mahan flung his putter to the ground when it dropped and let out a roar.


"This is an Australian team we were playing here," Mahan said. "You heard the crowd, so to win like that, it feels good."


The Americans had a 1-up lead in the final match, with Adam Scott and Ernie Els putting up a strong fight against Nick Watney and Jim Furyk, who was trying to become the only American to win all four matches.


Els made a 20-foot birdie putt on the 15th to cut the deficit to 1 down, then Scott halved the 16th hole with a 12-foot putt.


Furyk and Phil Mickelson went to 3-0 as a team after winning their foursomes match Saturday morning. U.S. captain Fred Couples decided to rest Mickelson for Sunday's finale.

Cubs SS Castro held out, given 'mental day off'

Cubs shortstop Starlin Castro was held out of the starting lineup Monday night against Atlanta, one night after television cameras caught him not paying attention in the field as a pitch was thrown.

"It's a mental day off," Chicago manager Mike Quade said during a long pregame press conference at which Castro was pretty much the only topic of discussion.

"I was real disappointed. He understands that. We'll see how the next day or so goes. We'll take it one day at a time. He's got a lot of work to do in terms of bearing down and concentrating."

The pitch in question occurred during the sixth inning of Sunday night's 6-2 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. As reliever James Russell went into his motion and delivered to Daniel Descalso, Castro kicked at the dirt and then walked toward the outfield, never looking toward home plate when the pitch was thrown.

"When I saw Russ' pitch when he wasn't on board yet, that was the thing that got me more than anything," Quade said. "People stay loose different ways and approach each pitch different ways, but the fact that he wasn't prepared for Russ' pitch was the main thing."

ESPN aired a clip of the play the next inning and commentator Bobby Valentine spent nearly seven minutes haranguing Castro and the Cubs' inability to get him to focus. Quade said he didn't hear any of Valentine's comments.

"I don't listen to Bobby very much," Quade said. "I looked at everything with the mute on. That's kind of what I do. I don't want any outside influences. I want to know exactly what I see and make up my own decisions.

Rangers rout Angels again, take 6-gm AL West lead

Chris Carlson, Associated Press

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Michael Young had three of the Rangers' 17 hits and drove in three runs, and Texas opened its biggest AL West lead of the season with a 7-3 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday night.

Derek Holland (11-4) yielded nine hits and fell one out shy of his fifth complete game for the Rangers, who have moved six games ahead the struggling Angels with wins in the first two games of this four-game series.

Josh Hamilton homered in a three-hit performance before leaving with back spasms, and Mitch Moreland had a two-run single among his three hits in Texas' fifth straight victory.

Torii Hunter had two hits and drove in a run for the punchless Angels, who trailed Texas by just 1½ games a week ago.

Allen's late three is dagger to the Knicks

Ray Allen (FSY) jumped straight up with his eyes on the basket and the game on the line for the Boston Celtics.

Swish.

Then Carmelo Anthony (FSY) had one last chance to win it for the New York Knicks.

Clang.

Allen hit a go-ahead three-pointer with 12 seconds left off a pass from Paul Pierce (FSY) and Anthony misfired on his long try at the other end, giving the Celtics an 87-85 comeback victory over the Knicks in their playoff opener on Sunday night.

"Ray's the hero with the shot," Boston coach Doc Rivers said. "Paul's the hero with the pass. That's a great example of not playing hero basketball, just trusting what we drew up. And he made the shot."

Allen led the Celtics with 24 points and Pierce added 18 to go along with solid defense on Anthony. Kevin Garnett (FSY) had 15 points and 13 rebounds, and clamped down on Amar'e Stoudemire (FSY) down the stretch.

BOX SCORE: Celtics 87, Knicks 85

SCHEDULE: First-round matchups, dates, times

PHOTO GALLERY: Top images from the NBA playoffs

NBA BONUS: Wade misses practice with migraine issues

Stoudemire had 28 points and 11 rebounds for New York, and Anthony finished with 15.

"It's all about our defense and execution down the stretch," Pierce said. "We can't rest on this victory because by no means was this our best basketball."

New York may have lost more than a game. Point guard Chauncey Billups (FSY) left with 51 seconds remaining, and doctors told him the injury was a strained left knee or thigh muscle.

Heat on boil ahead of Raptors clash ROBERT MacLEOD

When you look back on it now, Chris Bosh wonders what all the fuss was about.

His team, the Miami Heat – with a victory Wednesday night against the injury-ravaged Toronto Raptors – would finish the season with a record of 58-24.

No matter how you cut it, that qualifies as a pretty decent National Basketball Association season.

“I mean, every loss we had was magnified,” Bosh said from the Air Canada Centre on Tuesday. “We had tons of big games and we had a lot of teams that were really up and ready to play us. Sometimes we were ready for it, sometimes we weren’t.

“But it’s been a learning experience. I know a lot of people will try to downplay what we did. But at the end of the day in our first year together we got the No. 2 seed in the East and I think that’s what’s important.”

Bosh, of course, is referring to the off-season migration to Miami of himself and LeBron James to join forces with Dwyane Wade to form what many believe would be an unstoppable force.

It may yet turn out that way with the NBA playoffs scheduled to begin later this week where the Heat, led by their three amigos, will be among the favoured teams to chase down the title.

Miami will start against the Philadelphia 76ers in a best-of-seven opening-round matchup.

It took a while once the season started for the hyped Heat to get going.

The Heat lost their opening game of the season, 88-80, to the Boston Celtics to ensure that they wouldn’t go 82-0 on the year.

After 15 games, Miami’s record was only 8-7 and many were starting to suggest the juggernaut was not so powerful.

Going 49-17 over their next 66 games has kind of put a damper on that argument.

Bosh was only one of three Heat players – and the only regular – who attended an optional practice at the Air Canada Centre on Tuesday.

He was asked if there was one moment when he realized how magnified everything was going to be for the Heat this season?

“Yeah, the first game,” the former Raptors said without hesitation. “Soon as we started. I mean it was our first game together and we’re in Boston on national TV. There’s no time to build, there’s no time to do anything. It’s just boom, right away.

“And we had all these expectations. And to be honest, I mean, just to be able to compete was good enough for us.”

Bosh said the Heat had to come together “under the microscope” and that experience should benefit the team heading into the pressure cooker that is the NBA playoffs.

tel continues to dominate

Sebastian Vettel finished top of the timesheets for the third practice session in a row as the world champion continued to boss his rivals ahead of Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix.

The German's best time of one minute 34.968 seconds maintained his perfect form in Shanghai after finishing top of both free practice sessions on Friday.

McLaren were again Vettel's nearest challengers, but try as they might Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton again found themselves unable to pull out those few tenths of a second that would usurp their rival.

Button got the better of Hamilton, who went off at turn one while pushing too hard towards the end of the session, to take second place, 0.208secs down on Vettel, while his team-mate took third, another two tenths back.

There was more woe for Vettel's team-mate, however, the hapless Mark Webber suffering a troubled session to finish down in 15th.

The Australian has failed to match the form which has brought Vettel two wins out of two this season, finishing fifth in Australia and fourth in Malaysia last weekend.

Webber had hoped for better this weekend, but an apparent issue with his car's KERS turbo-boost - the same problem which affected his race in Malaysia - limited him to just one flying lap. He walked disconsolately away from his car with four minutes of the session remaining, and his mechanics have a job on their hands to remedy the problem in time for qualifying later on Saturday.

The session was run in much cooler temperatures and without the smog which was so much a feature of Friday's action.

Afridi should captain Pakistan in Tests, says Imran

Pakistan's limited overs captain Shahid Afridi should return to Test cricket and skipper the national team in all three formats of the sport, former captain Imran Khan said.

Afridi pulled out of a Test series against Australia last year in England after losing the first Test at Lord's as captain.

Since then he has only captained Pakistan in one-day internationals and T20 matches. Senior batsman Misbah-ul-Haq led Pakistan in their last two Test series against South Africa and New Zealand.

Afridi, who led Pakistan to the semifinals of the World Cup that ended on Saturday, has made himself available for this month's tour to the West Indies after previously planning on missing the series.

"There should be just one captain for all three formats of the game," Imran told reporters at a function held in Lahore to honour Pakistan's World Cup umpire Aleem Dar.

"The main reason for India winning the World Cup is that their captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni leads them in Tests, ODIs and T20 cricket," the cricketer turned politician said.

Imran, who led Pakistan to their only World Cup title in 1992, said that Dhoni had matured quicker as a captain because he had developed the temperament to handle the different pressures of the three formats.

"Afridi must also be captain in all three formats of the sport. My belief is that unless you captain in Test cricket you can't really be at the top of your game," he said.

Afridi withdrew from Test cricket after claiming he wanted to spend more time with his family and focus on the limited overs game.

Huskies on top

The only thing that could stop Kemba Walker and Connecticut's amazing run was the final buzzer.

On a night when the massive arena felt like a dusty old gym, UConn made Butler look like the underdog it really was, winning the national championship Monday night with an old-fashioned, grinding 53-41 beatdown of the Bulldogs.

Walker finished with 16 points for the Huskies (32-9), who won their 11th straight game since closing the regular season with a 9-9 Big East record that foreshadowed none of this.

They closed it out with a defensive showing for the ages, holding Butler to a 12-for-64 shooting. That's 18.8 percent, the worst ever in a title game.

It was one of the ugliest games anyone can remember on the sport's biggest stage. But definitely the kind of game a veteran coach like Jim Calhoun could love.

At age 68, he became the oldest coach to win the NCAA championship and joined John Wooden, Adolph Rupp, Mike Krzyzewski and Bob Knight as only the fifth coach to win three NCAA titles.

“It may be the happiest moment of my life,” Calhoun said.

Calhoun coaxed this win out of his team by accepting the reality that the rim looked about as wide as a pancake on a cold-shooting, defensive-minded night in Houston. He did it by making his players pound the ball inside and insisting on the kind of defense that UConn played during this remarkable run, but which often got overshadowed by Walker's theatrics.

UConn trailed 22-19 after a first half that came straight out of the ‘40s.

“The halftime speech was rather interesting,” Calhoun said. “The adjustment was, we were going to out-will them and outwork them.”

And so they did.

Connecticut outscored Butler by an unthinkable 26-2 in the paint. The Bulldogs (28-10), in their second straight title game and hoping to put the closing chapter on the ultimate “Hoosiers” story, went a mind-numbing 13 minutes, 26 seconds in the second half making only one field goal.

During that time, a 25-19 lead turned into a 41-28 deficit. This for a team that never trailed Duke by more than six during last year's epic final.

Humble win for Mickelson leading into Masters

Phil Mickelson feels pretty confident about his game heading into the Masters.

The defending champion at Augusta outduelled Scott Verplank on Sunday to win the Houston Open by three shots, his first victory since earning his third green jacket last April.

And it comes with a notable distinction.

The win moved Mickelson's world ranking to No. 3, while Tiger Woods dropped to No. 7. It's the first time Mickelson has been ahead of Woods in the ranking since the week before Woods won the 1997 Masters for his first major championship.

"It feels really good for me to have played well and gained some momentum heading into next week," Mickelson said. "I needed to have a week where I kind of put it together."

The 40-year-old Mickelson shot a 7-under 65, the lowest closing score by a winner this year, to finish at 20 under.

He was 16 under over his final 36 holes, after tying the course record with a 63 on Saturday, his lowest round in two years. He won for the fifth straight time when he's shot 64 or better in at least one of the rounds.

"I've been saying all year, 'I'm playing well, but I'm not getting the scores out of it, and I'm just kind of having a lapse of focus,"' he said. "It was a great week in that regard, and great for getting momentum heading in next week."

Tour rookie and second-round leader Chris Kirk (67) tied Verplank (68) at 17 under.

David Hearn (71) of Brantford, Ont., tied with Australian Robert Allenby (69) for sixth at 12 under. Hearn's previous best on the PGA was a tie for 13th at the 2005 B.C. Open.

Lefty is hoping he can repeat some history at Augusta this week. The 39-time tour winner is the last player to win the week prior to a Masters victory, capturing the BellSouth Classic in 2006 before earning his second green jacket. The Houston Open became the run-up event to Augusta in 2007.

While many top players, including Woods and world No. 1 Martin Kaymer sat out this week, Mickelson saw no disadvantage in coming here and trying to win. Anthony Kim won last year and finished third at the Masters.

"I think it's nothing but a plus to be able to gain some momentum," Mickelson said. "especially given that I haven't had the results and the scores that I wanted earlier in the year. It gives me a little bit of momentum."

Verplank, meanwhile, needed a victory just to get to Augusta. The 46-year-old Verplank, with his sore left wrist wrapped in black tape, would've become the fifth-oldest champion in the last five years.

Female boxer shot by stepdad before bout in Berlin

Boxer Rola El-Halabi was shot by her stepfather and former manager before a title fight, inflicting injuries that are not life-threatening but could imperil her career.

The undefeated 25-year-old German was preparing to fight Irma Balijagic Adler of Bosnia for the vacant IBF lightweight title Friday night when her 44-year-old stepfather entered her dressing room and shot her in the hand, knee and feet.

He also shot two security guards before being arrested, Berlin police said.

Sunday's edition of the Bild newspaper identified the gunman as Roy El-Halabi and reported that 800 spectators were evacuated from the arena.

Rola El-Halabi told the German daily: "Papa rushed into the room. He threatened us with a gun in his hand and shouted 'Everyone out!' And then he shot me in the hand from three meters. I cried and screamed."

Bild reported that El-Halabi split from her stepfather as a manager in January.

"When I had problems I could talk with him about anything, except when it was about boys. That was taboo," El-Halabi said.

The three victims were taken to the hospital for surgery.

El-Halabi won the WIBF and WIBA world titles in 2009 and has an 11-0 career record with six knockouts.

India power past Sri Lanka to Cricket World Cup triumph

India beat Sri Lanka by six wickets in a pulsating final to deliver World Cup glory to their cricket-mad population for the first time since 1983.

Sri Lanka smashed 91 from their last 10 overs to post 274-6 in Mumbai, with Mahela Jayawardene making a superb 103.

India lost Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar early on but Gautam Gambhir and Mahendra Dhoni rebuilt the innings.

Gambhir was out for 97, but captain Dhoni's brilliant unbeaten 91 led India to a famous win with 10 balls to spare.

The skipper, struggling for form throughout the tournament, played the innings of his life and sealed the victory with a phenomenal straight six that sailed high into the stands, providing the catalyst for euphoric celebrations in the Wankhede Stadium.

Tendulkar's early dismissal for 18 ensured there was to be no fairytale 100th international century for Mumbai's favourite son.

But wonderful innings from Gambhir and Dhoni ensured the "Little Master" can finally get his hands on the sport's ultimate prize at the sixth attempt as India became the first host nation to win the tournament, while Jayawardene became the first player to score a hundred in the final and finish on the losing side.

Lamar Odom helps Lakers break open game against Mavericks

A national television audience got a chance to see Lamar Odom at his best Thursday night, to see the 6-10 Lakers forward change the momentum of the game, to see why he has emerged as one of the top candidates for the NBA's sixth man of the year award.


Odom had nine of his 16 points in the fourth quarter. He had four of his 11 rebounds and one of his three assists in the final quarter.


His play went a long way in helping the Lakers roll past the Dallas Mavericks, 110-82, in an ejection-filled, feisty, playoff-intensity game at Staples Center.


Before the game started, Odom needed 14 points to reach 12,000 for his career.



By doing so, Odom became just the 23rd player in NBA history to exceed 12,000 points, 7,000 rebounds and 3,000 assists.


"That's cool," Odom said. "Hopefully I can finish the season out and get that sixth man award."


You could almost detect a sense of pride from Lakers Coach Phil Jackson after the game.


"It was definitely a showcase for his sixth-man award," Jackson said.


Odom said it's an award he'd like to get so he can share it with the supportive Lakers fans, with his teammates, his family and all those who have been around through his "journey."

Giants Pitcher Zito Involved in Car Crash in L.A.

San Francisco Giants pitcher Barry Zito was taken to a hospital after his car was hit broadside at a West Hollywood intersection.

The crash occurred shortly before 8 p.m. Wednesday at Sunset Boulevard and Sunset Plaza Drive, Los Angeles County Sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Joseph Morien told The Associated Press.

The pitcher was taken to a Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for observation, but Morien said he doesn't have any details on his condition.

"It was just to be checked out if he had injuries or not, and I believe he was released from the hospital," the sergeant said.

Cedars-Sinai declined to say if Zito was treated there. City News Service said the other driver wasn't hurt.

Morien said Zito was not at fault, but the officer did not provide other details of the crash. He said Zito's car had major damage.

The crash is still being investigated, and Morien said he didn't know if the other driver would be cited.

The Giants open the season Thursday against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Zito, a former Cy Young winner and the team's No. 4 starter, had been expected to pitch over the weekend.

Ohio State's Jim Tressel: It's been 'a difficult past couple of months'

Speaking to the for the first time since he admitted to a major NCAA violation, Ohio State coach Jim Tressel apologized for his conduct Wednesday and admitted it has been "a difficult past couple of months."

Tressel said earlier this month he would accept a five-game suspension after failing to forward information about possible rules violations by two of his players and lying to the NCAA.

At the time, Tressel said he kept the allegations secret because of a federal investigation. A report later surfaced in The Columbus Dispatch that he did send the email to the mentor of quarterback Terrelle Pryor, who was one of the two players mentioned having received illegal benefits.

"The largest regrets I've had in my life have been when I've disappointed people, when I've let people down," Tressel said Wednesday. "The mistakes I've made are very disappointing. I'm sorry for that, as I've mentioned many times."

Tressel and an Ohio State spokesperson said the coach would take no questions regarding the NCAA investigation could be addressed.

It was announced at the press conference linebackers coach Luke Fickell would serve as Tressel's replacement during his suspension. The length of the penalty remains uncertain because the NCAA has not ruled in the case.

"It'll be difficult," Fickell said. "We have to know whose team it is. It's our team. It's the seniors' team."

Wildcats put end to 13-year drought

NEWARK, N.J. -- Kentucky spent 13 consecutive springs watching other schools play in the Final Four, a destination college basketball's winningest program considers its birthright.

At most places, that's hardly a drought. In the Bluegrass State, it's a lifetime.

Now coach John Calipari and the Wildcats -- finally -- are two wins away from another national title.

Brandon Knight scored 22 points and fourth-seeded Kentucky advanced to the Final Four for the first time since their 1998 national title with a 76-69 win over second-seeded North Carolina on Sunday in the East Regional final.

The Wildcats (29-8) will play Connecticut in Houston on Saturday night after turning back a late surge by the Tar Heels (27-10), who erased an 11-point deficit before running out of gas in the final 2 minutes.

DeAndre Liggins added 12 points for Kentucky, including a 3-pointer from the corner with 37 seconds remaining to help lift the Wildcats.

"Coach said if there's a kick out you'd better shoot it, and I just shot it and made it," Liggins said. "My job was to run the floor and try to make plays, so that's what I tried to do."

A season after falling a game short of the Final Four behind a roster filled with future NBA stars, the Wildcats are heading to the national semifinals for the 14th time behind the heady play of Knight and senior Josh Harrellson's emotional leadership.

Eye-opener: Who are you picking for the NCAA Finals?

Since it has been easy so far to predict the NCAA games, picking next Monday's final should be a piece of cake.

Kentucky vs. Connecticut is just a matter of picking between two of the most successful programs of the past two decades.

Butler and VCU comes down to whether you believe more in the magic of the Horizon League or that of the CAA.

We are looking at a Final Four in which the teams have won 37 consecutive games combined.

Mike Lopresti column: It will be surreal.

Campus Rivalry: It is all so improbable

3-4-8-11 does seem a bit more like a winning Keno card than an NCAA seeding chart but doesn't that make this all the more predictable?

Or maybe having two teams outside of the BCS Conferences does that.

VCU is a newbie to this. Kentucky has won seven titles and UConn two under Jim Calhoun. Butler is in its second consecutive Final Four.

Not that Rams coach Shaka Smart is awed by that.

"Over the last 10 or 15 years … the playing field has evened out a little bit. When you have a senior-laden team like we do, you have an opportunity to make a run like this, because we have as much experience as anybody we're going to play."

Neymar gives Brazil 2-0 friendly win vs. Scotland

Neymar scored a goal in each half Sunday to halt Brazil's losing streak with a 2-0 exhibition win over Scotland in London.

The Santos striker rounded off a flowing move three minutes before halftime and struck his second from the spot in the 77th minute after winning a penalty in a tangle of legs with Scotland midfielder Charlie Adam.

Brazil lost its last two friendlies 1-0 but its under-strength lineup was mostly untroubled by Scotland at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium and could have won by more.

Neymar hit the bar at the start of the second half and goalkeeper Allan McGregor made a double save moments later. Substitute Jonas also blazed a shot over the bar when unmarked in injury time.

Brazil has now outscored Scotland 16-3 and remains undefeated in 10 meetings. Robinho, Ronaldinho, Kaka and Alexandre Pato were all left out of the team due to injury or poor form.

Although the Scots could not eke out any clear chances against a defense built on Lucio, Thiago Silva and Daniel Alves, the physicality of Scott Brown and guile of Adam unsettled Brazil's midfield for periods of the second half.

Jadson, playing in a withdrawn role on the right of Brazil's attack, hit a 20th-minute shot with the outside of his right shoe but the effort was saved low by McGregor. Neymar slipped as he chased the rebound and the chance passed.

Laird increases advantage at Bay Hill

Scotland's Martin Laird holds a two-stroke lead going into the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, after carding a two-under-par third round 70.

The 28-year-old, who led by one stroke after 36 holes, lies on an 11-under-par total of 205, clear of Spencer Levin (71), with Steve Marino (71) and Bubba Watson (68) another two strokes adrift.

Laird let by four strokes at one stage, but come the 16th hole Levin had moved alongside his rival at the top of the leaderboard.

However, the American found water to bogey the hole while Laird made birdie to extend his advantage.

"I know tomorrow I will have to concentrate hard and hopefully I'll wind up on top," Laird, who is chasing only his second PGA Tour title, told the PGA Tour website.

Meanwhile, six-time Bay Hill winner Tiger Woods had a round to forget. The former world number one suffered a mixed bag of scores, including an eagle and a double bogey, on his way to a two-over-par 74.

Woods is now 10 shots off the pace, although he believes he still has a chance of being in the shake-up on Sunday with the right playing conditions.