4B
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAIRY KANSAN
FRIDAY, APRIL 25, 2008
PGA
Golfers set records at Nelson
Championship boasts highest-scoring first-round leaders since 1984
Jesper Parnevik of Sweden blasts out of the rough during the first round of the EDS Byron Nelson Championship golf tournament Thursday in Irving, Texas. Parnevik finished the day at two under par.
BY STEPHEN HAWKINS ASSOCIATED PRESS
IRVING, Texas — Jesper Parnevik has been so inconsistent that he's willing to take advice from a golfing buddy he refers to as a "complete hack monster."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Something worked Thursday, with Parnevik overcoming gusty wind and a redesigned course to shoot a 2-under 68 in the first round of the EDS Byron Nelson Championship.
That left him only one shot behind Ryan Moore, Mathew Goggin and Eric Axley, whose 67s made them the highest-scoring first-round leaders at the Nelson since 1984.
So what was that tip Parnevik received during a phone call Wednesday night from his friend in Colorado?
"It was really a stupid thing," Parnevik said. "It was the way he had his left big toe at impact. ... It should be kind of pointed a little bit upwards."
Parnevik was in a group of eight players at 68 that included 10th-ranked Adam Scott, the only player from the top 10 in the world ranking in the field. Kevin Sutherland, Briny Baird, Shaun Micheel, Ian Poulter and Dustin Johnson and Parker McLachlin also shot 68s.
Only 24 of the 156 players in the field broke par. Masters champion Trevor Immelman, playing for the first time since winning the green jacket, finished with a 78, better than only three other players.
Axley, who overcame an early bogey with four consecutive birdies from Nos. 4-7, was in the lead alone until he bogeyed the 429-yard 18th hole. He missed the final fairway and hit his approach into a green-side bunker — the only bunker he found all day.
Goggin, in the same group with Parnevik, got to 3 under with three consecutive birdies on their back nine. He sank putts of 15-20 feet on Nos. 5 and 6 before hitting his second shot at the 542-yard seventh hole to the fringe and chipping to 2 feet.
Moore had seven birdies and four bogeys in only his third tournament in 10 weeks. That included a six-hole stretch on the back nine when he had either a birdie or bogey on each.
"It was just one of those days that you knew it was going to be a battle the whole time you were out there," said Moore, who has taken extra time off the last 2½ months to cure a sore shoulder. "I'll take a 67 on any course any day. This is definitely one of my better rounds of the year, for sure, in these conditions."
The unusual high opening scores at the Nelson had more to do with the weather — windy conditions with gusts of more than 30 mph and wet fairways after about an inch of rain overnight — than the redesign of the TPC Four Seasons course since last year.
"It's hard to make a real fair comparison right now, with the soft fairways and the wind blowing 20 mph," said Harrison Frazar, a player from Dallas who was a consultant during the $10 million renovation. "I don't think we need to jump to any conclusions too early."
Frazar shot 73, a shot better than J.J. Henry, the Fort Worth resident who was the other player consultant on the project.
Soon after last year's tournament, when deteriorating greens were bumpy and sometimes brown, work began to make changes on every hole, with new tee boxes and more undulating greens, and to relocate 165 trees.
With the redone TPC, this is the first time since 1993 that the Nelson has been played on only one course. Cottonwood Valley across the street also was used during first- and second-round play from 1994 until
Parnevik last won on the PGA Tour in 2001 and hasn't finished better than 24th this season, missing four of 10 cuts.
last year.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Two Missouri players eligible for NBA Draft
ASSOCIATED PRESS
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Two starters for the Missouri basketball team have declared themselves
eligible for the June 26 NBA draft, though neither will hire an agent and could return to school next year.
The university announced Thursd ay that DeMarre Carroll and
16-16 season.
"Like anyone, I want to see how I stack up," Carroll said. "I want to see where I can improve my game and how I can become the best
"Playing in the NBA has always been a dream of mine."
LEO LYONS Missouri junior forward
Leo Lyons had entered their names in the draft pool. As long as they maintain their academic standing at the university and withdraw their names by June 16, both are eligible to return if not satisfied with their draft prospects.
"Playing in the NBA has always been a dream of mine," Lyons said.
Carroll and Lyons both finished their junior
This is a great opportunity to gather information about my professional future and improve my game as a whole."
Lyons was in and out of the starting lineup most of the season. He led the Big 12 with a 58.3 field goal percentage and the Tigers with 13.1 points, playing his best ball at the end of the season. The Kansas City, Kan., native led the Tigers in rebounding in six of their last seven games and in scoring three times over that same stretch.
player possible, whether that's here at Missouri or on a professional level.
Missouri coach Mike Anderson, who is Carroll's uncle, said it was a
"Like anyone, I want to see how I stack up."
DEMARRE CARROLL Missouri junior forward
seasons as Missouri forwards in March. Carroll, who started 30 of 32 games, was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Year after averaging 13 points and a team-high 6.7 rebounds during Missouri's
wise move for both players.
"This rule is specifically in place to allow these young men to go out and gather information about their professional options," he said. "It's an
opportunity to compete against some of the best players at their positions and get some great advice from folks around the professional game."
The KU Alumni Association presents
TRADITION KEEPER Appreciation Week
We'd like to thank our current Tradition Keeper members and encourage them to renew for 2008-09 on Optional Campus Fees! Also, it's not too late to join for this year if you'd like to be a member just stop by our events this week and find out how to be a proud member of this Jayhawk flock!
Rock Chalk!
Monday
8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Hospitality
Room in Adams
Alumni Center
We'll have an
extra special
spread for our
TK study hours
in the Paul
Adam Lounge.
Stop by and
check it out!
Wednesday
11:30 a.m.-
1:30 p.m.
Lunch and Learn
Stop by our
table on
Wescoe for a
free slice of
pizza and learn
about the
Alumni Association.
tuesday
8 a.m.-5 p.m.
T-shirt Day
Get spotted in your current
TK Shirt on campus today and the prize posse may
Friday
8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Friday Freebies
Stop by the
Adams Alumni
Center and
grab some
great freebies!
www.kualumni.org
Thursday
10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Thirsty
Thursday
Enjoy a free
drink on
Wescoe.
》OLYMPICS
Group protests corporate complicity
BY JOE MCDONALD ASSOCIATED PRESS
BEJIING — An activist group will organize protests against Beijing Olympics sponsors that it says have failed to press China to help end fighting in Darfur.
Dream for Darfur said 16 companies, including General Electric Co., Coca-Cola Co. and Microsoft Corp., have exhibited "moral cowardice."
With actress Mia Farrow as its spokeswoman, Dream for Darfur is the most prominent activist group lobbying companies to put pressure on Beijing, a major investor in Sudan.
"The majority of the 2008 Olympic corporate sponsors in this report have distinguished themselves for moral cowardice in the hopes of safe profitability," the report said.
"This is our second report card grading the companies' responsibility on humanity and on the ability to think outside the box on profitability, and to open minds to social responsibility," Farrow said during a phone conference Thursday.
Dream for Darfur said it also would protest at the companies'
headquarters and urge viewers to turn off commercials during the Games in August. The first demonstrations are planned over the weekend against Coca-Cola in Atlanta on Saturday
ing." the statement said.
than 200,000 people have been killed and about 2.5 million displaced in the conflict.
and New York on Sunday, and Staples Inc, in Boston on Sunday.
China, in addition to other sizable investments, buys most of Sudan's oil exports.
The Darfur campaign has been overshadowed by protests in Tibet against Chinese rule and a security
Activists want Beijing to pressure Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to allow U.N. peacekeepers into his country's western Darfur region. The United Nations estimates more
crackdown there that has drawn attention to Beijing's human rights record.
"This is the second report card grading the companies' responsibility on humanity and on the ability to think outside the box on profitability..."
"We view this as a more direct—and more effective—route than Dream for Darfur's public postur-
Coca-Cola responded with a statement saying the report focused only on a willingness to lobby Beijing, but ignored the company's charitable work in Sudan, including a $5 million donation to water projects.
Darfur is an awkward issue for sponsors that have paid tens of millions to associate themselves with the Beijing Games in hopes of boosting their profile, and sales, in China.
Report released by the organization Dream for Darfur
Companies have expressed concern about Darfur and emphasized
"The majority of the 2008 Olympic corporate sponsorship in this report have distinguished themselves for moral cowardice in the hope of safe profitability."
MIA FARROW Actress
their charitable donations in the region. Some say they have talked privately to Chinese officials. They say they should avoid politics, a stance echoed by the communist government.
In a 100-page report, the group said Eastman Kodak Co., Adidas AG and McDonald's Corp. have
GE and Coca-Cola received a
taken adequate action and would not be targeted.
Beijing has retaliated in the past to pressure by canceling contracts or restricting market access.
The 19 companies graded by Dream for Darfur include top sponsors of the Beijing Olympics and the International Olympic Committee and key suppliers to the Summer Games.
Eastman Kodak and Adidas AG received a "B-plus" because they wrote to the United Nations about Darfur, the group said. It said McDonald's got a "C-plus" for a private action.
Deirdre
Latour, spokeswoman for GE,
said the company commends
Dream
for Darfur for raising awareness
for the situation,
but "disagrees
"D," though the group said they showed "significant concern" about the issue.
"We also strongly disagree with the assertions made in the report card," she said.
with the organization's approach and use of the Olympic Games as a political platform."
.
"GE is taking an active role in easing the suffering of refugees, including making humanitarian medical equipment available in the region," Latour said. "The GE Foundation has made $4 million in humanitarian aid grants to CARE, UNICEF and International Medical Corps to aid with food, shelter and medical treatment for thousands of refugees in regional camps."
Johnson & Johnson, Chinese computer maker Lenovo Corp. Microsoft, Samsung Electronics Co. and Visa Inc. received a "D-minus".
Nine received an "F" for "poor response or none at all," the group said. They include Staples, Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc., Australian mining giant BHP Billiton Ltd., Volkswagen AG and UPS Inc.
A Volkswagen spokesman said the company did not "see it as our duty" to act on Dream for Darfur's requests.
"We are supporting the Olympic idea and do not see it as a requirement to solve these political problems," said VW spokesman Andreas Meurer.
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