SHANGHAI — Francesco Molinari built a big lead early before stumbling with two bogeys, then held on for a 2-under-par 70 that gave him a one-shot lead over Lee Westwood (70—136) after two rounds of the HSBC Champions on Friday.
Ernie Els finished with a birdie on the 18th hole for a 65, putting him among those two shots behind.
Tiger Woods struggled with his swing and on the greens, so frustrated at the end of his round that he kicked his driver after a poor shot on the 18th. He still managed a 72, and will go into the weekend five shots out of the lead.
• Jiyai Shin shot a 7-under 65 to share the lead with Yukari Baba after the first round of the Mizuno Classic in Shima, Japan.
• Defending champion John Cook shot a 2-under 69 to take a one-stroke lead over Tom Kite (67—134) and Tom Lehman (68) in the Champions Tour’s season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship in San Francisco.
Mexico stuns American women
CANCUN, Mexico — Mexico beat the United States in one of the biggest upsets in the history of women’s soccer, a 2-1 victory on goals by Maribel Dominguez and Veronica Perez that qualified the Mexicans for next year’s World Cup.
Carli Lloyd scored for the top-ranked United States, which is in danger of missing the Women’s World Cup for the first time.
Thornton suspended two games
TORONTO — San Jose Sharks captain Joe Thornton has been suspended two games under the NHL’s new rule on head hits for a shot he made on St. Blues Blues forward David Perron during Thursday’s game. Thornton will forfeit more than $77,000 in salary.
• New Jersey Devils goalie Martin Brodeur is day to day with a bruised right elbow.
• Canadiens center Tomas Plekanec missed Montreal’s game against the Buffalo Sabres because of flulike symptoms.
• New York Rangers scoring leader Ryan Callahan is out indefinitely with a sore neck.
Sadler races to Texas pole
FORT WORTH, Texas — Barely an hour after announcing a deal that will put him in one of Kevin Harvick‘s Nationwide Series cars next year, Elliott Sadler blew away the field in qualifying for Sunday’s AAA Texas 500.
Sadler zipped around the 1 1/2-mile track in 195.397 mph, nearly 2 mph better than front-row partner Greg Biffle for his first pole since 2006.
Points leader Jimmie Johnson qualified 17th.
Footnotes.
New York Mets clubhouse manager Charlie Samuels, who was suspended by the team Thursday, admitted to an investigator for Major League Baseball he bet on baseball.
• Boston Celtics center Shaquille O’Neal is out indefinitely because of a bruised right knee.
• Cleveland Cavaliers forward Antawn Jamison is day to day with a sore left knee.
• Top-ranked Rafael Nadal withdrew from the Paris Masters because of a shoulder injury.
• North Korean gymnasts will miss the 2012 London Olympics under a two-year international suspension for age falsification.
