Murphy, who won the tournament last year as a qualifier, failed to construct a century break in the opening nine frames, but did enough to take a three-frame advantage into the evening session.

On the other table, Graeme Dott stormed into a 7-2 lead against former world champion John Parrott. Dott took the opening six frames but Parrott fought back with consecutive frames.

CLARKE AND MCDOWELL BOW OUT OF VERIZON The Irish duo of Darren Clarke and Graeme McDowell both missed the cut at the Verizon Heritage on Friday as American Jim Furyk moved ominously to the top of the leaderboard at the end of the second day.

There were not enough birdies to stop Clarke heading home after . nishing on four over par, and his compatriot Graeme McDowell faced a similar journey after adding a 75 to yesterday's 70 to leave him three over.

BELGIUM RATTLE IRISH WORLD CUP HOPES The Irish Men's Hockey team were narrowly defeated 1-0 by Belgium in a keenly contested game at the World Cup Quali. ers in China yesterday morning, and as a result they must now beat Egypt in a crunch tie tomorrow to have any hope of qualifying for the World Cup in September.

Ireland now sit in fourth position in pool A with two games left to play. England lie in pole position, with Belgium and Pakistan second and third on seven points each. The top two teams will automatically qualify for the World Cup in September and the third and fourth place teams in each group play off for the final spot.

IRISH PONIES STEAL THE SHOW IN FONTAINBLEAU Elizabeth Bowen from Cork led the Irish charge in the 1m15 speed class at the international pony event in Fontainebleau, France, yesterday.

The 15-year-old took the winner's rosette in the competition with Borrismore Queen, while Shane Goggins and Hill House United Colours were close behind in second place.

The Irish whitewash of the class continued with Holly Gordon and Shanroe Silhouette in sixth position, Milli McIntyre and Millennium Flight in seventh, and Nikki Murphy slotting Some Man For One Man into ninth place.

Earlier in the day, 14-year-old Jessica Bourke from Galway took second place in the 1m20 speed class with Bean Alaining, with Conor Liggett and Gas Man finishing in fifth position.

HARRISON'S CAREER LIES IN TATTERS Former Olympic champion Audley Harrison's career is in tatters after an emphatic defeat by American heavyweight Dominick Guinn sounded the death knell to his faded world title ambitions.

Harrison needed an impressive win in California to resurrect his professional career after his capitulation against domestic rival Danny Williams before Christmas.

But the lacklustre heavyweight was comprehensively beaten on points, by Guinn - who had won only one of his previous five fights - at Rancho Mirage in the United States.

ENGLAND CHASED DOWN IN TOUR FINALE England return home on the back of a comprehensive series defeat after being outclassed by India once again in the final game of the series in Indore.

Rahul Dravid's young Indian side showed their prowess in chasing to haul down their 289-run target with . ve balls and seven wickets to spare at the Maharani Usha Raje, extending their record run of success when batting second to 16 matches.

Indian bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth was the main bene. ciary of the English collapse as he claimed a career-best haul of six for 55.

LYNN HOLDS ONTO TOP SPOT IN CHINA OPEN Overnight leader David Lynn held onto top spot on the leadership board on Saturday as he battled 35 mph winds to take a one-stroke lead going into the final round of the Volvo China Open.

Strong winds presented a real challenge for players, but Lynn was not troubled too much, shooting a level-par 72 to stay ahead of the . eld. Lynn is one shot ahead of Asian stars Prayad Marksaeng, of Thailand, and India's Milkha Singh, who climbed up the leaderboard after carding a five-under-par 67.

DONNELLY AND KIELY LEAD METEOR CIRCUIT Continuing their terri. c run of success, Eugene Donnelly and Paul Kiely last night brought their Esker Toyota Corolla back into Derry city in the overnight lead after the opening day of the Meteor Electrical Circuit of Ireland International Rally.

Derek McGarrity, trying for the . rst ever fourth win in a row on the historic event, led the opening stage but clutch problems on his Impreza then dropped him to third place.

ANTRIM SEE OFF DOWN TO AVOID RELEGATION Antrim reclaimed their NHL Division 1 status with a far from impressive five-point victory over their old rivals Down in a low-grade Division 1 relegation semi-final in Healy Park Omagh yesterday.

After a bad start from the Mourne men, they came back to trail by 1-8 to 0-8 at half time.

Antrim led by a goal midway through the half, and although Eoin Clarke and Paul Braniff kept Down in touch, Antrim finished the stronger with points from Paddy Richmond and Johnny McIntosh.

O'HANLON MOVES INTO WEST OF IRELAND LEAD Youth international Paul O'Hanlon produced his . rst sub par score for over a year to claim the clubhouse lead in the Radisson SAS sponsored West of Ireland Amateur Open Championship at Rosses Point.

The Kildare native, who celebrates his 21st birthday next Wednesday, fired a two-under-par 69 to set the clubhouse target of two under to lead by a stroke from Ulstermen Randal Evans (70) and Chris Hughes (73).

Evans added a one-under-par 70 to his opening 71 to clinch his place in the matchplay stages on 141 where he was joined by Royal Portrush man Hughes later in the afternoon.

The Island's Eoin O'Sullivan posted a best-of-the-day 68 that left him sharing fourth place with Limerick's Pat Murray (71), Co Sligo's Gary McDermott (71) and Holywood's Harry Diamond (72) on level par.

Overnight leader David Horsey fell back to two under par while defending champion Rory McIlroy was one under par after three holes of his second round.