GOLF ROUNDUP : McGill, Ward Play for Title

Jill McGill moved closer to her second consecutive U.S. Women’s Amateur title by rallying for a 1-up victory over 1994 NCAA champion Emilee Klein on Friday at Hot Springs, Va.

“I really am happy just to make it back to the finals,� said McGill, whose outlook might have been tempered by the golfer waiting for her in today’s 36-hole championship match.

Wendy Ward shot a six-under-par 30 on the front nine en route to a 7-and-5 rout of Andrea Baxter at The Homestead resort.

McGill, who recently completed her college career at USC, is familiar with Ward, a rising senior at Arizona State who finished second in this year’s NCAA tournament.

“She’s a super player,� McGill said, shaking her head. “It’ll be a tough match.�

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Isao Aoki, Jim Albus, Graham Marsh and Jimmy Powell shot six-under-par 66s to share a one-stroke lead in the $650,000 Senior PGA First of America tournament at Ada, Mich. Larry Mowry, Tom Wargo and Dave Stockton were tied for fifth at 67.

Aoki’s round included an eagle on the 534-yard, par-five No. 7.

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Janice Gibson, never a winner or even a leader in nine years as a pro, shot a six-under-par 66 for her lowest round ever and a one-stroke lead in the first round of the Children’s Medical Center LPGA tournament at Beavercreek, Ohio.

Gibson, 33, had missed the cut in her last three tournaments.

Alicia Dibos of Peru was second at 67, with Jill Briles-Hinton, Barb Thomas and Rosie Jones another stroke back.