Golf: McNeil beats both Wood and weather

LORI McNEIL evaded torrential rain to end Clare Wood's hopes in the DFS Women's Classic at Edgbaston, Birmingham, yesterday.

The American, the No 5 seed, won 6-3, 6-4 in the third-round encounter against the British girl and then raced for shelter as the rain flooded the Priory club. Sandbags were used to stem the flow, but several corridors were soon under water.

McNeil, anxious to secure victory before a suspension gave Wood a chance to recover, broke serve to love, hitting a perfect backhand return down the line on match point. 'I could see how dark it was and it was on my mind. I thought she rushed a little bit, but it worked in my favour,' McNeil said.

Wood, from Sussex, gave a good account of herself and should have claimed the second set. 'I had chances but kept overhitting,' she said.

The second seed, Amanda Coetzer of South Africa, joined Martina Navratilova on the sidelines when she was beaten 7-6,

6-2 by a 17-year-old American, Chanda Rubin. Navratilova was beaten by Australia's Kristine Radford, a qualifier, on Wednesday.

The No 12 seed, Ros Nideffer, went out 4-6, 6-2, 10-8 to a qualifier, Katrina Adams from the States, in a second-round match resumed after being halted overnight at 5-5 in the final set. The 14th seed, Elna Reinach of South Africa, was also beaten, losing 6-3, 6-4 to the Italian, Laura Golarsa.

Results, Sporting Digest, page 39