Brian Gay's run of five straight birdies lifted him past Todd Hamilton after two rounds of the Verizon Heritage yesterday at Hilton Head, S.C.

Gay made six birdies on the front nine, including five in a row from the fourth through ninth holes to help him to a 66 and, at 9-under 133, a one-stroke lead over Hamilton.

First-round leader Alex Cejka followed his 64 with an even-par 71 and was tied at 7-under with Lee Janzen.

Gay's streak began when he rolled in an 18-footer for birdie on the par-3 4th hole, then picked up steam with a 25-foot putt a hole later. His approach from a fairway bunker landed inside 5 feet for a third straight birdie.

After a birdie putt inside 10 feet on the seventh, Gay closed the stretch with another sizeable putt of 20 feet to reach 10 under.

"That front nine was awesome," Gay said.

He made his only bogey on the 10th hole, then parred in to hold on to the lead.

AUTO RACING

BIFFLE GAMBLES IN NATIONWIDE VICTORY

Greg Biffle and his Roush Fenway Racing team gambled their way to a record win last night at Phoenix.

Biffle didn't pit on the last stop in the Nationwide Series race, holding onto his lead by staying on the track while almost all the competition ducked in for fresh tires. But a series of late cautions prevented anyone from catching Biffle, and he held on for the win at Phoenix International Raceway.

"Man, I was really worried," Biffle said.

Jason Leffler, who also chose not to pit on the last stop, finished second.

ELSEWHERE

Golf: South Korea's Hee Kyung Seo fired a 5-under 67 today to capture the Lotte Mart Women's Open at the Sky Hill Jeju Country Club in Seogwipo, Jeju-Do, South Korea. Seo had a 54-hole total of 6-under 210. South Koreans Sun Ju Ahn (68) and Il Hee Lee (65) finished one back at 211. Hawai'i's Michelle Wie, a Punahou alum and sophomore at Stanford, finished tied for 36th at 71—223.

• Brendon Todd made Nationwide Tour history by making a hole-in-one at the same hole for the second straight day at the Athens (Ga.) Regional Foundation Classic. He aced the 147-yard 17th hole yesterday, using an 8-iron during the second round at the Jennings Mill Country Club course. During Thursday's opening round, Todd used a 7-iron when the hole played 157 yards. He is 5-under for the $550,000 event.

Gymnastics: It was a perfect ending to Suzanne Yoculan's 26-year career at Georgia. The Gym Dogs sent out their retiring coach with a fifth straight national title and record 10th overall at the NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships last night at Lincoln, Neb. Georgia finished with a four-event score of 197.825. Alabama was runner-up.

• Finishing with a strong routine on the rings, Stanford won its first national title since 1995 in the NCAA Men's Gymnastics Championships last night at Minneapolis. The top-seeded Cardinal went into the final round trailing California by 1.100 but scored a 61.800 overall on the rings. Stanford also took first in the parallel bars. Michigan finished second.

NFL: Jason Peters got the contract extension he wanted from the Philadelphia Eagles instead of the Buffalo Bills. Buffalo traded Peters to the Eagles yesterday rather than risk another offseason holdout from the disgruntled two-time Pro Bowl left tackle. The Eagles then signed Peters to a $53 million, four-year contract extension. The Bills received the 28th overall pick and a fourth-round selection in next week's NFL draft. Buffalo also gets an undisclosed pick in the 2010 draft.

Cycling: Olympic champion Tyler Hamilton, once touted as the next great American cyclist and an heir to Lance Armstrong's throne atop the sport, ended his doping-tarnished career yesterday by saying he tested positive for a banned substance and would retire. Hamilton admitted taking an herbal product for two days in February to combat depression, knowing it included a steroid.