Ernie Els was in the lead and off the golf course, and he wasn't sure which made him feel better.

Rushing to finish as dark clouds gathered over the Blue Monster, Els made one last birdie for a 6-under 66 and a one-shot lead over Robert Allenby before heavy rain temporarily halted play yesterday in the CA Championship at Doral, Fla.

Eighteen players had to wait nearly three hours before they could resume the second round. When it finally ended, Els had his first lead after any round on U.S. soil since he won the Honda Classic two years ago.

"It's in the books, and we were pretty lucky to get done," he said. "We ran the last two holes just to get in the house."

He was at 10-under 134, courtesy of three straight birdies early in his round.

First-round leader Charl Schwartzel of South Africa got up-and-down for par behind the 18th green when the round resumed to finish off a 70. He was at 7-under 137, along with Bob Hope Classic champion Bill Haas (66).

MORE GOLF

Rains stops Puerto Rico play: Skip Kendall topped the Puerto Rico Open leaderboard at 5 under after nine holes when first-round play was suspended because of darkness yesterday in the rain-delayed PGA Tour event at Rio Grande, Puerto Rico.

Richard S. Johnson was 4 under through eight holes and Kevin Streelman was 4 under through seven. Hawai'i's Dean Wilson, a Castle High alum, was 2 under through nine holes.

Sergas leads in Australia: Italy's Giulia Sergas shot a 4-under 69 to take a three-stroke lead over South Koreans Choi He-yong and Yang Soo-jin after the second round of the Women's Australian Open at Melbourne.

Sergas, who plays on both the European and LPGA tours, has a two-round total of 7-under 139 at the tricky par-73 Commonwealth Golf Club. Choi (69) and Yang (72) are at 142, while first-round leader Laura Davies struggled to a 76 and is at 144.

BASEBALL

Dodgers lose Taiwan opener: Manny Ramirez went 0 for 3 as the designated hitter, and a Los Angeles Dodgers' split squad heavy on minor leaguers was held to three hits last night in a 5-2 loss to a team of Taiwanese All-Stars that opened a three-game exhibition series in Taipei.

Just 24 hours after the Dodgers landed following a 15-hour flight from Arizona, starter Y.C. Lin limited Los Angeles to one hit in four shutout innings.

FOOTBALL

Tomlinson wined, dined in N.Y.: Free agent running back LaDainian Tomlinson met with team officials at the New York Jets' training facility in Florham Park, N.J., yesterday and planned to have dinner with coach Rex Ryan and others in New Jersey.

Browns sign TE Watson: Cleveland has signed free agent and former New England Patriots tight end Benjamin Watson to a three-year deal worth $12 million, including $6.35 million guaranteed, according to ESPN.com.

Redskins sign RB Johnson: Running back Larry Johnson, a two-time Pro Bowler who has run for 6,219 yards and 55 touchdowns in eight NFL seasons with the Kansas City and Cincinnati, has signed with the Washington Redskins.

Receiver Bryant a Bengal: Antonio Bryant is the latest complementary receiver to Chad Ochocinco in Cincinnati. Bryant signed a four-year deal with the Bengals yesterday after spending last season with Tampa Bay.

ELSEWHERE

Speedskating: Overall speedskating World Cup champion Shani Davis won his third title of the season at 1,500 meters yesterday at Heerenveen, Netherlands. Davis finished in 1 minute, 45.20 seconds with Denny Morrison of Canada second in 1:46.12.

Alpine skiing: American Lindsey Vonn will skip today's World Cup slalom after having clinched her third consecutive overall title yesterday with her U.S.-record 33rd career race win in a super-G at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. She needs to give her bruised right knee about four to six weeks to heal.