Thanks to the cup, the Tour Championship finally might be worth watching.

No, not the FedEx Cup.

Six days after Anthony Kim routed Sergio Garcia in the opening singles match at the Ryder Cup, two of golf's most dynamic young players square off again in the third round at East Lake in Atlanta.

Kim had to settle for a 1-under 69 yesterday after making bogey from the bunker on 18, giving him a two-shot lead over Garcia and putting them in the final pairing today at the Tour Championship.

This is not match play. There are 36 holes remaining. At stake is $1.26 million, not a 17-inch gold trophy to share.

Even so, the fact they are playing together so close to the Ryder Cup figures to bring the Tour Championship to life.

"We had one day of golf — really, 14 holes of golf," Kim said, trying to downplay the pairing and instead drawing laughter for his veiled reference of a 5-and-4 victory at Valhalla.

Kim was at 7-under 133, and while he will have a 2-up lead of sorts today, the momentum might lie with Garcia. He was 4 over through his first six holes of the tournament, rallied for a 70, then followed that with a 65.

MOODIE LEADS LPGA

Recharged after a month off, Lorena Ochoa shot her second straight 5-under 67 yesterday to move within a stroke of leader Janice Moodie halfway through the Navistar LPGA Classic at Prattville, Ala.

The top-ranked Ochoa is making her first start since tying for sixth in the Safeway Classic on Aug. 24, her fourth top-seven finish in a row, but seventh straight winless start. She opened the year with six wins in nine starts, including four straight.

Moodie followed her opening 66 with a 67 for a 133 total on the links-style Senator Course at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail's Capitol Hill complex.

SIX TIED IN CHAMPIONS

Bruce Fleisher, Dana Quigley, Eduardo Romero, Andy Bean, Don Pooley and Chip Beck shot 4-under 68s yesterday to share the first-round lead in the Champions Tour's SAS Championship at Cary, N.C.

Tom Kite, Loren Roberts and Kirk Hanefeld were a stroke back on the Prestonwood Country Club course, and Larry Mize shot a 70 in his Champions Tour debut.

AUTO RACING

MONTOYA LOSES POLE

Less than an hour after Juan Pablo Montoya celebrated his first NASCAR Sprint Cup pole in the Camping World RV 400, it was taken away from him because of a technical violation.

NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said Montoya's fast lap was disqualified because a postqualifying inspection discovered his rear shock absorbers exceeded the maximum gas pressure allowed.

That moved two-time reigning Cup champion Jimmie Johnson up to the pole, with Montoya's No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge moved to 42nd in the 43-car field for tomorrow's race at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan.

A team spokesperson said Ganassi officials were "evaluating the situation" and would have no comment until today.

NFL

JETS' FAVRE WILL START

Brett Favre was listed as questionable yesterday for the New York Jets' game against Arizona with a sore left ankle, but is expected to start against the Cardinals.

The 38-year-old quarterback twisted his left ankle Monday night in New York's loss at San Diego. His ankle was tightly wrapped, but he appeared hardly hobbled during the half-hour of practice the media were allowed to watch yesterday.

"I felt pretty comfortable a few days ago," coach Eric Mangini said of Favre's progress. "He hasn't missed many games in the last however many years."

Actually, Favre has started 256 consecutive regular-season games, an NFL record for quarterbacks, and neither he nor Mangini think the streak is in jeopardy.

TENNIS

RODDICK GAINS SEMIS

Andy Roddick overcame four double-faults in the first set — and a smashed racket to show for it — to defeat Juan Carlos Ferrero, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, yesterday and advance to the semifinals of the China Open in Beijing

The second-seeded American, who tossed another racket in anger in the second set, served 23 aces to defeat the Spaniard.

In women's quarterfinal play, second-seeded Ana Ivanovic was ousted by home favorite Zheng Jie, 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-4.

AND WHAT'S MORE ...

Jason Williams, who helped the Miami Heat to the NBA title in 2006, announced his retirement yesterday, ending his 10-year NBA career less than two months after signing with the Los Angeles Clippers. ... Ricardo Mayorga (28-6-1), a three-time former world champion from Nicaragua takes on Shane Mosley (44-5, 37 KOs), a former four-time world champion from Pomona, tonight in a 12-round junior middleweight bout at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. ... Top-seeded Novak Djokovic defeated Robin Soderling, 6-4, 7-5, and second-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsong rolled past Jurgen Melzer, 6-3, 6-2, yesterday to advance to the semifinals at the Thailand Open in Bangkok. ... Gilbert Arenas and the Washington Wizards were fined $15,000 apiece by the NBA yesterday after he ducked out of the team's annual preseason media day.