Nicklaus has advice for struggling Tiger

JACK NICKLAUS said Tiger Woods can still beat his record of 18 major championships - provided he can stay in control of his mental game.

Nicklaus said Woods can achieve the feat "if he gets the 5 inches between his ears squared out."

"I mean Tiger has a great work ethic, he's a great competitor, the most talented kid on the planet right now," Nicklaus told the Associated Press yesterday. "He's not going to go away."

Woods' 2011 season has been partly derailed by injuries, but Nicklaus also praised the decision by U.S. captain Fred Couples to include Woods in the 12-member Presidents Cup team that will take on non-European players in Australia in November.

In other golf:

 *  Mark Wilson and Justin Rose are tied for the lead going into the weekend at the BMW Championship, in Lemont, Ill. Wilson ran off four consecutive birdies around the turn and wound up with a 5-under 66. Rose had a wild finish, making an eagle on the 15th hole to reclaim a share of the lead and finishing with a 68.

*  Lexi Thompson shot a 4-under 68 to take the lead after two rounds of the Navistar LPGA Classic, in Prattville, Ala. The 16-year-old is at 10-under 134, two shots ahead of Stacy Lewis and Becky Morgan.

* Ron Artest's bid to become Mr. World Peace was delayed, but not denied. A court commissioner granted the Lakers forward's request to officially change his name to Metta World Peace 3 weeks after the bid was blocked because Artest had unpaid traffic tickets. Superior court spokeswoman Patricia Kelly said that Artest's new last name will be World Peace.

* La Salle University alum Cheryl Reeve, who was a vital player on the Explorers' 1987-88 nationally ranked women's basketball team, named the WNBA's coach of the year. She led the Minnesota Lynx to the second-largest turnaround in WNBA history going from 13-21 a year ago to a league-best 27-7 this year.

*  Richard Childress denied his team ordered Paul Menard to cause an intentional caution at Richmond, but NASCAR said officials are investigating anyway.

* Michael Waltrip Racing is in active discussions with free agent Clint Bowyer. Both Bowyer and team co-owner Michael Waltrip said yesterday at Chicagoland Speedway that they are talking about a deal.

*  A person familiar with the deal says Manchester United's planned $1 billion public offering has been approved by Singapore's stock exchange. The public offering likely will happen by the end of the year.

*  Usain Bolt ran the season's fastest time of 9.76 seconds in the 100 meters at the Van Damme Memorial and was still upstaged by Jamaican training partner Yohan Blake, who powered his way to the second fastest 200 in history. Blake blasted for the line in 19.26 seconds, just 0.07 seconds off Bolt's world record.

*  Rafael Nadal wants an immediate fix to overcrowded tennis calendars or players may examine tougher options to force a change. Nadal beat Richard Gasquet, 6-3, 6-0, 6-1, yesterday to put Spain ahead of France, 1-0, in the Davis Cup semifinals, the match coming only 4 days after the second-ranked Spaniard lost to Novak Djokovic in the U.S. Open final.