Daytona Beach, Fla. ? Weaving her way through a narrow hallway next to the grill room Thursday, Michelle Wie was stopped by a woman who asked if she would pose for a picture with her young daughter.

Focusing her camera, the woman asked how she played.

“OK,” Wie said with a smile and shrug.

If that were an honest assessment, Wie should be in good shape at the LPGA Tour qualifying tournament.

Changing her tactics off the tee on the more forgiving Champions course at LPGA International, the 19-year-old from Hawaii hit driver on all but two holes and ran off four straight birdies late in her round for a 7-under 65 that put her in a tie for the lead with Shiho Oyama of Japan after the second of five rounds at Q-school.

GOLF

Stenson leads at Nedbank

Sun City, South Africa — Henrik Stenson tied the course record Thursday at the Gary Player Country Club by shooting a 9-under 63 in the first round of the Nedbank Golf Challenge.

Rory Sabbatini (68) is second after birdies on the first, sixth, 10th and 11th holes. Lee Westwood (70) was the only other player to break par.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Toledo hires OSU aide

Toledo, Ohio — Toledo hired Tim Beckman as head coach Thursday, selecting the Oklahoma State defensive coordinator to take over its football program. Beckman, a native of Ohio, has spent the past two seasons at Oklahoma State, where his 14th-ranked Cowboys (9-3) gave up 27 points per game this season in the Big 12.

Utah State names coach

Logan, Utah — Utah defensive coordinator Gary Andersen is leaving an unbeaten team to take over a program where wins have been scarce. Andersen was introduced Thursday as the new coach at Utah State, leaving the BCS-bound Utes for a chance to turn around the downtrodden Aggies.

CYCLING

Armstrong defers

Tenerife, Canary Islands — Seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong says he’s happy to let Alberto Contador be Astana’s team leader.

Armstrong, who’s returning to cycling after a three-year retirement, said Thursday at the team’s training camp that 2007 Tour champion Contador is the world’s top rider at the moment and deserves to be the leader.

The decision will be up to Astana team director Johan Bruyneel.

“I’m going to be very fair about it and respect Johan’s orders and respect the team,” the 37-year-old Armstrong said.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

LSU forward to redshirt

Baton Rouge, La. — LSU forward Garrett Green will be redshirted for the 2008-09 season. Green, a sophomore from Woodland Hills, Calif., has missed all but a couple of days of team practice since formal sessions began in mid-October because of lower back problems.

UK forward out of hospital

Lexington, Ky. — Kentucky forward Ramon Harris was released from the hospital a day after colliding with a teammate during the first half of the Wildcats’ victory over Lamar on Wednesday night.

AUTO RACING

Petty in merger talks

New York — Petty Enterprises is in discussions to merge its storied franchise with Gillett Evernham Motorsports, The Associated Press has learned. Multiple people familiar with the talks told the AP on Thursday that the two teams were discussing a deal that would merge Petty’s famed No. 43 Dodge with GEM to become a four-car operation.

Honda to pull out of F1

Tenerife, Canary Islands — Honda will pull out of Formula One unless a new buyer can be found within three months, The Associated Press has learned.

BASEBALL

Braves acquire Vazquez

Chicago — Javier Vazquez was traded from the Chicago White Sox to the Atlanta Braves on Thursday as the teams completed a six-player deal agreed to earlier in the week. Left-hander reliever Boone Logan also went to Atlanta as part of the deal, in which the White Sox acquired four prospects: catcher Tyler Flowers, infielders Jonathan Gilmore and Brent Lillibridge and left-handed pitcher Santos Rodriguez.

Vazquez was 12-16 with a 4.67 earned-run average in 33 starts for the AL Central champions this season, surpassing 200 innings for the eighth time in nine years, but he struggled down the stretch.

Four Bonds counts dropped

San Francisco — Federal prosecutors dropped four counts of lying to a grand jury against Barry Bonds, leaving him to face trial next year on 10 counts of making false statements plus an additional obstruction of justice charge. Bonds faces the same potential sentence range — probation to roughly two years in prison — if convicted. His trial is scheduled to begin March 2.

Cards acquire Greene

St. Louis — The St. Louis Cardinals addressed one of their major offseason concerns, acquiring shortstop Khalil Greene from the Padres. The trade announced Thursday sent minor league pitcher Mark Worrell and a prospect to be named to San Diego The 29-year-old Greene hit just .213 with 10 home runs last year.

Red Sox add pitcher

Boston — The Red Sox added another Japanese pitcher, completing their contract with right-hander Junichi Tazawa on Thursday. Tazawa is expected to begin next season in Double-A but could soon join Japanese pitchers Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki Okajima with the big club.

Giants sign Renteria

San Francisco — Edgar Renteria became the second free agent to join the San Francisco Giants in as many days, receiving an $18.5 million, two-year contract to replace 11-time Gold Glove shortstop Omar Vizquel. The Giants right-handed reliever Bobby Howry to a one-year contract Wednesday.