THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. --- In an elite field at the Chevron World Challenge, which is loaded with players from the top 50 in the world ranking, Fred Couples can claim he belongs because of his age.
The 1992 Masters Tournament champion is still only 49.
The oldest player at Sherwood Country Club, whose world ranking has fallen to No. 175, the ageless Couples continues to hang around some guys half his age. Even with a mud-ball bogey on the final hole Friday, he had 3-under-par 69 to finish three shots behind Jim Furyk and keep in the mix going into the weekend of Tiger Woods' event.
"I can hang around anybody," Couples said. "Playing well is a shock."
Some might consider Furyk's play to be surprising, given his lack of competition. Taking a break from his four-month vacation, Furyk wasn't nearly as crisp but didn't make any mistakes until the final hole on his way to 71.
Furyk is at 5-under 139, two shots clear of Anthony Kim (70), Camilo Villegas (67) and K.J. Choi (71). Couples and Steve Stricker (71) are another shot behind.
"I hung in there today," Furyk said. "That's the best I can say."
SOUTH AFRICAN OPEN: In Paarl, South Africa, France's Michael Lorenzo-Vera shot 7-under-par 65 and took a two-shot lead in the event co-sanctioned by the European Tour and the Sunshine Tour.
Playing in his first tournament since October because of a wrist injury, Lorenzo-Vera totaled 12-under 132. He leads Ernie Els (67) and three others tied for second.
Els had his second consecutive 67 to keep him in contention.
"We've got two rounds left, so there's a lot of golf left," Els said. "If I'm two shots behind with two to play, I still have a chance to win."
Also tied for second were England's Lee Westwood (68), South Africa's Charl Schwartzel (65) and Ireland's Damien McGrane, whose 64 was tied for the best round of the day.
Three players were another shot back in sixth place, while two-time U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen was tied for ninth after 66 put him another stroke behind.
MADRID, Spain --- Seve Ballesteros has returned to his home in northern Spain to begin chemotherapy treatment following recent surgery on a brain tumor.
The Spanish golf great, who was released from a Madrid hospital Dec. 9, traveled Thursday to Predena.
"Today is Friday and I have started my first chemotherapy session," Ballesteros said on his Web site. "At this point, my thought is to rest and follow the neurosurgeons."
A winner of five major tournaments, Ballesteros said he would provide more news on his condition in January and wished all his fans a "Merry Christmas" and thanked them for their support.
Ballesteros was admitted to the hospital Oct. 6 after fainting at Madrid's international airport before boarding a flight to Germany.
He underwent four separate operations, including a 61/2-hour procedure Oct. 24 to remove the brain tumor and reduce swelling around the brain.
Ballesteros won three British Opens and two Masters Tournament titles. He also recorded 50 career victories on the European Tour and is widely recognized as having transformed European golf, in particular helping to revitalize the Ryder Cup.
He retired in 2007 because of a long history of back pain.
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