Sean O'Hair knew he would need some help from Tiger Woods to win the FedEx Cup. He got more than he expected.

And it was about putting, not points.

Woods and O'Hair practiced together on the back nine at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta on the eve of the Tour Championship, and O'Hair sought some advice on his putting from the world's No. 1 player, regarded as among the best in golf with the putter.

It paid off yesterday when O'Hair made enough putts for a 4-under 66 and a one-shot lead over three players — including Woods.

"I believe in what he said, and I think it's the key for me to kind of take my putting to another level," O'Hair said. "Getting advice like that from good players is obviously awesome, but getting it from basically the greatest of all time is pretty cool."

Woods recovered from a shaky start with three birdies over a four-hole stretch on the back nine for a 67, putting him one shot behind with Padraig Harrington and British Open champion Stewart Cink.

Only eight players managed to break par in the final FedEx Cup playoff event, with a $10 million bonus going to the winner.

GUSTAFSON TOPS LPGA

Sophie Gustafson shot a 7-under 65 to take a two-stroke lead after the first round of the CVS Pharmacy LPGA Challenge at Danville, Calif.

Gustafson, who won the last of her four career LPGA Tour victories in 2003, had eight birdies and a bogey yesterday on the Blackhawk Country Club course.

Sophia Sheridan matched Angela Stanford and Na Ri Kim at 67. Top-ranked Lorena Ochoa had five straight birdies in a 68 that left her three strokes back with 2006 winner Karrie Webb, Shanshan Feng and Kyeong Bae.

SOCCER

U.S. WILL PLAY ON

FIFA's No. 2 official sees no need to move the United States' World Cup qualifier at Honduras next month but says the situation could change depending on security developments.

Airplanes began landing in Honduras yesterday after three days of turmoil that began when President Manuel Zelaya returned to the country; he was forced out at gunpoint June 28.

The United States plays its next match at Honduras on Oct. 10 in San Pedro Sula. Jerome Valcke, FIFA's secretary general, told The Associated Press that he has consulted with Chuck Blazer, his counterpart at the regional governing body CONCACAF, and with U.S. Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati.

AND WHAT'S MORE ...

Chris Arreola has weighed in at a surprisingly slim 251 pounds for his WBC heavyweight title fight tomorrow night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles against Vitali Klitschko, who weighed in at 277 pounds. ... After skiing on his own the last two years, Bode Miller is rejoining the U.S. Ski Team, just five months before the Vancouver Olympics. ... Power forward David Lee is staying with the New York Knicks for a one-year deal worth about $8 million Yahoo! Sports reported yesterday.