GOLF: Tiger up Down Under

Tiger Woods lived up to eight months of anticipation in Melbourne yesterday by running off three straight birdies late in his round of 6-under 66 that put him atop the leaderboard in the Australian Masters.

Playing for the first time Down Under in 11 years, Woods putted for birdie on every hole until the last one. He pulled his drive into a tea tree, chopped out into the rough and took two putts from 40 feet for his lone bogey.

Among early starters, Woods was tied with James Nitties and Branden Grace.

GRID: Favre says he’ll be ready

The latest injury Brett Favre must fight to maintain his record durability streak is a pulled groin muscle. Back from his bye week, Favre yesterday said he believes he’ll be fine. The Vikings QB said he was hurt in practice while rolling out during a drill two weeks ago and aggravated the injury in pregame warm-ups at Green Bay on Nov. 1.

* Trent Edwards is back as the Bills starter after missing two games with a concussion, though he might be missing his top threat after Terrell Owens missed practice Wednesday because of a strained hip.

Bills coach Dick Jauron was unsure whether Owens would be able to practice as the Bills (3-5) prepare to play at the Titans (2-6) on Sunday.

* Fordham senior quarterback John Skelton has been selected to appear in the East-West Shrine Game on Jan. 23.

BLOTTER: Zambrano’s mom saved

The mother of former Mets pitcher Victor Zambrano was rescued after a three-day kidnapping ordeal, Venezuelan authorities said yesterday. The 56-year-old was rescued late Tuesday during a “commando-style operation” in the central state of Aragua.

* The NFL has suspended Eagles CB Joselio Hanson four games for violating the league’s ban on performance enhancing substances.

ETC.: Syracuse rips Robert Morris

In Syracuse, Andy Rautins made seven 3-pointers and scored 22 points, leading Syracuse past Robert Morris 100-60 in the 2K Sports Classic. . . . In Chapel Hill, N.C., Marcus Ginyard matched his career high with 17 points to help No. 6 North Carolina beat North Carolina Central 89-42 in the 2K Sports Classic.

* Michael Phelps finished second in the 200-meter medley final at the short-course World Cup in Stockholm, struggling in the old-style swimsuit that will become standard next year. Phelps, who won a record eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, clocked 1 minute 53.93 seconds. He was more than two seconds behind South Africa’s Darian Townsend, who won in 1:51.79. Earlier, Phelps failed to qualify for the 100 butterfly final after finishing 11th in qualifying heats.

* NASCAR has docked Kyle Busch 25 Nationwide points and fined crew chief Jason Ratcliff $5,000 after Busch’s No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota failed inspection before last week’s race at Texas.

* Top-ranked Roger Federer lost to Julien Benneteau of France 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4 in the second round of the Paris Masters.