BRIEFLY : PAVIN HAS THAT LOOK.

Byline: Daily News Wire Services

Corey Pavin's confidence has been quietly building the past six months. Put the former UCLA standout on a course where he feels like a champion, and even he wasn't surprised to see his name atop the leaderboard after two rounds of the PGA's Colonial in Fort Worth, Tex.

Carving his shots through tree-lined fairways, Pavin took another step toward resembling a former U.S. Open champion with a 6-under 64 Friday to take a one-stroke lead over John Cook, who had a 66.

``It's only a matter of time before I win again,'' said Pavin, a two-time Colonial winner who was at 7-under 133 and in position to end the worst slump of his career.

Ernie Els, the Nissan Open winner playing for the first time since the Masters five weeks ago, surprised himself by taking a share of the first-round lead at the $2.1 million Deutsche Bank Open in Heidelberg, Germany, with a 6-under 66. Tiger Woods had a 69 in his debut in a European PGA Tour event on the continent.

Frank Conner's 6-under 66 was good enough for the first-round lead of the PGA Senior Bell Atlantic Classic in Avondale, Pa., but most of the interest was in Jack Nicklaus, who had a 2-over 74 and said he estimates his strength is at 85 percent as he recovers from hip surgery.

Akiko Fukushima's 3-under-par 67 kept her atop the leaderboard after two rounds of the inaugural LPGA Phillips Invitational in Austin, Tex. Beth Daniel set a tour record with nine straight birdies and finished at 8-under 62, tied for second at a stroke back.

Arizona State's Jeff Quinney carded a 2-under-par 70 to take the individual lead, helping the Sun Devils extend their team lead in the NCAA Men's West Regional with one round to play in Tucson, Ariz.

Further back, only seven shots separated Pepperdine, the ninth-place team, from USC, the 14th-place team. The top nine teams qualify for the national tournament June 2-5 in Chaska, Minn.

TENNIS: Pat Rafter breezed past Pete Sampras 6-3, 7-5 and led Australia into the final of the World Team Cup with a 2-1 victory over the United States in Duesseldorf, Germany.

Rafter's victory was his third in a row over Sampras, and it came in the first meeting on clay between two players better known for hammering opponents on faster courts. For both, the tournament was a warm-up for the French Open, starting Monday.

Lindsay Davenport and Argentina's Paola Suarez won semifinal-round matches in the Madrid Open, with Suarez's victory coming at the expense of Chanda Rubin 7-5, 2-6, 6-1. The top-seeded Davenport defeated fellow American Amy Frazier 6-0, 6-2.

Jennifer Capriati advanced to the final of the Strasbourg Open with a 6-4, 7-5 victory over qualifier Denise Chladkova in France.

Her opponent in today's final is second-seeded Elena Likhovtseva of Russia, who beat Mary Joe Fernandez 7-6 (7-5), 6-3.

NFL: The estate of Leon Hess, who owned the New York Jets until his death May 7, announced it would sell the team in accordance with Hess' wishes.

The estate said in a statement that Jets president Steve Gutman will stay in charge of business operations and will assist the sale and coach Bill Parcells will continue to have complete authority over football operations.

The Philadelphia Eagles signed running back Duce Staley to a six-year, $16.3 million contract extension, with $2 million more in incentives. Staley ran for 1,065 yards last season.