Leaney putts his way to 36-hole lead
Golf Betting Lines
03/10/2007 - Palm Harbor, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Australia's Stephen Leaney holed a 44-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole Friday to shoot a four-under 67 and move in front after two rounds of the PODS Championship. He stands at six-under-par 136 and is one clear at the Copperhead Course at Westin Innisbrook Resort.
Heath Slocum birdied two of his final five holes for a two-under 69 and is alone in second place at minus-five.
Defending champion K.J. Choi (69), Chris DiMarco (69), Daniel Chopra (71), Ryder Cupper Vaughn Taylor (68), Doug LaBelle II (71), Pat Perez (70) and Jonathan Byrd (69) are knotted in third place at four-under-par 138.
As was the case in Thursday's opening round, the course played difficult on Friday. Only 23 players in the field broke 70 in round two and the leader matched the lowest score of the round.
Leaney played the course from the first and birdied the par-five opening hole. He sank a 25-footer for birdie at the fourth, then missed the green with his third shot at the par-five fifth, but chipped in for birdie from behind the putting surface.
He parred his next three holes, then rolled in another long birdie putt - a running theme throughout the round - this time from 20 feet at No. 9. Leaney converted a 14-foot birdie putt at the 10th to move well ahead of the field at minus-seven.
Like many players at the Copperhead Course, the course bit back at Leaney. At the par-four 12th, Leaney hit a solid approach to 25 feet, but missed the birdie putt. He left himself three feet and failed on the par putt to fall to minus-six.
The Aussie found trouble off the tee at the par-five 14th, but laid up and hit his third to 35 feet. Leaney hit a terrible putt, but holed a five-footer to save par.
At the par-four 16th, Leaney drove into the left rough and caught a flier lie. His approach sailed over the green and the best he could muster was a chip that stopped 35 feet past the stick with his third. Leaney came up short with his par bid and fell into a tie with Slocum, who was in the clubhouse,
The par-four 18th has played as the second-most difficult in the tournament this week and Leaney did nothing to dispel that notion. He landed in the right rough off the tee, then slashed his second 44 feet short of the flagstick. Leaney poured in the long birdie putt to grab the 36-hole for the first time on the PGA Tour.
Leaney needed only 26 putts on Friday and obviously credited the flat stick after the round.
"I've been working really hard on it and haven't really been getting the results until this week," said Leaney, whose best finish on tour was a second place to Jim Furyk at the 2003 U.S. Open. "I just started to hole some putts. I guess once you start to get that feeling, it comes back."
Leaney has struggled so far this season as he has missed three cuts in four starts on the PGA Tour. Perhaps the difficulty of the course has aided Leaney in his quest for PGA Tour win No. 1.
"It's a great golf course and it forces you to go at flags and then it forces you not to go at flags," said Leaney, a former member of the International Presidents Cup team. "You have to hole 20-foot, 30-foot putts to get to six- under. I've been patient the last two days."
Slocum, who opened on the back nine for Friday's second round, was only even- par through his first 13 holes, then birdied the par-five fifth to reach four- under par for the championship.
At the par-three eighth, Slocum hit his tee ball to 11 feet. He drained the birdie putt, then narrowly missed a 20-footer for birdie at the last to get sole possession of second place.
Overnight leader Cliff Kresge was tied for the lead until a disastrous double- bogey six at the sixth hole, his 15th of the round.
He finished with a three-over 74 and shares 10th place with Arron Oberholser (72), Jason Bohn (70) and Billy Andrade (70) at three-under-par 139.
The 36-hole cut fell at two-over-par 144 and former major winners Justin Leonard (146), Corey Pavin (146), Steve Elkington (146), Bob Tway (148), Lee Janzen (148), Paul Azinger (150) and Bernhard Langer (153) missed the weekend.
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Matt Kenseth And Kevin Harvick Favorites To Take NASCAR Nextel Cup Championship
(September 15)—The NASCAR season has hit the homestretch with the opening event on this year’s Chase for the Cup taking place this weekend at the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway. With 10 races remaining to determine the Cup Series champion, leading online sportsbook MySportsbook.com today announced odds on all 10 Chase qualifying drivers capturing the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship.
One of the largest sportsbook sites on the Internet, MySportsbook.com currently lists the top two drivers in the point standings as the early favorites to win the Nextel Cup. Entering the Chase for the Cup with a slim five-point lead in the point standings, 2003 NASCAR champ Matt Kenseth has been made a slight favorite to win his second Cup at 7/2 betting odds. 2001 Cup Rookie of the Year Kevin Harvick has betting odds listed at 5/2 and four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon is listed at 6/1 to capture the Nextel Cup this year.
Hoping to follow in the footsteps of his legendary father who won six NASCAR titles, Dale Earnhardt Jr. stands at 8/1 to breakthrough with his first Cup victory. Staying with the family theme, MySportsbook.com lists 2005 Rookie of the Year Kyle Busch at 14/1 to succeed big brother Kurt’s 2004 NASCAR title. While Kasey Kahne was the final driver to qualify for the Chase with a third place finish last week, the oddsmakers give him a fighting chance at 10/1 mainly due to several mile-and-a-half tracks remaining on the schedule. Despite going winless on the NASCAR circuit this season, Jeff Burton enters the Chase at 5/1 to capture the Cup title. Meanwhile, rookie Denny Hamlin is 4/1 to win the championship, while veteran driver Mark Martin enters the Chase for the Cup as a 15/1 long shot to win his first NASCAR title in his 24th and final season.
MySportsbook.com will offer comprehensive Nascar betting lines on every race remaining on the Nextel Cup series including driver match-ups, props and odds to win each race. For a complete list of NASCAR odds, please visit www.MySportsbook.com.
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