Woods shoots 66 to lead AT&T National

Golf Betting Lines

07/03/2009 - Bethesda, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tiger Woods nourished his momentum with a handful of scrambling par saves, shooting a four-under 66 on Friday to take the second-round lead at the AT&T National.

Woods finished two trips around Congressional at 10-under 130 and will carry a one-shot advantage into the weekend as he tries to win his tournament for the first time.

Australia's Rod Pampling shot a six-under 64, one off his career record, and climbed into second place behind Woods at nine-under 131.

Defending champion Anthony Kim, after posting a course-record 62 in the first round, fell to third place with a middling 70, remaining at eight-under par.

Jim Furyk had another steady round, carding a 67 to sit fourth at seven-under 133.

Woods started his second round on the back nine and made a bogey at the 11th hole, coming up short of the green. But he collected three birdies during a four-hole stretch beginning at the 13th, including one at the 15th that was set up by an approach shot to tap-in range.

While those birdies set up a day of good scoring for Woods, it was a slew of par saves that had the tournament host happiest with himself.

He got up and down from in front of the green at the 17th, holing a three-foot putt. It was the first of three tough par saves in a span of five holes. He got lucky with a good lie at No. 2 and saved par after hitting his approach way right at No. 3.

During that stretch, Woods spun a bunker shot to within seven feet at No. 1 -- his 10th hole -- and made a birdie.

Not as accurate off the tee or crisp with his irons as he was Thursday, when he opened the tournament with a 64, Woods was still able to coax a good score out of his second round, keeping the momentum going with the par saves.

He knocked a sand-wedge within three feet at No. 8 for his final birdie of the day.

"Either I hit it pretty close to the hole, within 10 feet, or I was missing greens," said Woods. "So it was a little bit of two ends today. It was nice to actually get a score out of it."

Woods has often blamed an inconsistent putter for his sometimes fitful play this season. But he's seemed more confident on the greens at Congressional this week, even as he ranks somewhere near the middle of the pack in putting.

Although he took one more stroke with the putter than he did in the first round, Woods said he felt better with the club in his hand on Friday, when the greens were still soft from rain that fell overnight Wednesday.

"The pins were a little bit more difficult today, so if the greens would have been even firmer, it would have been a pretty good test," he said.

Pampling shared the lead with Woods at minus-nine after a birdie on the 15th, but parred the remainder of his holes to finish a shot behind. The two-time PGA Tour winner has a good history at this event, tying for third place last year and sharing 19th in 2007.

"It's positional golf, and you have to think about what you're doing out there," said Pampling. "Obviously we're hitting the ball well, which allows you to get it into where they can tuck a pin. It's just a thinker's golf course, and I enjoy playing those."

Kim made three bogeys during a six-hole stretch beginning at No. 9, hitting into a bunker each time. He only managed to make three birdies -- this after he collected eight birdies without dropping a shot in the first round.

"I hate the way I hit the ball today," said Kim, who hasn't won since last year's AT&T National. "It was okay for about six or seven holes, but the swing got loose and I couldn't find it out there."

Woods is trying to win his tournament for the first time. It was started in 2007, when Woods tied for sixth, and he missed it last year after having knee surgery.

He is 31-6 on the PGA Tour when holding the 36-hole lead.

"I need to hit the ball better than I did today, just clean up my round, and if I can get hitting the ball like I did yesterday and putt like I did today, we'll be looking all right," said Woods.

The cut line fell at two-over 142 with 76 players moving on to the weekend.

World No. 3 Paul Casey and 2007 AT&T champion K.J. Choi were among those who missed the cut.

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Albert Pujols to be This Year's Home Run Champ Says Online Sportsbook

Barry Bonds is a 50-1 long shot to be this year's home run champ odds.  The favorite to be this year's home run champ is none other than Albert Pujols, however.

Now that Barry Bonds is signed and in Giants camp, it is on to his pursuit of all of sports most prestigious records: the all-time home run mark. Bonds sits just 21 homers shy of tying Hank Aaron for the career mark at 755. Word out of Giants’ camp is that Bonds is the healthiest he has been in a few years. Bonds is just two seasons removed from his injury riddled 2005 campaign where he played in only 14 games and hit only 5 home runs. He did come back last year and had a solid season hitting .270 with 26 bombs. All eyes will be on Bonds this spring and summer not only because of his home run chase but his highly publicized steroid abuse allegations. If and when Bonds breaks the record, he surely will not get the positive attention one should for breaking a record that was once thought of as “unbreakable”. Despite Bonds decent season last year, he is just 50-1 at MySportsbook.com to lead the MLB in long balls this season.

Not surprisingly, the favorites to go deep the most times this season are Albert Pujols 5-1, Ryan Howard 6-1, David Ortiz 8-1 and Alex Rodriguez 12-1. With 49 homers, Pujols finished second in the National League behind Howard (58). Pujols is considered the favorite due to the consistent power numbers that he has posted since breaking into the league in 2001. Also one must consider the fact that he played in 16 fewer games then Howard did due to an injury. Howard smashed 58 homers in his first complete season of big league play en route to the National League MVP odds award. He silenced his critics by successfully hitting left-handed pitching. Howard also displayed the ability to use his power to the opposite field. Two attributes which should keep Howard amongst the league leaders in long balls for years to come. From the American League representatives, David Ortiz leads the field. Ortiz was second in the majors last year with 54 home runs. Except for 1999 when he only played in 10 games, Ortiz has improved on his home run numbers each year he has been in the majors (1997).

Be sure to log onto online sports betting site MySportsbook.com to check out the odds for who will lead the MLB in home runs this season. Below is just a sample of the players listed. With the highest credit card rates in the industry, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on baseball this summer.

World Series odds

Adam Dunn 15-1

Albert Pujols 5-1

Alex Rodriguez 12-1

Alfonso Soriano 15-1

Andruw Jones 25-1

Barry Bonds 50-1

Carlos Delgado 40-1

David Ortiz 8-1

Jermaine Dye 40-1

Ken Griffey Jr. 100-1

Lance Berkman 40-1

Manny Ramirez 20-1

Richie Sexson 40-1

Ryan Howard 6-1

Travis Hafner 20-1

Vladimir Guerrero 40-1

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