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08/11/2007 - Tulsa, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tiger Woods matched the lowest round in major championship history on Friday with an seven-under-par 63, a historic round that gave him the second-round lead at the PGA Championship at Southern Hills.
Woods stood at seven-under par for his round with a great look at birdie on the 18th hole. His 12-footer for a record-setting 62 seemed destined for the cup, but lipped out after going three-quarters of the way around the hole.
"I knew if I made that putt on the last hole it would have been a nice record to have," said the defending champion. "I thought it was in. I guess a touch firmer."
He finished 36 holes at six-under-par 134, which is good for a two-shot lead over Scott Verplank, who shot a four-under 66 in the morning.
Last year's U.S. Open winner, Geoff Ogilvy (68), and Stephen Ames (69) are tied for third place at minus-three. Woody Austin posted an even-par 70 and is alone in fifth place at two-under 138.
But no one was in Woods' league on Friday.
He birdied the first, then rattled off back-to-back birdies from the fourth. Woods bogeyed seven for the second straight day, then tapped in a short birdie putt at the ninth.
Woods also birdied the 10th to reach three-under par and trail by one. He appeared to be in trouble at the 12th, but sank an improbable 30-footer to save par.
"The putt on 12 was huge," he said. "It kept the momentum of the round going."
That putt certainly spurred Woods on as he went on a spectacular run after the par save.
At the par-five 13th, Woods found a bunker with his second, but blasted out to three feet. He converted that birdie putt, then holed a 15-foot chip from the fringe for another birdie at 14.
Woods drained a 20-footer at the 15th to polish off three consecutive birdies. That put him alone in the lead at minus-six, and his margin was extended when Ogilvy bogeyed the last two holes.
Woods needed at least one more birdie on the way to the clubhouse for the 18- hole major scoring record. He had decent looks at the 16th and 17th, but did not convert.
The putt cruelly stayed above ground at Southern Hills' demanding closing hole, but Woods, true to form, put the major championship ahead of everything else.
"Sixty-two would have meant I had a three-shot lead, not a two-shot lead," he offered.
Woods is now in a very comfortable position. Of the six previous majors contested at Southern Hills, the winners have all held at least a part of the 36-hole lead.
"I'd like it to continue," said Woods, who also matched Raymond Floyd's course record.
Woods has 12 major titles on his mantle, and in all 12 he has held the lead on Saturday night. The game's best front-runner has now taken first place and the rest of the field will need something special to catch the No. 1 player in the world.
Verplank is in the best spot to do it.
He parred his first eight holes, then rolled in a 12-foot birdie putt at the ninth. Two holes later, Verplank hit a seven-iron to six feet and canned the birdie putt to reach two-under par for the championship.
At the par-four 15th, Verplank hit an eight-iron to 12 feet to set up his third birdie of the round. He found the fairway at 17, but was slightly blocked by some trees. No matter, as Verplank punched a pitching-wedge to eight feet and holed that birdie try to take the lead.
Verplank had a decent chance to pad his advantage at the closing hole. He had 20 feet for birdie, but missed the putt and settled for a bogey-free round of 66.
"I hit the ball yesterday and today as good as I've ever hit it," acknowledged Verplank. "I just hit lots of fairways, lots of greens, very solid shots and putting at birdie most holes."
Pat Perez (69), Niclas Fasth (68) and John Senden (70) are knotted in sixth place at minus-one.
John Daly, who started the round in second place, struggled a bit on Friday. He shot a three-over 73 and is tied for ninth place with Ernie Els (68), Arron Oberholser (72), Camilo Villegas (71), Adam Scott (68) and Paul McGinley (66). That group is at even-par 140.
Overnight leader Graeme Storm struggled to a six-over 76 and is tied for 15th place at plus-one
Phil Mickelson carded a one-under 69 on Friday to move to plus-two for the championship. The 2005 winner was not satisfied despite an under-par round at this demanding track.
"It just feels like I'm leaving four, five shots out there, is all," said Mickelson, who has missed the cut in his last two majors. "I feel like I'm playing a lot better than I'm scoring. That's what's been frustrating."
The 36-hole cut fell at five-over 145 and several big-name players will have the weekend off.
Jim Furyk (146), Vijay Singh (146), Rory Sabbatini (150), Masters winner Zach Johnson (150), U.S. Open champion Angel Cabrera (151) and Andres Romero (153) all missed the cut.
<< Wickman gets OK to pitch, Dotel to DL
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Friday was a good news/bad news day for
the Atlanta Braves, who learned that closer Bob Wickman received a clean bill
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Wickman
<< Isles ink Sutton to three-year deal
Uniondale, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Islanders signed defenseman
Andy Sutton to a three-year contract on Friday. Per club policy, terms of
the deal were not disclosed.
"We're very pleased to bring Andy Sutton to Long Isla
<< Stuttgart ties Schalke in Bundesliga opener
Stuttgart, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Substitute Ivan Rakitic scored in the
76th minute as Schalke tied Stuttgart, 2-2, in the Bundesliga season opener
Friday.
Schalke took the early lead on a goal from Levan Kobiashvili midway thro
<< Kansas City signs midfielder from Argentina
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kansas City added another option to its
potent offense this week, signing forward/midfielder Eloy Colombano out of
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The 24-year-old has played for Defensa y Justicia and LP Estudiantes
Vick-less Falcons fall to Jets in preseason opener >>
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Falcons opened their
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A-Rod hits 37th HR, Hughes dominates as Yankees top Tribe >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Phil Hughes hurled six solid innings, and
Alex Rodriguez belted his major league-best 37th home run as New York downed
Cleveland, 6-1, in the opener of a three-game set at Jacobs Field.
The highly-regar
Helms, Phils rally past Braves >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wes Helms' two-run home run helped the
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Cole Hamels (
Loney Tunes: Dodgers down Cards on Loney HR >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - James Loney hit a two-run homer in the ninth
inning, as the Los Angeles Dodgers held on for a 2-1 victory over the St.
Louis Cardinals in the opener of a three-game series.
Dodgers starter Brad Penny
NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.
No. 1 always seems to fit USC.
Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.
Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.
Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.
"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."
Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.
"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."
The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.
"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."
Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.
"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"
USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.
"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."
While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.
As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.
But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.
Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.
The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.
The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.
The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.
No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.
Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.
Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.
Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.
The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.
South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.
The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.
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