Atwal shoots 61 to lead Wyndham Championship

Golf Betting Lines

08/19/2010 - Greensboro, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arjun Atwal fired a nine-under 61 to take the first-round lead Thursday at the Wyndham Championship.

Atwal birdied three of his last four holes to match the Sedgefield course scoring record and take a two-shot lead over 2007 champion Brandt Snedeker.

Snedeker snapped a streak of five straight birdies when he bogeyed the 18th for a 63.

The leaderboard was bunched up behind them at the end of a low-scoring day aided by rain-softened greens and lift, clean and place conditions.

Six players -- David Toms, Boo Weekley, Lucas Glover, Kevin Streelman, John Rollins and Jeev Milkha Singh -- were tied at 64. Six more shot a 65 and there were 23 players knotted at 66.

While everyone in the field is focused on a win this week, many are also thinking about next week.

The top 125 players on the FedEx Cup points list after the tournament will make the field for The Barclays next week and the start of the playoffs.

Michael Letzig is 125th on the points list -- last man in at the moment -- and he shot a four-under 66. Mike Weir, who is 126th on the list, opened with a three-under 67.

"This game is always about pressure, whether it's getting into the playoffs, trying to get in the Tour Championship, trying to win the tournament," said Weir. "There's different levels of pressure and this week it's -- I want to play and keep playing."

While it's difficult for a player with a high ranking to make it all the way to the end of the playoffs -- the fields are pared down weekly until there are only 30 players for the Tour Championship -- it is by no means impossible.

Last year, Heath Slocum made the playoffs as the 124th player and won The Barclays, moving to No. 3 on the points list behind Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker.

Slocum made it all the way to the Tour Championship, the playoff finale, and finished eighth on the final points list. He was one of only seven players ranked outside the top 30 on the 2009 points list to advance to the Tour Championship.

One player who no longer has to worry about his standing on the points list is Atwal, who was informed Thursday that he is not eligible for the playoffs.

Atwal failed to earn enough money while playing on a medical extension he received after missing more than four months last season due to a shoulder injury. He had eight tournaments to earn $586,007 to gain full-time playing status for the rest of the year. He has made only $350,490 in nine starts.

Toms broke a six-way tie for the lead when he rolled in a 10-foot birdie putt at the 17th hole to become the first player to reach seven-under par.

Birdies were dropping in every corner of the course, however, and no one was making more than Snedeker, who tied Toms five minutes later with a nine-foot birdie putt at the 16th.

Snedeker then moved into sole possession of the lead at eight-under when he knocked his 126-yard approach to a foot at the 17th, collecting his fifth straight birdie and sixth in seven holes.

As quickly as Snedeker reached the top of the leaderboard, he was joined by Atwal, who made back-to-back birdies, capped by an eight-foot putt at No. 7 to reach eight-under.

Snedeker bogeyed No. 18 from the rough, dropping a shot back, and Atwal built his two-shot lead with a seven-foot birdie putt at No. 9, his last hole.

Atwal matched the course record set by Carl Pettersson during his winning run in 2008. It was the eighth round of 61 or better on the PGA Tour this season.

Defending champion Ryan Moore opened with a 68. Moore birdied the third playoff hole last year to beat Kevin Stadler and Jason Bohn.

Tiger Woods (not playing this week) is 108th on the FedEx Cup points list. It is unlikely he will drop out of the top 125, but he could mathematically fall as low as 132nd. Woods announced Thursday that he would play in The Barclays.

MORE TO FOLLOW.

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Mayweather picked to beat De La Hoya
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and his rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrived at the MGM Grand here Wednesday amid the pomp and pandemonium befitting two of the biggest stars in the sport who are about to duke it out for the WBC super welterweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila).

As of Wednesday, MySportsbook.com closed its book with Mayweather a favorite to defeat De La Hoya at -170 (a $100 bet wins $70), while De La Hoya is a +140 underdog (a $100 bet wins $140).

Mayweather arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on a big truck with his face and a big "World's Best Pound-for-Pound" sign scribbled across the vehicle. He was accompanied by his entourage made up of rappers and his training team.

A crowd of close to 3,000 eager fans packed the MGM Grand lobby, with their cameras in tow, all trying to vie for position to get a good angle at Mayweather, who is acknowledged as the world's best fighter pound-for-pound.

Eric Gomez, Golden Boy Promotions vice-president, described the fan turnout as "amazing" and swore he had never seen anything quite like this event.

"The crowd was fantastic. Everybody was just too eager to see the two fighters," said ALA manager Michael Aldeguer, who was among those who waited at the lobby together with his ward Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal.

De La Hoya made his own grand entrance at the hotel lobby at around 12:30 p.m. accompanied by GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer and trainer Freddie Roach.

The same group of fans who trooped to see Mayweather also lingered around to get a close look at De La Hoya, who has been secretly working out at a Las Vegas gym for days after arriving from his main training camp in Puerto Rico.

The golden boy then took part in a closed-door afternoon workout with Bautista and Banal. The two, along with Aldeguer and wife Christine, as well as an HBO crew were the only ones allowed inside the gym.

De La Hoya and Mayweather take part in today's final press conference before the official weigh-in this Friday.

Ring Magazine, the acknowledged bible of boxing, reported in its June 2007 issue that 12 out of 20 boxing experts it interviewed have favored Mayweather to defeat De la Hoya, with only 8 favoring the latter.

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