11/14/2008 - Guadalajara, Mexico (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Angela Stanford continued her recent hot streak with a six-under 66 on Friday that gave her the second-round lead at the Lorena Ochoa Invitational.
Stanford, on the heels of four consecutive top-five finishes that started with a win in September, stood at 10-under-par 134 for a two-shot advantage over McDonald's LPGA champion and world No. 2 Yani Tseng (68).
Meena Lee (69) was in third place at six-under 138 and Karen Stupples (71) was the only other player within five shots of Stanford at five-under 139.
Annika Sorenstam, one of eight first-round co-leaders, managed just a 72 on Friday to lead a group of six players tied for fifth place at four-under 140.
Ochoa, hosting a tournament for the first time, continued to underwhelm with a 71 that left her 10 shots back at even-par 144. The women's world No. 1 -- by all accounts a gracious host -- said she was enjoying her time at her home course, Guadalajara Country Club.
"I just need to make more birdies," she said.
Stanford collected birdies at the right time to move in front of the elite 36- player field. After posting a 68 in the first round, she came out and made four birdies on her front nine Friday.
A close approach at No. 7 and a near-perfect pitch at No. 9 -- both within two feet -- set up her last two birdies on the front nine and gave Stanford a two- stroke lead around the turn.
Her 12-foot birdie putt at the 11th hole produced a four-shot advantage as players behind her took a step back, but Stanford found trouble at the 12th and walked off with her only bogey of the round.
Her lead trimmed to just one stroke by a Nicole Castrale eagle at the 10th -- Castrale would later fade with a trio of bogeys -- Stanford came back with a pair of birdies that increased her cushion to three.
She curled in a long birdie putt at the par-three 13th, rolled in a five- footer at the 14th, then finished the round with four consecutive pars for her two-shot lead.
It marked the second time this season, and the fifth time in her career, that Stanford held the second round lead on the LPGA Tour.
"We have the greatest players in the world here, so I know that I have to keep going," said Stanford, who picked up her second career win Sept. 14 at the Bell Micro LPGA Classic.
Stanford said her recent hot streak has her confidence "through the roof."
"I'm having so much fun hitting the golf ball right now. That's a lot of it," she said. "I'm not really thinking about results."
Sorenstam was tied for second place after she holed a three-foot birdie putt at the 14th, but she went on to bogey three of the last four holes to fall six shots off the pace.
"I'm very happy with the way I played, I just didn't finish today," said Sorenstam.
The third-ranked Swede, nearing her scheduled retirement at the end of the season, is nevertheless still in the hunt with 36 holes remaining. There are only three players between herself and the lead.
"It is encouraging. And we have two more days," said Sorenstam. "Anything can happen."
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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
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
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