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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Brandon Roy Favorite to Win 2007 NBA Rookie of the Year
Portland TrailBlazer’s guard, Brandon Roy, is MySportsbook.com’s overwhelming favorite to win the NBA Rookie of the Year odds.
Despite missing 20 games due to an injury earlier this season, Roy has definitely put up the best numbers of his 1st year peers. In 32 games, Roy is averaging 15.3 PPG, 4.2 boards and 3.5 assists in over 33 minutes of play per game. While most rookies breakdown as the season progresses (see Morrison), Roy is only getting stronger as his playing time and scoring average has increased each month.
With 30 or so games left in the regular season, Roy isn’t a lock for the award by any means. Other rookies are putting together some pretty impressive campaigns and a few could give Roy a run for the award with increased playing time. Heading the list is first pick, Andrea Bargnani of the Toronto Raptors. Even though he has started only two games all season, Bargnani is averaging 10.3 PPPG while shooting 35% from deep.
Randy Foye of the Minnesota Timberwolves could be set to give Roy the best competition NBA Rookie of the Year betting lines. With the benching of Mike James, Foye looks like he could be the starter in the T-Wolves backcourt for the rest of the season. So far, Foye has averaged 9 PPG and 2.4 assists in just under 21 minutes per game. With his new role of starter, Foye’s numbers will definitely increase. In his first game as the new starting guard this past Sunday, Foye had 10 points; five rebounds and 8 assists. More importantly, he logged 34 minutes of playing time; his third highest run of the season.
Adam Morrison, of the Charlotte Bobcats, was the favorite early on in the season after averaging 15+ PPG through the first month of the season. Ever since his torrid start, Morrison’s point production has declined each month. This really isn’t surprising, considering at 6’8” he only weighs 205 lbs. Obviously he will need to hit the weights big time during the off-season in order to keep from breaking down in the future.
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