Sabbatini leads at Bridgestone
Rory Sabbatini is taking all bets that par golf on the weekend at Firestone will pay him $1.35 million.
Sabbatini continued to make a difficult golf course look like a breeze Friday, running off 3 straight birdies toward the end of his round for another 3-under 67 and a 2-shot lead over Masters champion Zach Johnson in the Bridgestone Invitational at Akron, Ohio.
What appeared to be a tuneup for the final major of the season next week at the PGA Championship is starting to look like it might be an even tougher test. Sabbatini was at 6-under 134, with only seven other players able to break par.
Five-time champion Tiger Woods was one of them after an even-par 70 in which he had no complaints until reaching the green. He made only 2 birdies despite hitting 15 greens in regulation, and those were wiped out by a pair of 3-putts from about 35 feet in which he left the first putt some 8 feet short of the hole.
"They looked fast, but for some reason they putted a little bit slower than I thought they did (Thursday)," Woods said. "I just had a hard time making the adjustment."
He was at 138 along with Scott Verplank (68) and Kenny Perry, who had his second straight 69.
Someone asked Sabbatini if two more rounds at 67 would be good enough to win, and the spunky South African was almost speechless.
"On the weekend?" he said. "I'd take that with that $1.35 million in a heartbeat. If I shoot 12 under, I'm winning. There's no doubt in my mind. The way I look at it, I'd take even money right now shooting even par on the weekend. The course is only going to get tougher."
Women's British Open: Lorena Ochoa shot a 73 to lead by 1 stroke after the second round of the Women's British Open, while Michelle Wie is heading for another missed cut after shooting an 80 at St. Andrews, Scotland. Ochoa missed a 4-foot par putt at the 18th at the Old Course for a 6-under 140 total with Wendy Ward (70) and Catriona Matthew (68) tied for second.
Wie, who had showed signs she was getting over her left wrist injury with a 73 on Thursday, finished at 7-over 153. The projected cut is at 4 over.
3M Championship: Tom Jenkins and Jim Thorpe took advantage of ideal conditions to shoot 8-under 64s and share the 3M Championship's first-round lead at Blaine, Minn. Jay Haas, who sits atop the Champions Tour's money list and Schwab Cup points race, was 1 stroke behind along with five others at the TPC of the Twin Cities.
Fifty-seven of the 78 players broke par. The average score was 69.83, the lowest first-round figure in the event's 15-year history.