Lara alone atop Hong Kong Open leaderboard

Golf Betting Lines

11/17/2006 - Fanling, Hong Kong (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jose Manuel Lara posted a four-under 66 Friday to grab the outright lead after two rounds of the Hong Kong Open.

Lara, who shared the lead with Jyoti Randhawa after the first round, completed 36 holes at 10-under-par 130. Gregory Bourdy also shot 66 and is one stroke back at minus-nine.

Lian-Wei Zhang fired a seven-under 63 in the second round. That moved him into a share of third place at eight-under-par 132. He was joined there by Juvic Pagunsan and Andrew Buckle, who each shot 65 in round two.

Randhawa managed a one-under 69. He stands alongside Jeev Milkha Singh in sixth place at minus-seven.

Lara opened with his second birdie in two days on the par-five third at Hong Kong Golf Club. After five straight pars, he tripped to a bogey on the ninth to make the turn at minus-six.

The Spaniard atoned for his bogey on nine with a birdie at the 10th. Lara birdied the par-five 13th to create a four-way tie for the lead at minus- eight.

Lara sank a seven-foot birdie putt at 15 to take the outright lead. Bourdy, who started on the 10th tee, birdied the seventh to join Lara at minus-nine.

However, Lara birdied the 17th for the second straight round to move back atop the leaderboard at 10-under. He parred the last to remain there.

"I have been playing well the last two months," Lara stated. "I have been hitting the ball so well and have just had a short break from those two tournaments at the end of last season, so I am still confident."

Bourdy sank a birdie putt the 11th to get to minus-six. He posted his next birdie on the par-four 16th. After four pars around the turn, Bourdy birdied three to grab a share of the lead at minus-eight.

The Frenchman kept pace with Lara with a birdie on the seventh. However, Bourdy carded back-to-back pars to close out his round and end one back.

"I think nine-under after two rounds is a good score here," admitted Bourdy. "I am driving it well and steady which is important for this course."

Zhang flew up the leaderboard with five birdies over his opening nine holes. After a bogey on the first, he eagled the third and birdied the fourth to move to eight-under. Zhang got within one of Lara with a birdie on six, but he bogeyed the next and parred the final two holes to finish at minus-eight.

Simon Khan and Adam Blyth each carded rounds of two-under 68 Friday. They moved into a share of eighth place at six-under-par 134. They were joined there by Anton Haig (65), Damien McGrane (66), Thammanoon Srirot (66) and Thongchai Jaidee (66).

Defending champion Colin Montgomerie is one of five players one stroke further back at minus-five.

The cut line fell at even-par 140 with 68 players moving on to the final two rounds. Among those missing the cut were two-time U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen (141), Jean-Francois Lucquin (142) and Paul McGinley (144).

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Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.