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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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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