Amateur Lowry on top in Ireland

Golf Betting Lines

05/15/2009 - Beltray, Ireland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Irish amateur Shane Lowry fired a 10-under 62 on Friday to vault atop the leaderboard after the second round of his national championship, the Irish Open.

Lowry, the 16th-ranked amateur in the world, finished 36 holes at 15-under 129 and that matched the tournament record. Patrik Sjoland set the original mark in 2000 and he went on to victory.

Lowry wouldn't be the first amateur to visit the winner's circle this season on the European Tour if he holds on Sunday. Danny Lee captured the Johnnie Walker Classic, but no matter what, it was a big two rounds for the 22-year- old Lowry.

"I'll never forget this day as long as I live," said Lowry.

The groups in the early wave were once again met with difficult conditions. Rain and cold temperatures didn't exactly hinder scoring, but when the rain subsided, players went very low.

Lowry's 62 wasn't even the best round of the day on Friday. Graeme McDowell set a new tournament and course record with an 11-under 61 that only got him into a tie for 36th at minus-six after a poor 77 on Thursday.

"Yeah, 61, low score of my career," said McDowell. "I think I shot 61 one other time in practice. You know, 77 wasn't really what I was looking for. I was extremely disappointed, obviously to come here in front of my home fans and disappoint the way I did. But I took a lot of positives away at the same time because I knew I had not played that badly."

Robert Rock and Jamie Donaldson both shot rounds of seven-under 65 and are tied for second place at 13-under 131 at County Louth Golf Club.

Paul Lawrie, the 1999 British Open champion, posted a six-under 66 and that was aided by an ace at the par-three 17th. He won an Audi for his effort and got into fourth place at minus-12.

"It was 196 yards, a little downhill, a little downwind off the left, and hit a beautiful shot," said Lawrie. "As soon as I hit it, it was straight down the pin. You've obviously always got to get a little lucky for it to go in, but it was a nice shot."

Lowry's day was filled with nice shots.

He flew out of the gate on Friday with three birdies in his first four holes. Lowry eagled the par-five sixth to reach 10-under par for the championship and get within striking distance of the lead.

At the par-four ninth, Lowry sank a seven-foot birdie putt to join a group in first place. He tapped in a short birdie putt at the 10th that kept him tied for the lead after Lawrie's ace.

Lowry couldn't save par from a bunker at 11, but he got back to 12-under thanks to a 12-footer for birdie at the 12th. That kept him tied atop the leaderboard, but his play late gave him a cushion.

He birdied the 14th and 15th holes to find himself two clear. Rock and Donaldson got to 13-under par, but a birdie from Lowry at the last gave him the 36-hole record and a two-shot lead.

"It's like a dream, really, the way I putted," said Lowry. "It's an unbelievable feeling to be leading by two shots over a field like this. I didn't expect it coming into the tournament, but I expected to do well."

Lowry stated that his tentative plan is to play for the Great Britain & Ireland team at this year's Walker Cup, then turn professional. He wants to go to European Tour Q School in the fall.

Nick Dougherty (67), Roope Kakko (67) and Thomas Levet (66) are knotted in fifth place at minus-11.

Johan Edfors (70), Soren Kjeldsen (67), Lee Westwood (66) and Oliver Wilson (68) share eighth place at 10-under 134.

The 36-hole cut fell at four-under 140 and local hero and two-time major champion in 2008 Padraig Harrington, last year's winner Richard Finch and John Daly all missed the weekend.

One player who also has the weekend off is first-round leader Francesco Molinari. After he shot a one-over 73, Molinari signed an incorrect scorecard and was disqualified.

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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

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